Pineapple

In Mexico, salpicón is a kind of shredded meat or fish salad, usually made with beef, and commonly served on tostadas. This version gets a fresh crunch from radishes and sweet acidic kick from a combination of lime and pineapple juices.

Creamy coconut tapioca pudding with glazed pineapple is one of the desserts I obsessed over when I lived in New York City and worked for François Payard. All of the cooks at Payard Patisserie spent our free time talking about the places we dreamed of going and the dishes we couldn't wait to try. One of the cooks told me about how Claudia Fleming, at the time the pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern, had created a dreamy tapioca that could not be missed. He was right—on one of my last nights in NYC, I was finally able to try it, and thereafter every time I went to visit NYC, I made a point of going back to order it again. Sadly, it's no longer on the menu, but I've channeled it here in this version. It's light and refreshing and uses the natural sugars of mango, pineapple, and apple juice to complement the richness of the coconut milk.

Fresh pineapple conjures up images of sunshine, so what better way to cheer up a winter day than with a galette made with golden yellow wedges layered over buttery pastry? Today's pineapples tend to be quite sweet, so just a hint of cinnamon and sugar is all you'll need to bring out their bright flavor.

As much as I like a pavlova, this dessert takes that classic combination and blows it out of the water. Piña Colada Pastry Cream lightened with softly whipped cream, layered with caramelized fresh pineapple, crunchy-chewy French meringue, and crisp strips of toasted coconut is textural nirvana. Searing fresh pineapple in a skillet adds caramel flavor to balance very sweet fruit. This is a showstopper.

Anyone who knows me knows I love a good cocktail. Growing up, our go-to vacation spot was the Caribbean, where Dad always ordered himself a piña colada and virgin versions for my brother and me. We used to try the old switcheroo at the table when he looked away. Sometimes we were successful, and his, of course, tasted even better. This pastry cream is great for cakes or meringues with coconut as a base flavor—no umbrella needed.

This curry is doubly rich from the coconut milk and the deep red curry, but the pineapple keeps it from being too heavy and gives a beautiful freshness to the dish. I like to cook the lobster in the shell because it makes for a more flavorful sauce, and I like to serve it that way too. You can be as refined as you like or, like me, pick up the shell and make an animal of yourself. If lobster is going to blow the budget, you can still have a delicious curry by substituting shrimp or monkfish.

The mint in this juice ties together the sweet pineapple and tart green apple so well that you won't even notice the spinach.

Watercress is the green of choice in Cuba, its peppery taste a perfect foil for the avocado and the sweet pineapple in this classic Cuban salad. I serve it with shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce called enchilado de camarones. In Cuba, the pineapple is never roasted, but this technique adds another dimension of flavor I find very appealing.

This is a winning-contestant recipe from Season Four of FOX's MasterChef.

Sweet and sour are two of the five flavors of classical Chinese cooking (along with salty, pungent, and bitter), and go lo yuk, as the dish is called, is a favorite way to prepare pork in Cantonese cooking. I prefer fresh pineapple, but if you like your dish sweeter, use canned pineapple and reserve some of the juice from the can to add to the sauce in place of fresh pineapple juice.

With a tropical flair really sweetens things up. Chop fruit in advance; assemble day of. Done!

Chef Kris Wessel of Florida Cookery in Miami Beach, Florida, shared this recipe as part of a Palm Tree Christmas menu he created exclusively for Epicurious. It showcases Florida oranges and grapefruits, which are at their peak during December.

Chef Kris Wessel of Florida Cookery in Miami Beach, Florida, shared this recipe as part of a Palm Tree Christmas menu he created exclusively for Epicurious. At Wessel family Christmases at Grandmother Esther's house in Miami Beach, the main courses were Florida-centric, but the desserts were not. This particular rum cake was often served by one of Wessel's aunts. "I think all the Irish side of our family loved it because it was loaded with rum," he says, joking that they'd often add more to the glaze than the recipe called for. The alcohol will burn off, but you can also omit the rum glaze and just serve with ice cream.

Translated into English as "the Goat Sucker," El Chupacabra is a mythical creature known for its nocturnal prowling and as the culprit in weird livestock deaths. There are various descriptions of the creature, which is believed to be heavy, the size of a small bear, with a row of spines stretching from head to tail. Maybe you've heard the silly stories. My fascination with this mythical creature inspired me to invent a drink as its namesake. This martini is infused with fiery red blood orange juice and the explosive Brazilian aphrodisiac açaí, making this an exotic bright red cocktail full of drama and flavor. Açaí juice is actually very healthy and has 33 times the antioxidant content of red wine grapes. Hints of guava and pineapple nectar in this drink are fruits from Puerto Rico (where Chupacabra sightings were first reported). The understated tones of coconut rum make this drink equally dangerous, so sip with caution.

The pan-fried pizza move comes in handy during the summer when you don't want to turn the oven to 500°F.

St. John Frizell of Fort Defiance in Red Hook, Brooklyn, created this recipe for a Fourth of July drinks feature—this is the white option in a special red, white, and blue Sangria series. For this Caribbean-inspired pitcher drink, Frizell recommends using good white rum or, even better, a mix of white rum and aged rum. "A funky aged Jamaican rum, like Smith & Cross, will add a profound depth of flavor to the mix," he notes. For the wine, Frizell says to use a young unoaked white, such as a Sauvignon Blanc or a dry Riesling.

Every Southeast asian country has some variation of green papaya or mango salad. Since it doesn't taste like much (nice texture, though), it's all about the supporting cast as far as delivering flavor goes. And in this version there's such a big cast that you can lose one or two items and the salad will still taste real good. You can even lose the papaya (shhhh) and make it with all the other goodies. Just don't lose the fish sauce, palm sugar, lime juice, or chili—deal? LISTEN
Mayafra Combo, "Iffilah Ha-Ha"—Sonnie Taylor from Trinidad backed up by some Italian musicians. Beautiful vocals and a moving jazz-funk vibe to keep you dancing and cooking. DRINK
A tall glass of water a little cooler than room temp. Seriously.

This one honors our longtime barbecue buddy, the late Bob Carruthers, of New South Wales. We met Bob during his first trip to Lynchburg, Tennessee, to serve as an international judge at the Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue. From then on he played a significant role in introducing Australian barbecue to Americans and American barbecue to Australians. His footprints on The Jack will endure, as will many good memories of the fun and enthusiasm he brought to the event. For this one we recommend Australian lamb ribs, and the whiskey has to be Jack Daniel's. Life is sweet. Life is sour. Life goes on.

If you make this whole recipe, you will have enough to feed a crowd, plus you will have half of a pineapple and perhaps half of a papaya left over. The salsa is especially good atop grilled chicken or fish.

My aunt Martha swears that this smoky, sweet, tropical salsa takes her back to Yucatán no matter where she is when she makes it. It works especially well with Cilantro Tandoori Chicken, but it will enhance any grilled fish or meat. If the grill's fired up, throw the pineapple right on it; a grill pan will do just fine if you're cooking indoors.

Matt Wallace, bartender at Harvard & Stone in Los Angeles, created this potent fruit-filled punch for our story Spring Cocktails Perfect for Brunch. The combination of pineapple, orange, and lemon plus the crisp, dry bubbles from the Champagne really wake up your palate after a long winter, he says. The citrus and sugar base is called oleo-saccharum, and is common in older punch recipes. Wallace says it's an excellent way to add a subtle citrusy perfume to the final drink, and requires time but very little labor.