Summer brings a chance for endless days, as the sun lasts well past dinner and that final sip of sangria. Summer brings a time to enjoy backyard cookouts. To lazily sit by the pool, tasting sunscreen and daiquiris on your lips. To take long car rides and stop at the road side peach stand. To bite a ripe tomato like an apple. And really, to do nothing.
Enjoy summer.
ANIMALS
BBQ Ribs with Hoisin Sauce
Get those fingers sticky.
Beer Can Chicken
Remember – you should finish the rest of the 6-pack before this finishes cooking.
Chesapeake Steamed Crabs
Old Bay or Die.
Grilled Rosemary Chicken and Potato Kabobs
Using nature’s skewers
Grilled Trout with Charred Cilantro
Learning to love cilantro.
Herb Grilled Salmon with Seared Heirloom Tomatoes and Toasted Pine Nuts
This fish is garnished with cheese. Proceed with caution.
Maine Meets Maryland Crab Cakes
Soy sauce for crab cakes?!
Tomato and White Wine Vermicelli, with Shrimp
Soak the shrimp in a brine for extra from-the-sea brightness.
EGGPLANTS
Baingan Burtha: Indian-Style Eggplant
The hindi word for eggplant is baingan and this style is burtha (broil).
Buttermilk Fried Eggplant
Treat this eggplant just like green tomatoes.
Eggplant and Chickpea Lasagna
Forget the carbs as eggplant helps layer for this no-pasta lasagna.
Eggplant and Mizuna Salad
Broiling slim eggplants takes no time at all.
Eggplant Rollatini
Another way to ingest ricotta cheese.
Fettuccine with Eggplant, Feta and Sage Dip-Sauce
Soft sage calms down fierce feta.
GREENS
Avocado, Tomato and Mozzarella Mesclun Salad
Turn a caprese into a real deal salad.
Egg-in-a-Basket and Kale Salad
It’s still a salad if a yolky sandwich sits atop, right?
Eggplant and Mizuna Salad
Broiling slim eggplants takes no time at all.
Grilled Corn and Black Bean Salad
Turn salsa into a meal.
Grilled Three-Color Pepper Salad
Eat a rainbow.
Lettuce and Basil Salad with Radish and Avocado
Too much basil? Treat it as a green.
Kale, Corn and Roasted Tomato Salad
Super sweet onions perform as the secret star here.
Raw Kale Salad with Bulgur, Chickpeas and Avocado in a Cottage Cheese-Red Wine Vinegar Dressing
I swear, cottage cheese can work as a salad dressing.
Spanakopita Potato Salad
Greek spinach pie, re-imagined as a summertime salad.
Wilted Greens with Buckwheat Noodles
A lesson: you can never use enough sesame oil.
Zucchini, Sun Gold and Kale Salad
Adding raw kale proves this salad is a full meal.
SNACKS, SANDWICHES, SIDES AND DIPS
Avocado-Corn Salsa
Crunchy corn. Smooth avocado. Done.
Corn Off the Cob Salad
With – surprise – hard boiled egg!
Cucumber Disks with Honey, Gingered Yogurt and Toasted Sesame Seeds
Forgot to buy crackers? Use cukes instead.
Cucumber Sandwich with Feta-Basil Spread
An English classic revisited.
Egg Salad with Oven-Roasted Tomatoes
Even egg salad appreciates a make-over once in a while.
Feta and Arugula Spring Rolls
Don’t put spring rolls in that Asian corner. Try a fresh summer approach.
Fresh Salsa
Get out a blender for the quickest salsa.
Grilled Sweet Corn with Chili-Lime Butter
OH, corn on the cob…
Pico de Gallo
Don’t fuck with a classic.
Peach Bourbon Wontons with Gorgonzola Mornay Sauce
Infuse your own Bourbon for some sweet-hotness.
Peaches ‘n’ Pita
A most unusual combination, even better for breakfast.
Roasted Tomato and Chevre Jalapeno Poppers
Skip the 711 hot rollers and make these hot jams yourself.
Roasted Tomato and Chipotle Salsa
Chipotle’s still relevant.
SOUPS
Chunky Tomato Soup with Ricotta and Egg
Does tomato soup need more richness? Probably Not. Add the cheese and egg anyway.
Cold Cucumber Soup
This soup’s depth of flavor surprises you thanks to meat stock.
Gazpacho a la Leftovers
Turing grapes into wine soup.
Padma Lakshmi’s Kicky Cumber Soup
Just do what Padma says.
Spicy Sausage Chowder with Kale
Get your fill of meat and greens.
Ten Minute Tomato Soup
Use the summer’s overload of tomatoes for a quick weeknight meal.
Yellow Gazpacho
Yellow isn’t always mellow.
SQUASH
Cheese and Tomato Stuffed Zucchini
Add some class with panko and chopped walnuts.
Crabtacular Faux* Crab Cakes
*Actually made from zucchini.
Fried Rice Stuffed Zucchini
Be brave and add some shredded coconut to the affair.
Kefir Parsley Pesto with Zucchini, Peas and Udon Noodles
Ever tried yogurt with your noodles?
Savory French Toast with Creamed Herbs and Zucchini
Now this is really breakfast for dinner.
Summer Squash Pesto Pizza Rollups
A homemade pizza light (and healthy) enough for the hottest days.
Tomato, Hash Brown and Zucchini Bake
One more way to use up all of that zucchini.
Zucchini Boats
Save the pulp for extra heft for the filling.
Zucchini, Sun Gold and Kale Salad
Adding raw kale proves this salad is a full meal.
TOMATOES
Avocado, Tomato and Mozzarella Mesclun Salad
Turn a caprese into a real deal salad.
Broiled Tomato with Feta and Mizuna
Mizuna? Yup. Get to the farmers’ market.
Cheese and Tomato Stuffed Zucchini
Add some class with panko and chopped walnuts.
Double Grilled Tomato and Corn Salad
Why wouldn’t you grill every component of your salad?
Egg Salad with Oven-Roasted Tomatoes
Even egg salad appreciates a make-over once in a while.
Fried Yellow Tomatoes
Create a crust with panko and…pine nuts!
Grilled Tomato and Onion Salad
Bump up the flavor with brown sugar and Worcestershire.
Heirloom Tomato Bacon Pie
We said (cook-less) bacon.
Honey Tomato with Ricotta Bruschetta
Honey and tomato? Don’t think. Just eat.
Kale, Corn and Roasted Tomato Salad
Super sweet onions perform as the secret star here.
Raw Summer Salad with Smoked Whitefish
With ingredients like this, there’s no need to cook.
Roasted Tomato and Chevre Jalapeno Poppers
Skip the 711 hot rollers and make these hot jams yourself.
Sun-Dried Tomato Tart with Goat Cheese and Black Olives
Any excuse for olives…
Three-Hour Tomato Sauce
When it’s too hot to go outside, babysit this well-worth it summer gift.
Tomato, Hash Brown and Zucchini Bake
One more way to use up all of those tomatoes.
Tomato and Red Onion Bake
Baking tomatoes brings out a whole new way to love the fruit/vegetable.
Tomato and White Wine Vermicelli, with Shrimp
Soak the shrimp in a brine for extra from-the-sea brightness.
Tomato Salat
Keep it simple: tomatoes, shallots and dressing.
Tomato Seaweed Salad
Still keeping it simple, but with a twist.
Warm Pasta with Crushed Grape Tomatoes and Olives
Let the juice of the tomatoes combine with oil for a light sauce.
Zucchini, Sun Gold and Kale Salad
Adding raw kale proves this salad is a full meal.
DESSERTS
Apricot Buttermilk Ice Cream
Stone fruit season is the best ice cream season.
Asparagus Ice Cream
No, really! Really.
Avocado Ice Cream
Everyone’s favorite fruit is perfectly rich enough to add to ice cream.
Basil and Lemon Vanilla Ice Cream
Believe us, you’ll do anything to get rid of all that basil.
Black Licorice Ice Cream
Licorice lovers, your day has come.
Blackberry Prosecco Popsicles
Sunday brunch cocktail on a stick.
Bloody Mary Popsicles
Everyday brunch cocktail on a stick.
Blueberry Cabernet Cheesecake Popsicles
Even cake can become a pop.
Bourbon Peaches and Cream Popsicles
Adding booze to anything makes it better.
Caipirinha Popsicles
Poptails take on cachaca liquor.
Cantaloupe and Kiwi Daiquiri Popsicles
Have your fruity summer cocktail, and lick it too.
Cherry Apple Whiskey Sour Popsicles
Even whiskey can become a pop-tail.
Coconut Curry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Yep, curry works in your desserts, too.
Coffee Maple Bacon Ice Cream
Everything you love about breakfast…in dessert.
Creamsicle Popscicles
With vodka, obviously.
Cucumber Honeydew Margarita Popsicles
Grab some popsicle sticks, get the tequila and leave the drunk dialing to others.
Dirty Pirate Popsicles
Rum and coke gone fabulous.
Fig and Candied Walnut Ice Cream
They ain’t just for Newtons!
Fig and Clementine Port Wine Popsicles
The classiest poptail yet.
Fourth of July Cocktail Popsicles
Red, white and blue…and boozy, too.
Grilled Mango Smash
A grilled, frozen poptail.
Homemade Ice Cream Cake
Who needs Carvel when you’ve got ES?
Ice Pops: Strawberry Banana and Thin Mint
See a trend here?
Limoncello and Raspberry Whiskey Sour Popsicles
We know, it’s a mouthful. But trust us, it’s a good mouthful.
Lychee Sakitini Popsicles
Running out of poptail taglines…just try it
Mango Maui Mai Tai Popsicles
A Trader Vic’s Classic gets a frozen makeover
Melon Berry Diablo Popsicles
Still mixing it up with that ginger beer.
Mixed Berry Gimlet Popsicles
It just sounds cool to say gimlet, doesn’t it?
Olive Oil Ice Cream
Yep, it actually works.
Peach and Basil Marscapone Ice Cream
All of late summer, in a bowl.
Peach Leaf Ice Cream
Hippest new ingredient award.
Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream Truffles
Bite-size slices of heaven, with a pretzel handle.
Pink Peppercorn, White Chocolate and Blueberry Ice Cream
A red, white and blue dessert for the 4th…or any patriotic ice cream occasion.
Rose Petal Ice Cream
Ice cream infused with rose water, and yes—real roses.
Sex on the Beach Pomegranate Popsicles
A reason to stock up on pomegranate liqueur.
Strawberry Short Cupcakes
Every dessert is better when bite-sized.
Strawberry Snickerdoodles
Cinnamon, sugar and strawberries become surprise soul mates.
The Peach Shit
Creating your own crumble is the least of your worries.
Toasted Brown Rice Ice Cream
Injecting some toasty, savory flavor into your ice cream.
Watermelon Blackberry Margarita Popsicles
The sweetest use of tequila yet.
Watermelon Mojito Popsicles
We’re messing with the beloved Mojito by freezing it
White and Black Russian Popsicles
The dude would most definitely abide
White Sangria Popsicles
Finally, a good use for pinot.
DRINKS
Avocado Margarita
An, Avo-Rita, if you will.
Balsamic Tequila Sipper
Sweet, savory and tequila-y
Beer and Cider Cocktail
Beer — good. Cider — good. Beer cider — very good.
Blackberry, Peach and Banana Smoothie
Just throw it in the blender. Done and done.
Breaking the Law
A summer cocktail so crazy it should probably be illegal.
Cherry Berry Cooler
We show you how to make McDonald’s best drink, at home.
Dark IPA Summer Shandy
Like beer? Like lemonade? You know where we’re going with this…
Dutch Root Beer Float
The only thing better than a root beer float is a root beer float with vodka.
Jalapeno Cucumber Margarita
You should always add some heat to your marg.
Mango Coconut Mojito
The one time we’re willing to go “skinny.”
Manmosa
Beers are the new “it” mixer for cocktails.
Moscow Mule
We told you beers are the new “it” mixer for cocktails.
Panamanian Soother
Blueberries, meet rum.
Prohibition Lemonade
This one’s not for the kiddies.
Spiked Basil Lemonade
On the same theme — adding some herb to the boozy lemonade.
The Tranquilo
The best things about summer, all in one glass.
Vanilla Bourbon Shake
Has anyone ever argued with ice cream plus booze?
Waquila
Watermelon + tequila = we win summer.