Are you looking for a fun and tasty drink to serve to all ages at your Memorial Day party? Homemade Cherry-Vanilla Cream Soda sounds like a real crowd-pleaser.

Looking for something cold with a kick? Try Cantaloupe Daiquiris.

The recipes are from straight from the Mississippi Delta via “Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales From a Southern Cook,” a new book by Martha Hall Foose (Clarkson Potter, 248 pages, #32.50).

Cherry-Vanilla Cream Soda

Yield: 8 servings

1 cup water

2 cups sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 cup cherry juice

1 quart soda water (club soda)

In a small saucepan, combine water and sugar. Add vanilla bean. Boil over medium heat 2 minutes or until mixture reduces to a thin syrup.

Remove vanilla bean. Rinse in hot water. Set aside to air-dry and reserve for another use.

Allow syrup to cool, then stir in extracts and cherry juice. (If desired, cover and refrigerate up to 1 week.)

For each serving, pour 2 tablespoons of cherry-vanilla syrup into a tall glass filled with ice cubes. Add 1/2 cup soda water. Stir to combine. Serve with a silly straw.

Cantaloupe Daiquiris

Yield: 6 servings

1 cantaloupe, seeded, peeled and finely diced

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves

1 tablespoon chopped basil leaves

1 cup light rum

4 cups crushed ice

In a large bowl or food storage bag, combine cantaloupe, sugar, lemon juice, mint and basil. Refrigerate until melon is very soft and juicy, about 2 hours (or up to 2 days). Meanwhile, chill glasses in the freezer.

When ready to serve, puree melon mixture in a blender or food processor. Add rum and ice, and blend until slushy.