Summer means....

When Mom came and visited we realized it Heather's turn to come up with a cooking challenge. But I guess this is the busy time of year - school ending - good weather - and all that other stuff that comes with life. But I still hope to see some type of cooking challenge soon :)

But I was thinking in the meantime - what favorite recipes do you all pull out when Summer comes?

One of my favorites is fruit pizza. I learned to make it in 8th grade cooking class - but have probably changed it over the years as I have read different recipes.

Here is what I do:

Crust: Sugar cookie made into a pizza shape and baked.
"sauce" (or more accurate - the frosting): Whip 2/3 cup of whipping cream. Set aside. Beat 8 oz cream cheese, 1 Tb of grated orange peel, 1/3 cup of sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla. Mix this with the whipped cream and spread over cooled cookie.
Toppings: I added pears, frozen blueberries (because I am cheap), canned madrine oranges, bananas, and fresh strawberries (because they are on sale).
Glaze: Mix 1/2 cup of orange juice, 1/4 cup of lemon juice Ii think I did less), 2 TB of cornstarch and another 1/3 to 1/2 cup of sugar in a saucepan until sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens. Brush the glaze over the fruit so it wont turn brown and it makes it shinny and pretty (this step I sometimes skip because It adds an additional tart flavor and you dont taste the fresh fruit as much - however, it sure makes it stay pretty longer).

So what do you like about summer?