The weather's hot and this cool dessert is just as hot and sultry. This version of banana cream pie has a spicy kick as well as a nip of alcohol. Hints of curry flavor mingle in the sweet graham cracker crust and the cream of the pie is spiked with rum. Thin slices of ripe banana are layered in the cream too. I found this recipe on epicurious.com, and adapted it to my liking.

The curry flavor is subtle and works well with the other flavors of the pie. Don't expect the results to be your typical run of the mill, vanilla boxed pudding and whipped cream type of pie here ... this one is much, much better.

The combination of bacon and chocolate have been all the rage for the past few years now. There's chocolate covered bacon, bacon chocolate chip pancakes, bars of chocolate with bacon bits, and anything else you can image. It's about time I join the bandwagon, albeit maybe 2 years too late, and create some sort of bacon/chocolate Frankenstein cookie.

These sweet and salty cookies are an amalgamation I pieced together using a Korova chocolate sable cookie dough and studding it with bits of crispy bacon and dark chocolate.

I used a 70% dark chocolate bar for the chocolate pieces and real bacon, not the bottled bacon bits. The texture of these cookies is slightly sandy, and also crispy too from the bacon. If you can wrap your mind around eating meaty cookies, give these a shot. I think you'll be surprised how good they are.

I'm thinking Lily Pulitzer would approve of these prepster-looking green and pink cupcakes.

These pistachio and strawberry cupcakes were concocted as part of an effort to use up the remainder of my gallon of strawberries from last weekend.

Slightly green, the pistachio cupcake base is made from a Dorie Greenspan white cake recipe which I edited by adding ground pistachios and a splash of almond extract. I created my own strawberry frosting recipe by using a basic buttercream recipe and adding chopped strawberries. A few taste testers have mentioned they like the frosting so much, they'd eat it straight up, minus cupcake. What's good about the frosting is that it's sweet, but not cloying.

To finish the cupcakes off, I rolled the edges of the frosted tops in chopped pistachios and topped them with mini strawberries.

After toiling under the hot sun in a strawberry patch for an hour and 20 minutes picking berries, I finally emerged with a gallon of fresh strawberries ... and a sore back. Piedmont Produce, a farm in Monroe, NC, has a pick-your-own strawberry field that sells gallon-sized buckets for $8 each. I visited the farm this past weekend and now have a predicament on my hands: What to do with all these strawberries?

Time for strawberry desserts I guess. First up: Dorie Greenspan's Classic Berry Tart.

The tart consists of a sandy-crumbed sweet tart shell filled cool vanilla pastry cream, and topped lots of sliced strawberries. (I gilded the lily and added some freshly whipped cream too.) The pastry cream isn't overly sweet and pairs nicely with fresh berries. You can sub the strawberries for blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries. Keep the tart refrigerated up to 1 hour or so until ready to serve.

To assemble the tart, you'll need two days. You could possibly hurry the process along and make this in one day, but it's easier to just prep on day one, and assemble on day two. To keep the crust flaky, it's best to wait to assemble the tart as close to serving time as possible, and definitely eat it the day of assembly.

Day 1:

Make tart shell (Make crust dough, chill, bake, cool, refrigerate)

Make pastry cream (cool in refrigerator overnight)

Day 2:

Slice strawberries

Whip cream

Assemble tart

Quick Classic Berry Tart

Baking: From My Home To Yours

Makes 6 to 8 servings

About 1 1/2 cups Pastry Cream, cooled or chilled (Recipe Below)

1 9" tart shell made with Sweet Tart Dough (Recipe Below)

2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced, or an assortment of berries

Smooth the pastry cream by giving it a couple of strong turns with a whisk. Spoon enough pastry cream into the tart crust to come almost to the rim, then even the surface with a rubber spatula. Carefully lay the berries on the cream, arranging them in any pattern you wish.

Pastry Cream

Makes about 2 cups

Storing: The pastry cream can be kept tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

2 cups whole milk

6 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 1/2 TBSP unsalted butter, cut into bits at room temperature

Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan.

Meanwhile, in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan, whisk the yolks together with the sugar and cornstarch until thick and well blended. Still whisking, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk- this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the milk. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, constantly and thoroughly (making sure to get into the edges of the pot), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.

Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are fully incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky. Scrape the cream into a bowl. You can press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold, or, if you want to cool it quickly, put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water, and stir the pastry cream occasionally until it is thoroughly chilled, about 20 minutes.

Sweet Tart Dough

Makes 1 9" Crust

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick plus 1 TBSP (9 TBSP) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, confectioners sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in - you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses - about 10 seconds each- until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change- heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

Butter a 9" fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan, using all but one little piece of dough, which you should save in the refrigerator to patch any cracks after the crust is baked. Don't be too heavy-handed - press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

Preheat the oven to 375. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. (Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights.) Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon.

Bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown. Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling. (I refrigerated my crust at this point.)

The thin layer of fudgy brownie is topped with a sticky layer of salty sweet caramel, which makes these babies addicting like crack ... not that I would know really, since I've never done cocaine, but I can imagine.

Amelie's French Bakery in NoDa has been known for their Salted Caramel Brownies since they first opened their doors. Now that I've tried this recipe (obtained via Charlotte Magazine and supplied by Amelie's) for the same brownies at home, I can make my own stash of these crack brownies and hoard them away in my fridge for when a hankering arises.

A few things to note before you dive in:

1. Be sure to use foil to line your pan. (And be sure to butter the foil well ... really well.) This way you can lift the entire sheet of brownies out of the pan and onto a cutting board to cut into bars, which will allow you to make cleaner cuts and make prettier brownies.

2. Do not overbake. I baked the brownies for 25 minutes and they came out just right.

3. For the caramel part, be sure to babysit the water and sugar mixture when boiling. It starts turning light brown after 5 minutes or so, and turns amber quickly after that.

4. Chill the brownies in the fridge to set the caramel.

5. If serving to guests on a platter, cut and place individual brownies in paper muffin/cupcake tin liners.

If you've got some sibling rivalry going with your brothers and/or sisters and are vying for the spot of "Mom's favorite child," you've got it in the bag this Mother's Day. Just make her this Praline Baked French Toast with Macerated Strawberries on Sunday and you will be anointed favorite child.

Thick slices of rich challah bread are layered into a casserole dish, soaked overnight in a custard, then spread with a butter, sugar, pecan mixture, and baked into a buttery, bubbly oblivion. After one taste of this french toast topped with a dusting of powdered sugar and a scoop of macerated strawberries, your mom will want to smack her grandma. Yes, it's that good.

I brought a pan of these into the office today and it was demolished. I'm sure CL's insurance premiums just went up ... the french toast has a cup of butter and a cup of brown sugar. I won't lie.

Despite that tidbit of information, I say you make it anyway. It's truly awesome. You won't have to wake up early on Sunday to put this together because it's all done the day before. On Mother's Day, you just have to pop it into the oven. Piece of cake... I mean toast.

While browsing the shelves of the behemoth bookstore that is Powell Books in Oregon, Portland last week, I picked up a copy the cookbook Cooking Light Cook's Essential Recipe Collection: Slow Cooker. Intriguing ... healthy meals without any effort? Sure, why not give it a try.

The first recipe on my to-try list was the Maple Hazelnut Oatmeal made with steel-cut oats, gala apples, nuts, and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Steel-cut oats (also known as Irish oatmeal) is full of fiber, protein and other goodies to keep you in tip-top shape. Next time I'll probably omit the butter because it really doesn't need it. I didn't have any hazelnuts on hand, so I just used chopped pecans.

Each serving contains 341 calories, 9.2g fat, and 5.5g fiber. (If you cut out the butter, it'll take the calories and fat grams down further.)

Maple-Hazelnut Oatmeal

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups of fat-free milk

1-1/2 cups of water

2 Gala apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)

1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

1-1/2 tablespoons of butter, softened

1/3 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Cooking spray

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons of chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Directions

1. Bring milk and water to a boil in a sacuepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.

2. Place hot milk mixture, apple, and next 5 ingredients into a 3-quart electric slow cooker coated with cooking spray, stir well.

3. Cover and cook on LOW 7 hours or until oats are tender.

4. Ladle oatmeal into individual bowls; top with maple syrup and hazelnuts.

While eating my way through Seattle's Pike Place food market last week, I discovered Chukar Cherries. The bird-logoed company native to the Pacific Northwest produces delicious chocolates, dried fruits, and sauces.  Best known for their dried cherries, the company offers awesome chocolate covered cherries. The blend of dark bittersweet chocolate and tart dried cherries make these little bauble treats delicious. The rich chocolate coating offsets the tartness of the cherries. So amazing, loaded up on my suitcase with a supply to take back to Charlotte. (If you ever find yourself in Seattle, check out the REI flagship store on Yard Avenue ... you can buy an assortment of Chukar candy by the pound at the self-serve kiosk of candy dispensers. Exciting, I know.)

Inspired by this chocolate cherry combo, I came home wanting to try using the same flavors in cookie form. I came up with a Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookie. The cookie has an oatmeal cookie base with organic dried cherries, organic dark chocolate, whole wheat flour and some wheat bran for a tad extra added health benefits. Hey, in Seattle they are all about some natural health foods.

Witty and hilarious Ree Drummond of the blog The Pioneer Woman Cooks is coming to Charlotte next Friday, May 7. The food blogger and photographer will be signing copies of her cookbook at Joseph-Beth Booksellers at SouthPark Mall.

Ree lives on a ranch in with her cattle rancher husband and a bevy of children. Known for her gorgeously photographed step-by-step home-style recipes, along with humorous writing, this Pioneer Woman has a huge following of readers.

I've got my ticket to the book signing and I just recently purchased my copy of her cookbook The Pioneer Woman Cooks, a #1 New York Times bestseller. The first recipe I tried out of the book was her Penne a la Betsy. It's penne pasta is tossed in a sweet tomato cream sauce with chunks of shrimp. The recipe is courtesy of her sister Betsy and Ree claims it would be one of the dishes she'd eat on her last day on earth. It's that good.

Japanese breads and other Asian rolls, buns, and baked breads are known for their soft tender texture, buttery sweet taste, and their light springiness. For a carb-o-holic, this is pure heaven.

Get these results at home with this recipe for Japanese-style Sweet Buns. The trick to making these buns soft and springy is the water and flour roux (a cooked paste of water and flour). Supposedly the roux, when mixed with the dough, allows the dough absorb more liquid and hence the baked goods are softer and fluffier.

The dough can be used as a base for sweet and savory stuffed buns. On other food blogs, I've seen them stuffed with bbq roast pork, hot dogs, coconut custard, and whipped cream too.

This being my first time attempting the recipe, I decided to just make the basic plain bun. Fresh out of the oven, these are positively addicting. Attempting to just sample one, I ended up scarfing down three in one sitting. Oops.

You'll need to bust out your kitchen scale for this recipe ... measurements are in grams.