Chelsie Kenyon, About.com's guide to Mexican Food, has a great new step-by-step photo tutorial showing how easy it is to make plantain chips (sometimes called chifles). You can buy plantain chips in a bag, but they are so much better when freshly fried and served warm. Larger slices of fried plantain are also delicious, and are a popular side dish.

These rich cookie squares have the perfect mix of creamy dulce de leche (milk caramel), candied nuts, chocolate, and coconut on top of a delicious cookie crust.

There are many people writing excellent articles about South American food, and I often come across great things that I can resist sharing - like this list of Brazilian desserts written by Lori Rice, an expat living in Brazil, for the blog 5 Star Foodie Culinary Adventures (which also has a beautiful post about Brazilian breakfast foods and exotic fruit). Lori's post has lots of photos of unusual desserts and a great recipe for Beijinhos, a tasty-looking candy/cookie made of brigadeiros (chocolate caramels) and coconut candy combined.

I have written a little about salchipapas and the hot dog condiments that are popular in Peru, but I was surprised to see this post about what people in Colombia enjoy on their hot dogs. According to the blog My Colombian Recipes, that would be pineapple sauce, coleslaw, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, and potato chips!! The pictures make it all look pretty darn good, and the recipe for the pineapple sauce sounds delicious.

If you're planning some cookouts or picnics this summer, check out this top ten list of great summer recipes by Linda Larson, About.com's guide to Busy Cooks. A few of them have a fourth of July theme, like the striking brownie flag, but most are classic summer recipes that are perfect for easy entertaining.