Fruit

Flavored creams (rose cream, geranium cream) served with berries are common in Britain. This take on the classic is a mix of drained yogurt and fromage blanc (fresh cream cheese). The soft, not too-sweet creams taste like a cross between an American-style pudding and a panna cotta. Keep in mind that the desserts need to chill at least eight hours.

This is the quintessential coconut cream pie—it has lots of coconut flavor and a very creamy texture. This is best served on the day it is made so the crust is still crisp, but you can make the pastry cream a day ahead, whisk in the whipped cream a couple of hours before serving, and then put it together at the last minute. Swirl the whipped cream decoratively on top, if you like.

From piña coladas to rum and coconut water, the fruit of the coco palm seems a natural pairing with the elixir of the cane reed. Here is a different twist on the rum and coconut theme—one that can be made in a larger quantity and kept on the sideboard or the bar until ready to serve. It only gets better.

Soon after the invention of the home blender, the machines were whirring about turning out all manner of cocktails including a raft of fruit-infused daiquiris. It might seem that strawberries are not Caribbean fruit, but anyone who has traveled to Haiti knows that in Kenskoff in the hills above Port-au-Prince and Petionville, the climate is cool enough to support strawberries and they grow there—small, sweet, and delicious.

Treacle tarts are usually made with a combination of golden syrup and molasses. The dessert has a texture similar to pecan pie (minus the nuts).

I adore lychee juice, which tastes very much like the fresh fruit. You can buy aseptic packages of the juice in Asian markets, and I've seen them in many supermarkets. This sorbet is not only delicious, it's fun.

This one's a backyard party classic that I've put a new spin on. To protect those delicate, sugar-sweet kernels, I grill each cob in its husk. Then toward the end of cooking, I peel the husk back and let the corn develop just a bit of tasty char. As if this weren't lovely enough, I bring it all up a notch with a cilantro pesto (use basil or parsley if you prefer) and plenty of butter.

After these plump up from a quick brine, and cook in their shells, they'll eat more like peel-and-eat lobster tails than plain old shrimp. Serve this alongside grilled steak, and it'll be not only a great respite from the meat's richness, but it'll give you a surf-and-turf experience, which for me was one of the most exciting things to get at a restaurant when I was little.

I have never been a huge fan of bread pudding, but for some reason this bread pudding takes the cake, no pun intended. It combines just the right elements of sweet, tart, creamy, and crispy. Everyone who tries it becomes a fan.

When I developed this recipe, there were many arguments among the tasters, otherwise known as my friends, about whether or not it was too spicy. Some people liked the kick and others did not. I like it spicy, but if you want less heat, lay off the chiles: use one chile instead of two. Serve the ceviche with tortilla chips for a play on texture. I recommend using aquacultured bay scallops for this dish as they are grown and harvested sustainably. Bay scallops are in season from October to January. It's also perfectly acceptable to buy frozen scallops and defrost them; the dish will be just as successful.

Here is a jewel of an Afghani dish. It is one I cook regularly, sometimes with shoulder of lamb instead of chicken thighs. I serve it with slow-cooked spinach, finished with leeks and a minuscule amount of rhubarb. This may sound strange, but the rhubarb is sweetened by the leeks and it really does work.

I have always loved a good, cinnamon-scented carrot cake but somehow found the normal cream cheese frosting too rich and too sweet for the cake. Carrots, after all, are sweet enough in their own right. However, this mascarpone topping—sharp textured with lemon and lime zest—contrasts perfectly with the texture and crunch of the carrots and walnuts. Take the path of least—if not no—resistance.

The crumble is the British version of the American crisp. This one features the classic combination of tart rhubarb and sweet strawberries, topped with a crunchy oat-and-hazelnut streusel. A scoop of ice cream is the perfect finishing touch.

These thin, anise-flavored pancakes are similar to French crepes.

The mildly spicy piment d'Espelette Mayonnaise is France's very own chili powder. It's available at specialty foods stores and from zingermans.com.

Here, grilled chicken turns into a fiesta-style main course. Use leftover canned chipotles to flavor mayonnaise for sandwiches, or butter for chops and steaks.

Pancetta (Italian bacon) is available in the deli section of many markets.

This subtly spicy mayo is great on fish and sandwiches—and on fries, too.

Thai papaya salad is an ideal summer side dish and packs up well if you want to take it with you.