Fruit Salad with Champagne

Easy, tasty, colorful, quick, and elegant

Berries, melons, stone fruit, and more. They’re all reaching peak flavor in our part of the world.

So how about using them in a gorgeous dessert? This fruit salad is quick enough for a weeknight dinner, but elegant enough for the fanciest party. (You can even replace the champagne with sparkling cider if you want a nonalcoholic version).

You’ll have plenty of bubbly left over, too, so you can pour everyone a glass to accompany dessert.

Your guests will love the great fresh flavor of this salad. Not to mention the bubbles.

Homemade Meringues with Strawberry Sauce

A Macaron Cousin for Mother’s Day

Meringues - egg white and sugar nests of airy sweetness - are one of those old-fashioned desserts that wax and wane in popularity.

Lately, they seem to have lost some appeal. Which is odd considering that macarons - a cookie-form cousin of the meringue - are all the rage these days.

When I was a child, meringues were the special-occasion dessert at our house, served with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries, and sometimes whipped cream.

Because meringues have the reputation of being somewhat finicky to prepare, I think my mother always mentally held her breath each time she made them. And she probably didn’t exhale until the first bite revealed that, once again, meringue success was hers.

And speaking of mom, Mother’s Day is just around the corner. What better dessert to celebrate with than meringues?