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Memorial Day signals the start of picnic season. Deviled eggs are a favorite potluck dish of mine. I've written before about how to make boiled eggs without a green ring around the yolk. The green is unsightly, especially when making deviled eggs. I place the eggs in a large saucepan and cover them with water. I bring them to a boil over high heat. I turn off the heat and cover them, letting them sit for 15-18 minutes. Then I drain off the water, and add cold water and ice. When they are cool enough to touch, I peel them. There's the problem I've been having lately. The eggs are so difficult to peel that I can't get the shells off without taking chunks of the white with it, leaving an ugly surface instead of a smooth one. I have heard that using old eggs is a solution for this. As eggs age, gas or air inside the shell makes space between the contents and the shell. Peeling is easier because of the gap. I want to use fresh eggs. I Googled this problem and found ...

This was a popular dish I took to potlucks last summer. It's best in situations where you can keep it cold -- even on ice in a cooler. If you need something for a Memorial Day get-together, I recommend this. BANANA SPLIT CAKE 1 1/2 sticks margarine or butter, divided, softened 2 cups crushed vanilla wafers 2 cups confectioners sugar 1 8-ounce package light cream cheese 1 large can crushed pineapple, drained, reserving 1/4 cup pineapple juice 1 tub Cool Whip 3 medium bananas, sliced chopped walnuts maraschino cherries Melt 1 stick butter and mix with vanilla wafers. Press into a 9-by-13 pan and bake 8 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool. Beat 1/2 stick margarine and sugar together. Whip in cream cheese and pineapple juice. Fold in 1 cup Cool Whip. Spread over cooled crust. Layer with sliced bananas. Top with crushed pineapple. Spread with remaining Cool Whip. Sprinkle with nuts. Evenly space cherries on top.

You'll feel naughty eating these decadent brownies. A plain brownie is pretty scrumptious but I prefer dressing them up with toppings. I've done a coconut frosting, raspberry jam swirled with white chocolate chips and a turtle variation. For the past year I have made a lot of the rocky road brownies from a recipe I got from a former co-worker. This spring I started thinking about recreating a Hershey's Take 5 candy bar by topping the chocolate brownie base with pretzels, caramel and peanut butter. I didn't add Hershey's fifth ingredient, chopped peanuts, so my creation is more of a "Take 4." Good -- they won't get me for trademark infringement. I also had the urge to make a Fluffernutter topping for a brownie, but instead of pairing peanut butter with marshmallow fluff, I used marshmallow ice cream sundae topping. The result was yummy. Brownies are the perfect portable thing to tote to a potluck, picnic or reunion. They hold up well for transport, they...