Name: Ambrosia
Yield: Makes 8 servings
Ingredients: 6 navel oranges; 1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into cubes; 1 cup coconut, shredded fresh, fresh frozen, or packaged sweetened, according to taste or tradition; 1 large banana; 1 small (4 1/2-ounce) bottle maraschino cherries, drained well (optional)

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Ambrosia

Ambrosia is fruit dessert that is also a salad. We Southerners always add it to Thanksgiving and Christmas menus to allow us to have the illusion that we're not in too much trouble with our diets, because after all, "We only had ambrosia for dessert!"

The better the oranges in it, the better it is. Splurge and get flavor-filled navel oranges if you can. In any case, seedless oranges are a must. If there are going to be children at the meal, you can add maraschino cherries—sans stems. My mother always did, perhaps because one of my treasured memories from childhood was when my father took me to the men's club and ordered me a Shirley Temple with a maraschino cherry. I ate nearly a whole bottle, thanks to the indulgent waiter.

Recipe notes

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