Why This Recipe Works When you’re assembling a casual summer meal to eat outdoors, mixing up a fresh tomato salsa is often a good idea. Beyond making an easy accompaniment for chips, the quintessential summer condiment adds a burst of bold summer flavor when dolloped on chicken, fish, steak, tacos, sandwiches, bruschetta, or even salad. Fresh salsa should be chunky and brightly flavored, but even at peak tomato season many versions are soggy and bland. We solved the problem of watery salsa by draining diced tomatoes (skin, seeds, and all) in a colander. For authentic flavors that would support but not overpower the tomatoes, we added red onions (preferred over other varieties), moderately spicy jalapeño chiles, and lime juice, seasoning to taste with both salt and sugar plus more lime juice to achieve balanced flavor.
1½ pounds tomatoes, cored and cut into ½-inch pieces
½ cup finely chopped red onion
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 large jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeds reserved, and minced
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons lime juice, plus extra for seasoning
Sugar
Place tomatoes in colander and let drain for 30 minutes. As tomatoes drain, layer onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and garlic on top. Shake colander to drain excess juice, then transfer vegetables to serving bowl. Stir in lime juice. Add reserved jalapeño seeds to increase heat as desired. Season with salt, pepper, sugar, and extra lime juice to taste before serving.
One-Minute Tomato and Black Bean Salsa
Serves 12 (Makes about 3 cups)FASTNO COOKMAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works A simple salsa is the perfect quick snack for a summer day, and the variety of store-bought salsas seems endless. But many fail to deliver on flavor, so we set out to create a superior salsa that required little more time and effort than opening a jar. For the fastest route to bright flavor, we eschewed fresh tomatoes in favor of canned diced tomatoes. Jarred jalapeños were a tangy, piquant, and convenient flavor booster. With a few pantry-friendly ingredients—red onion, cilantro, lime juice, garlic, chili powder, and salt—we rounded out and enhanced the flavor of the tomatoes. For a thick, chunky consistency, we pulsed the ingredients in the food processor, and we strained the mixture to avoid a soupy salsa. Black beans, another convenient canned item, beefed up the flavor and texture of this hearty dip.
½ small red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
¼ cup jarred sliced jalapeños
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon table salt
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup canned black beans, drained
Pulse onion, cilantro, jalapeños, lime juice, garlic, chili powder, and salt in food processor until coarsely chopped, about 5 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add tomatoes and pulse until combined, about 3 pulses. Drain salsa briefly in fine-mesh strainer, then transfer to bowl. Stir in black beans and season with salt and pepper to taste. (Salsa can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
Guacamole
Serves 8 (Makes about 2 cups)FASTNO COOKMAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works For a fast and easy dip that’s perfect for a patio party or park picnic, you can’t beat a bowl (or two) of guacamole. Store-bought containers of guacamole often lack any real flavor and are disconcertingly smooth, but our simple, sophisticated guac is all about bold flavor and great texture. First, we chopped the avocados into small pieces. Next, we minced onion, chile, and lime zest together to ensure that these strong flavors would be evenly distributed. We liked the textural contrast and fresh flavor that onion and tomato brought to our guacamole. Mashing everything together with a whisk and then gently folding in the tomato and cilantro made the guac cohesive but still chunky. Serve with tortilla chips.
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 serrano chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine
¼ teaspoon grated lime zest plus 1½ tablespoons juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 ripe avocados, halved, pitted, and cut into ½-inch pieces
1 plum tomato, cored, seeded, and minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Chop and mash onion, chile, and lime zest with salt until very finely minced and homogeneous. Transfer to medium serving bowl and stir in lime juice. Add avocados and, using sturdy whisk, mash and stir mixture until well combined with some ¼- to ½-inch pieces remaining. Fold in tomato and cilantro and season with salt to taste. Serve. (Guacamole can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours with plastic wrap pressed directly against its surface. To serve, bring to room temperature and season with lime juice and salt to taste.)
VARIATIONS
Habanero and Mango Guacamole
Substitute 1 stemmed, seeded, and minced habanero chile for serrano and ½ mango, peeled and cut into ¼-inch pieces, for tomato.
Feta and Arugula Guacamole
Substitute ½ cup chopped baby arugula for tomato. Add 1 cup crumbled feta cheese with cilantro.
Farmers’ Market Find Tomatoes
A ripe tomato is synonymous with summer, but beyond buying in season (or growing your own), what’s the best way to ensure you get the juiciest, most flavorful fruit? Buy a locally grown one from a small farmer. The shorter the distance the tomato has to travel, the riper it can be when picked. Small-farm tomatoes are less likely to have been bred for sturdiness rather than flavor, or put under strain to produce high yields that can result in fruit lacking in sugars and flavor compounds. At farmers’ markets, you will see plenty of oddly shaped tomatoes, which are completely fine. Even cracked skin, which you see often on heirloom varieties, is OK. Avoid tomatoes that are bruised, overly soft, or leaking juice. Choose tomatoes that smell fruity and feel heavy for their size. Store ripe tomatoes in the fridge.
Tomatoes are most abundant at the peak of summer, but depending on the variety, they may be at the market earlier or later in the season. How the tomato is grown can also impact the seasonality: field-ripened tomatoes are often only available in the height of summer, but hothouse tomatoes (grown in greenhouses) will sometimes appear before other varieties or stay available for longer.
HEIRLOOM VERSUS HYBRID
Heirloom This term gets bandied about, but any variety not associated with large-scale commercial production may be labeled as heirloom. Most have been grown for decades from naturally pollinated plants and seeds that haven’t been hybridized for productivity. There are hundreds of varieties of heirloom tomatoes in every shade from deep purple to pale yellow or green, and their names are as unique as they are. Some you might see at the market include Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Marvel Striped, Ivory Pear, and San Marzano (an heirloom variety of plum tomato).
Hybrid A hybrid tomato is a cross between different varieties, carefully bred for beneficial qualities such as disease resistance, even shape, and uniform size. When properly grown, hybrids can be just as sweet and juicy as heirlooms at half the price. Some kinds available at farmers’ markets are Early Girl, Sun Gold, Roma, and Juliet.
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Serves 8 (Makes about 2 cups)MAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works A counterpart to bold tomato salsa, tangy salsa verde (green salsa) highlights the bright, citrusy notes of tomatillos, which are also abundant in the summer months. While some green salsas use raw tomatillos, most call for cooking them by either boiling or roasting. Cooking softens the fruit, which can be quite firm, and mellows its bracing acidity. We found that charring half of the tomatillos under the broiler and leaving the other half raw produced a salsa with clean, fresh flavor and subtle smoky nuances. We combined the tomatillos with traditional salsa seasonings (jalapeño, onion, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and salt) in a food processor and pulsed them to a chunky consistency. Serve with tortilla chips or dollop on steaks, chicken, or fish.
1 pound tomatillos, husks and stems removed, rinsed well and dried, divided
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 small white onion, chopped
1 jalapeño chile, stemmed, halved, and seeded
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sugar
1. Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Toss half of tomatillos with vegetable oil and transfer to prepared sheet. Broil until tomatillos are spotty brown and skins begin to burst, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer tomatillos to food processor and let cool completely.
2. Halve remaining tomatillos and add to food processor with broiled tomatillos. Add onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, garlic, and salt. Pulse until slightly chunky, 16 to 18 pulses. Transfer salsa to serving bowl, cover, and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Stir in olive oil and season with salt and sugar to taste before serving. (Salsa can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
Why This Recipe Works Corn’s natural sweetness makes it an exemplary foil for salsa’s signature spicy chiles and tart citrus juice. The key was how to handle the corn. Grilled corn was impractical and raw corn was too chewy. We found that if we added the kernels to boiling water and then let them sit off the heat for 10 minutes they acquired just the right texture, becoming juicy and crisp. A little baking soda added to the water softened their hulls so that the kernels burst with sweetness. For the other ingredients, fruits that were sweet but with a hint of acidity (like tomato, pineapple, and peach) worked well. An avocado variation made a nice change of pace. Herbs and chiles were essential additions, as was finely minced shallot. We whisked a tablespoon of vegetable oil and a tiny bit of honey into lime juice for a tangy dressing with enough body to cling to the vegetables. Do not substitute frozen corn for fresh. Serve with tortillas or dollop on steaks, chicken, or fish.
2 ears corn, kernels cut from cobs (about 2 cups)
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon plus ⅛ teaspoon table salt, divided
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
½ teaspoon honey
1 tomato, cored, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1 shallot, minced
1 jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1. Bring 2 cups water to boil in small saucepan over high heat. Stir in corn, baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon salt, then let sit off heat for 10 minutes. Drain corn and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
2. Whisk lime juice, oil, honey, and remaining ⅛ teaspoon salt together in bowl. Add drained corn, tomato, shallot, jalapeño, and cilantro and toss to combine. Let sit for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
VARIATIONS
Fresh Corn Salsa with Avocado and Toasted Cumin
Add ½ teaspoon toasted cumin seeds and ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper to lime juice mixture in step 2. Substitute 1 avocado, cut into ¼-inch pieces, and 3 thinly sliced scallions for tomato.
Fresh Corn Salsa with Jícama and Pineapple
Substitute ¾ cup ¼-inch pieces pineapple and ½ cup ¼-inch pieces jícama for tomato. Substitute 1 minced serrano chile for jalapeño.
Fresh Corn Salsa with Peaches and Radishes
Substitute 1 peeled and pitted peach, cut into ¼-inch pieces, and 4 thinly sliced radishes for tomato. Substitute 1 minced habanero chile for jalapeño, and basil for cilantro.
Serves 8 (Makes about 1½ cups)FASTNO COOKMAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works A quick, simple spinach dip works equally as well with chips for a casual snack as it does with crudité for an upscale picnic appetizer. But spinach dips made with sour cream and soup mixes are flat, overly salty, and stale-tasting, so we decided to ditch the mix and create a rich, thick, and creamy spinach dip brimming with big, bold flavors. We were surprised to discover that frozen spinach actually made a better-tasting dip with a vibrant, more intense flavor than one made with fresh spinach. Instead of thawing the spinach completely, we only partially thawed it, allowing the chunks of icy spinach to thoroughly cool the dip. We used a food processor to chop the spinach and then enriched it with sour cream, mayonnaise, and a mixture of fresh herbs and seasonings. The garlic must be minced before going into the food processor; otherwise, the dip will contain large chunks of garlic.
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
½ cup sour cream
½ cup mayonnaise
3 scallions, white parts only, sliced thin
½ cup fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
1 small garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon hot sauce
½ red bell pepper, chopped fine
Process spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise, scallions, parsley, dill, garlic, salt, pepper, and hot sauce in food processor until smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to serving bowl and stir in bell pepper; serve. (Dip can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
Why This Recipe Works The ubiquitous backyard barbecue and block party favorite packs a punch (both visual and flavorful) with its distinctive layers of Southwestern-inspired ingredients. But too often, the dip relies heavily on canned and processed ingredients and inevitably turns out messy and bland. We wanted to up the ante on this party classic. Rather than canned refried beans, we opted for a fresher layer made with canned black beans mashed with garlic, chili powder, and lime juice. To prevent the sour cream layer from becoming runny, we combined it with a generous amount of pepper Jack cheese. Homemade guacamole far surpassed store-bought. Tasters rejected store-bought salsa as well, so we made a quick, fresh pico de gallo with chopped tomatoes, jalapeños, cilantro, scallions, and lime juice. A layer of sliced scallions added bite and color. Our six layers were so packed with flavor, we decided to eliminate the usual canned black olives, finding their metallic flavor distracting. This recipe is usually served in a clear dish so you can see the layers. For a crowd, double the recipe and serve in a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish. If you don’t have time to make fresh guacamole as called for, simply mash three avocados with 3 tablespoons lime juice and ½ teaspoon table salt. Serve with tortilla chips.
4 large tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped fine
6 scallions (2 minced; 4, green parts only, sliced thin), divided
2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons lime juice (2 limes), divided
¼ teaspoon table salt, divided
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained but not rinsed
2 garlic cloves, minced
¾ teaspoon chili powder
1 pound pepper Jack cheese, shredded (4 cups), divided
1. Combine tomatoes, minced scallions, jalapeños, cilantro, 2 tablespoons lime juice, and ⅛ teaspoon salt in bowl. Let sit until tomatoes begin to soften, about 30 minutes. Drain mixture, discard liquid, and return to bowl.
2. Meanwhile, pulse beans, garlic, chili powder, remaining 2 teaspoons lime juice, and remaining ⅛ teaspoon salt in food processor to coarse paste, about 15 pulses. Spread bean mixture evenly into 8-inch square baking dish or 1-quart glass bowl.
3. Pulse 2½ cups pepper Jack and sour cream in food processor until smooth, about 15 pulses. Spread sour cream mixture evenly over bean layer. Top evenly with remaining 1½ cups pepper Jack, followed by guacamole and, finally, drained tomato mixture. (Dip can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours; bring to room temperature before serving.) Sprinkle with sliced scallion greens before serving.
Pimento Cheese Spread
Serves 8 (Makes about 2½ cups)FASTNO COOKMAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works A popular Southern spread, this deconstructed cheese ball would be right at home served at a barbecue or picnic to slather on crackers, raw vegetables, sandwiches, or even burgers. Drained jarred pimentos give the cheesy spread its name and trademark color. You can buy it premade, but homemade spreads are infinitely better and take just about 10 minutes. Most recipes use a combination of extra-sharp cheddar cheese and a milder cheddar or Monterey Jack, but we found that batches made with all extra-sharp cheese tasted more complex and satisfying. To give our spread a well-rounded flavor and a little kick, we also added some Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, and a dash or two of hot sauce. Finally, we mixed in just enough mayonnaise to bind everything together. Both white and orange extra-sharp cheddar work well here. Don’t substitute store-bought preshredded cheese; it doesn’t blend well and produces a dry spread. If you can’t find jarred pimentos, an equal amount of roasted red peppers may be substituted. In order for this spread to be gluten-free, you must use gluten-free Worcestershire sauce.
Process pimentos, mayonnaise, garlic, Worcestershire, and hot sauce in food processor until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add cheddar and pulse until uniformly blended, with fine bits of cheese throughout, about 20 pulses. Season with salt, pepper, and extra hot sauce to taste, and serve. (Spread can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks; bring to room temperature before serving.)
Turkey Picnic Sandwich with Sun-Dried Tomato Spread
Serves 4MAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works Here’s the perfect sandwich for a picnic in the park, a hike in the hills, or a day at the beach. Featuring layers of meat, cheese, and veggies pressed within a rectangular loaf of bread, it can be made a day in advance and survives jostling without falling apart. To design it, we needed the right bread and found that using a whole loaf produced a sturdier sandwich than slices of bread did (plus, a huge sandwich is fun!). But store-bought loaves proved either too soft, too tough, or simply too stale, so we opted for a (semi) homemade loaf using store-bought pizza dough, which baked up soft, pleasantly chewy, and fresh. To get some mileage out of our bread, we came up with three meat-cheese-vegetable combos, each paired with a supersavory spread that we whizzed in the food processor and that glued the sandwich together without turning it soggy. Pressing the sandwich fused the layers, making it sturdy enough for travel and easier to bite through. Letting the pizza dough sit at room temperature for 1 hour makes it easier to shape. If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can use a baking sheet or skillet loaded with hefty canned goods to press the sandwich.
Sandwich
1 pound store-bought pizza dough
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces sliced Muenster cheese
8 ounces thinly sliced deli turkey
½ cup fresh parsley leaves
1¼ cups jarred roasted red peppers, drained and patted dry
Spread
¾ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and patted dry
¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted
¼ cup capers, rinsed
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1. For the sandwich Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and grease parchment. Place dough on prepared sheet. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Keeping dough on sheet, use your hands to shape dough into rough 7-inch square (edges may be rounded; this is OK). Brush top of dough with oil. Bake until light golden brown, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely on sheet, about 1 hour.
3. For the spread Meanwhile, process tomatoes, almonds, capers, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper flakes in food processor until finely chopped, about 20 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Transfer to bowl and stir in oil.
4. Slice bread in half horizontally. Spread tomato mixture on cut sides of bread, about ½ cup per piece (use all of it). Layer Muenster, turkey, parsley, and red peppers on bread bottom. Cap with bread top and wrap sandwich tightly in double layer of plastic.
5. Place Dutch oven on top of sandwich and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. (Pressed sandwich can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Let come to room temperature before serving.) Unwrap sandwich, cut into quarters, and serve. (Sandwich can be kept unrefrigerated for up to 2 hours.)
VARIATIONS
Capicola Picnic Sandwich with Artichoke Spread
Substitute provolone for Muenster, hot capicola for turkey, and 1 thinly sliced small fennel bulb for roasted red peppers. For spread, substitute 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and patted dry, for sun-dried tomatoes; ¼ cup chopped jarred hot cherry peppers for almonds; and 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme for capers.
Ham Picnic Sandwich with Olive Spread
Substitute mozzarella for Muenster, Black Forest ham for turkey, and 1 cup shredded carrots for red peppers. For spread, substitute pitted kalamata olives for sun-dried tomatoes and ½ cup fresh parsley leaves for almonds.
Spice-Rubbed Picnic Chicken
Serves 8MAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works We wanted a recipe for chicken that would be easy to pack (and eat) for a picnic; chicken that was moist, tender, and well seasoned even when served cold, with spicy and slightly sweet barbecue flavors. Cold barbecued chicken presents numerous challenges: The meat may be dry, the skin flabby, and the chicken covered with a sticky, messy sauce. We first threw out the idea of a sticky sauce, substituting a robust dry rub (brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper) that reproduced barbecue flavor. We partly solved the flabby skin problem by diligently trimming the chicken pieces as well as by slitting the skin before cooking, which allowed the excess fat to render. But our biggest discovery came when we opted to salt the chicken instead of brine it; by adding salt to the rub and refrigerating the chicken pieces overnight, we allowed both the salt and the spices to penetrate the meat for even deeper flavor. Sure enough, when we oven-roasted the chicken the next day, we found the meat to be well seasoned throughout and very moist. If you plan to serve the chicken later on the same day that you cook it, refrigerate it immediately after it has cooled and let it come back to room temperature before serving. On the breast pieces, we use toothpicks to secure the skin, which otherwise shrinks considerably in the oven, leaving the meat exposed and prone to drying out. We think the extra effort is justified, but you can omit this step. For spicier chicken, use the greater amount of cayenne. This recipe halves easily.
1. Make 2 or 3 short slashes in skin of each piece of chicken with sharp knife, taking care not to cut into meat. Combine sugar, chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, and cayenne in small bowl and mix thoroughly. Coat chicken pieces with spices, gently lifting skin to distribute spice rub underneath but leaving attached to chicken. Transfer chicken, skin side up, to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet, lightly tent with foil, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.
2. If desired, secure skin of each breast piece with 2 or 3 toothpicks placed near edges of skin.
3. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Roast chicken until smallest piece registers 140 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees and continue roasting until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs/drumsticks register 175 degrees, 5 to 13 minutes, removing pieces from oven and transferring them to clean wire rack as they finish cooking. Let cool completely before refrigerating or serving. (Chicken can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
Why This Recipe Works Fried chicken is a picnic staple but often involves making do with a soggy crust and bland meat. To achieve well-seasoned fried chicken that stayed crunchy when cold, we pulled out every trick in the book. A combination of Wondra flour and cornstarch made for a coating that kept its crunch even when the chicken was cold, and dredging the chicken twice, with a water dip in between, created a thick, craggy crust (dipping in beaten egg softened the coating too much, so we left it out and stuck with water). Double-frying the chicken permitted extra moisture to evaporate from the skin, and chilling it uncovered guarded against sogginess. Finally, since cold dulls flavors, brining and extra seasoning were in order. This recipe may not be fast, but it can be made a day ahead. Come picnic time, the chicken will still be moist and crunchy. Use a Dutch oven that holds 6 quarts or more.
1. Dissolve ¼ cup salt in 1 quart cold water in large container. Submerge chicken in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Whisk flour and cornstarch together in large bowl. Transfer 1 cup flour mixture to shallow dish; set aside. Whisk pepper, white pepper, baking powder, thyme, sage, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne into remaining flour mixture. Add ¼ cup water to seasoned flour mixture. Rub flour and water together with your fingers until water is evenly incorporated and mixture contains craggy bits of dough. Pour 2 cups cold water into medium bowl.
3. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Working with 2 pieces of chicken at a time, remove chicken from brine and dip in unseasoned flour mixture, pressing to adhere; dunk quickly in water, letting excess drip off; and dredge in seasoned flour mixture, pressing to adhere. Place chicken on prepared wire rack and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
4. Add oil to large Dutch oven until it measures about 2 inches deep and heat over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. Fry half of chicken until slightly golden and just beginning to crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Adjust burner, if necessary, to maintain oil temperature between 300 and 325 degrees. (Chicken will not be cooked through at this point.) Return parcooked chicken to wire rack. Return oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining raw chicken. Let each batch of chicken rest for 5 to 7 minutes.
5. Return oil to 350 degrees. Return first batch of chicken to oil and fry until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs/drumsticks register 175 degrees, 5 to 7 minutes. Adjust burner, if necessary, to maintain oil temperature between 300 and 325 degrees. Transfer chicken to clean wire rack. Return oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining chicken. Let chicken cool to room temperature, transfer to paper towel–lined plate, and refrigerate uncovered until ready to eat, up to 24 hours in advance. Serve cold or let chicken come to room temperature.
Why This Recipe Works Green goddess dressing, made with lots of fresh herbs, is often a creamy, tangy complement to sweet butter lettuce. But it makes a great counterpoint to chicken, too. When slathered on bone-in parts, it produces roast chicken with immense summertime flavor, perfect for an easy weeknight dinner served outside. Instead of a dressing, we blended a green goddess–inspired marinade, swapping mayonnaise for tangy buttermilk and adding fresh chives, parsley, and tarragon plus lemon juice, garlic, and anchovy fillets. We marinated the chicken in a portion of this mixture so it could drink up the herby flavor and become tangy and deeply seasoned. While the chicken roasted, we whisked some of the reserved herb mixture with mayonnaise and a splash more buttermilk to make a rich, vibrant sauce. Chop the herbs and garlic just enough to measure them, and then let the blender do the bulk of the work.
½ cup chopped fresh chives
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk, divided
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 anchovy fillets, rinsed
¼ cup mayonnaise
1½ teaspoons table salt
3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (2 split breasts cut in half crosswise, 2 drumsticks, and 2 thighs), trimmed
1. Process chives, parsley, ¼ cup buttermilk, lemon juice, tarragon, garlic, and anchovies in blender until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of blender jar as needed.
2. Transfer 2 tablespoons herb mixture to bowl, add mayonnaise and remaining 1 tablespoon buttermilk, and stir to combine. Cover and set aside until ready to serve.
3. Combine salt and remaining herb mixture in 1-gallon zipper-lock bag. Add chicken to bag, press out air, seal bag, and turn to coat chicken in marinade. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
4. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place chicken, skin side up, on prepared sheet (do not brush off marinade that sticks to chicken). Make sure skin is not bunched up on chicken. Roast until breasts register 160 degrees and drumsticks/thighs register 175 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes.
5. Transfer chicken to platter, tent with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes. Serve chicken with sauce.
Slow Roast Beef with Horseradish–Sour Cream Sauce
Serves 6 to 8MAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works Roast beef might seem more fit for the dining room than the patio, but a platter of sliced beef dressed with a simple sauce is a fantastic dish for a dinner party al fresco. Better yet, it can be made ahead and served cold as a refreshing option for a hot summer’s day. Use the leftovers for sandwiches. The test kitchen’s low and slow method means you needn’t buy a pricey roast. We achieved remarkably tender and juicy meat with a cut that starts out relatively tough—a boneless eye-round—by roasting the meat elevated on a wire rack at a very low 225 degrees and then turning off the oven toward the end of cooking. This allowed time for the meat’s enzymes to act as natural tenderizers, breaking down the tough connective tissue. Searing the meat before roasting, as well as salting it up to a day ahead, vastly improved its flavor. If the roast has not reached the desired temperature in the time specified in step 4, reheat the oven to 225 degrees for 5 minutes, then shut it off and continue to cook the roast to the desired temperature. We don’t recommend cooking this roast past medium. This recipe requires refrigerating the salted beef for at least 18 hours or up to 24 hours before cooking (a longer time is preferable). Buy refrigerated prepared horseradish, not the shelf-stable kind, which contains preservatives and additives.
Horseradish–Sour Cream Sauce
½ cup sour cream
½ cup prepared horseradish, drained
¾ teaspoon table salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
Beef
1 (3½- to 4½-pound) boneless eye-round roast, trimmed
4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
2 teaspoons pepper
1. For the horseradish-sour cream sauce Whisk all ingredients together in bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
2. For the beef Rub roast thoroughly with salt, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours.
3. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 225 degrees. Pat roast dry with paper towels, rub with 2 teaspoons oil, and sprinkle with pepper.
4. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown roast well on all sides, 12 to 16 minutes; reduce heat if pan begins to scorch. Transfer roast to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and roast until meat registers 115 degrees (for medium-rare), 1¼ to 1¾ hours.
5. Turn oven off and leave roast in oven, without opening door, until meat registers 130 degrees (for medium-rare) or 140 degrees (for medium), 30 to 50 minutes.
6. Transfer roast to carving board and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes. (Fully cooled roast can also be refrigerated for up to 2 days.) Slice meat crosswise as thin as possible and serve with sauce.
Why This Recipe Works Tender ribs with a stick-to-your-fingers sauce are perfect for outdoor eating, but they’re not exactly last-minute cooking; good ribs take time to achieve their uniquely complex character from the slow mingling of flavors in meat, sauce, and smoke. So rather then tending to a grill or smoker all day, we decided to bring the process indoors and create a more convenient version we could make ahead and bring to a picnic or potluck or enjoy at home. We found that we could achieve great flavor and fall-off-the-bone tenderness by first rubbing the ribs in a mixture of salt, pepper, brown sugar, smoked paprika, and a bit of cayenne and then slow-roasting them in a moderate oven for about 5 hours. During the first 2 hours in the oven we simply roasted the ribs to allow the spice rub to cook into the meat, and during the final stint in the oven, we built up layers of “bark” by painting the ribs with barbecue sauce. We tried different styles of sauce and found we got the most authentic barbecue flavor when we incorporated espresso powder, mustard, and liquid smoke into the traditional base of vinegar, ketchup, and molasses. Look for liquid smoke that contains no salt or additional flavorings. Serve with Skillet Cornbread (this page).
Barbecue Sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1½ cups chicken broth
¾ cup cider vinegar
¾ cup dark corn syrup
¾ cup ketchup
½ cup molasses
2 tablespoons brown mustard
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
½ teaspoon liquid smoke
Ribs
3 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon table salt
1 teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 (2½ to 3-pound) racks St. Louis-style spareribs, trimmed, membrane removed
1. For the barbecue sauce Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in paprika and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in broth, vinegar, corn syrup, ketchup, molasses, mustard, hot sauce, and espresso powder and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to 2 cups, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Off heat, stir in liquid smoke and season with salt and pepper to taste. Measure out ½ cup sauce and set aside for serving. (Sauce can be refrigerated up to 1 week, bring to room temperature before serving.)
2. For the ribs Combine paprika, sugar, salt, pepper, and cayenne in bowl. Pat ribs dry with paper towels. Rub evenly with spice mixture, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (Ribs can be refrigerated up to 24 hours.)
3. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Set wire rack in aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet. Place ribs, meat side up, on prepared sheet and bake for 2 hours.
4. Remove ribs from oven and brush top of each rack with ¼ cup barbecue sauce. Return ribs to oven and bake until tender and fork inserted into meat meets no resistance, 2½ to 3 hours longer, brushing with additional barbecue sauce every hour. (Ribs can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; to reheat, place ribs on wire rack set in foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then cover ribs with foil and reheat in 400-degree oven for 15 minutes, uncover, and continue to cook until edges of meat begin to sizzle, 5 to 10 minutes)
5. Remove ribs from oven, tent with foil, and let rest for 20 minutes. Slice meat between bones to separate ribs. Serve warm or at room temperature along with reserved sauce.
Skillet Cornbread
Serves 12
If you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute clabbered milk; whisk 2 tablespoons lemon juice into 2 cups of milk and let the mixture sit until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. We prefer a cast-iron skillet here, but any ovensafe 10-inch skillet will work fine. Avoid coarsely ground cornmeal, as it will make the cornbread gritty.
2¼ cups (11¼ ounces) cornmeal
2 cups buttermilk
¼ cup vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon table salt
1. Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat 10-inch cast-iron skillet on upper rack for 10 minutes. Spread cornmeal over rimmed baking sheet and bake on lower rack until fragrant and color begins to deepen, about 5 minutes. Transfer hot cornmeal to large bowl and whisk in buttermilk; set aside.
2. Carefully add oil to hot skillet and continue to heat until oil is just smoking, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from oven and add butter, carefully swirling pan until butter is melted. Pour all but 1 tablespoon oil mixture into cornmeal mixture, leaving remaining oil mixture in pan. Whisk eggs, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into cornmeal mixture.
3. Pour cornmeal mixture into hot skillet and bake until top begins to crack and sides are golden brown, 12 to 16 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cornbread cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack. Serve.
Why This Recipe Works As with the roast beef on this page, a platter of aromatic, well-seasoned leg of lamb is delicious whether served warm or cold. And it pairs well with a variety of summery vegetable and grain dishes, such as Simple Tomato Salad (this page), Marinated Eggplant with Capers and Mint (this page), or Bulgur Salad with Chickpeas, Spinach, and Za’atar (this page). To keep the process easy, we skipped the usual rolling and tying and roasted the butterflied leg pounded flat, which allowed more thorough seasoning, a great ratio of crust to meat, and faster, more even cooking. Roasting the lamb in a 250-degree oven kept the meat juicy; a final blast under the broiler was all it took to crisp and brown the exterior. We ditched the usual spice rub (which can scorch under the broiler) in favor of a slow-cooked spice-infused oil that seasoned the lamb during cooking. We prefer the subtler flavor of lamb labeled “domestic” or “American” for this recipe. We prefer this lamb cooked to medium-rare, but if you prefer it more or less done, see our guidelines on this page.
Lemon-Yogurt Sauce
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons juice
1 garlic clove, minced
Lamb
1 (3½- to 4-pound) butterflied leg of lamb
1 tablespoon kosher salt
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 shallots, sliced thin
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled, sliced into ½-inch-thick rounds, and smashed
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
3 bay leaves
2 (2-inch) strips lemon zest
1. For the lemon-yogurt sauce Whisk all ingredients in bowl until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let sit until flavors meld, about 30 minutes. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
2. For the lamb Place lamb on cutting board with fat cap facing down. Using sharp knife, trim any pockets of fat and connective tissue from underside of lamb. Flip lamb over, trim fat cap to between ⅛ and ¼ inch thick, and pound roast to even 1-inch thickness. Cut slits, spaced ½ inch apart, in fat cap in crosshatch pattern, being careful to cut down to but not into meat. Rub salt over entire roast and into slits. Let sit, uncovered, at room temperature for 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and second rack 4 to 5 inches from broiler element and heat oven to 250 degrees. Stir together oil, shallots, garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, bay leaves, and lemon zest in rimmed baking sheet and bake on lower rack until spices are softened and fragrant and shallots and garlic turn golden, about 1 hour. Remove sheet from oven and discard bay leaves.
4. Pat lamb dry with paper towels and transfer fat side up to sheet (directly on top of spices). Roast on lower rack until lamb registers 120 degrees, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and heat broiler. Broil lamb on upper rack until surface is well browned and charred in spots and lamb registers 125 degrees (for medium-rare), 3 to 8 minutes.
5. Remove sheet from oven and transfer lamb to carving board (some spices will cling to bottom of roast). Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes. (Fully cooled lamb can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
6. Slice lamb with grain into 3 equal pieces. Turn each piece and slice against grain into ¼-inch-thick slices. Serve.
Why This Recipe Works A whole poached side of salmon might be the ideal centerpiece for a summer gathering. Made ahead, stored in the fridge, and served cold, it is both elegant and unfussy—at least when you use this method, which uses no special equipment and ensures perfectly cooked fish. To accomplish this, we got rid of the water and steamed the salmon in its own moisture. We wrapped the seasoned fish in heavy-duty aluminum foil and placed it directly on the oven rack, which offered more even cooking than using a baking sheet. Cooking the salmon slowly in a very low oven gave the best results—moist, rich fish. If serving a big crowd, you can oven-poach two individually wrapped sides of salmon in the same oven (on the upper-middle and lower-middle racks) without altering the cooking time. As a final flourish to this dish, consider topping the salmon with a bright, fresh salsa (see this page). White wine vinegar can be substituted for the cider vinegar.
1 (4-pound) skin-on side of salmon, pin bones removed
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
6 sprigs fresh tarragon or dill, plus 2 tablespoons minced
2 lemons, sliced thin, plus lemon wedges for serving
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Cut 3 pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil to be 1 foot longer than side of salmon. Working with 2 pieces of foil, fold up 1 long side of each by 3 inches. Lay sheets side by side with folded sides touching, fold edges together to create secure seam, and press seam flat. Center third sheet of foil over seam. Spray foil with vegetable oil spray.
2. Pat salmon dry with paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Lay salmon, skin side down, in center of foil. Sprinkle with vinegar, then top with tarragon sprigs and lemon slices. Fold foil up over salmon to create seam on top and gently fold foil edges together to secure; do not crimp too tightly.
3. Lay foil-wrapped salmon directly on oven rack (without baking sheet). Cook until color of salmon has turned from pink to orange and thickest part registers 135 to 140 degrees, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
4. Remove salmon from oven and open foil. Let salmon cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Pour off any accumulated liquid, then reseal salmon in foil and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
5. To serve, unwrap salmon and brush away lemon slices, tarragon sprigs, and any solidified poaching liquid. Transfer fish to serving platter, sprinkle with minced tarragon, and serve with lemon wedges.
Why This Recipe Works If you have seafood crackers, melted butter, and lots of napkins, a lobster boil is an instant summer party. But cooking lobster can be a daunting process: How do you deal with that thrashing tail, and how do you know it’s done? We sedated our lobsters by placing them in the freezer for 30 minutes. To determine doneness (who wants a chewy lobster?), we poked a thermometer in the underside of the meaty tail. To cook four lobsters at once, you will need a pot with a capacity of at least 3 gallons. If your pot is smaller, boil the lobsters in batches. Start timing the lobsters from the moment they go into the pot. Serve with melted butter and lemon wedges or chill the meat for New England Lobster Rolls (this page) and salads.
4 (1¼-pound) live lobsters
⅓ cup table salt
1. Place lobsters in large bowl and freeze for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, bring 2 gallons water to boil in large pot over high heat.
2. Add lobsters and salt to pot, arranging with tongs so that all lobsters are submerged. Cover pot, leaving lid slightly ajar, and adjust heat to maintain gentle boil. Cook for 8 minutes, then, holding lobster with tongs, insert thermometer through underside of tail into thickest part; meat should register 140 degrees. If necessary, return lobster to pot for 2 minutes, until tail registers 140 degrees.
3. Serve immediately or transfer lobsters to rimmed baking sheet and set aside until cool enough to remove meat, about 10 minutes. (Lobster meat can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 24 hours.)
COOKING LOBSTER
Add lobsters and salt to pot, arranging with tongs so that all lobsters are submerged. Cook with lid slightly ajar at gentle boil for 8 minutes.
REMOVING LOBSTER MEAT FROM THE SHELL
1. Once cooked lobster is cool enough to handle, set it on cutting board. Grasp tail with your hand and grab body with your other hand and twist to separate.
2. Lay tail on its side on counter and use both your hands to press down on tail until shell cracks.
3. Hold tail, flippers facing you and shell facing down. Pull sides back to open shell and remove meat. Rinse meat under water to remove green tomalley; pat dry with paper towels and remove dark vein.
4. Twist “arms” to remove claws and attached “knuckles”. Twist to remove from claw. Break knuckles at joint using back of chef’s knife or lobster-cracking tool. Use handle of teaspoon to push out meat.
5. Wiggle hinged portion of each claw to separate. If meat is stuck inside small part, remove with skewer. Break open claws, cracking 1 side and then flipping to crack other side, and remove meat.
6. Twist legs to remove. Lay flat on counter. Using rolling pin, roll toward open end, pushing out meat. Stop rolling before reaching end of legs; otherwise leg can crack and release pieces of shell.
Indoor Clambake
Serves 4 to 6
Why This Recipe Works A clambake is the ultimate summer seafood meal: clams, mussels, and lobster, nestled with sausage, corn, and potatoes, all steamed together with hot stones in a sand pit by the sea. A genuine clambake is an all-day affair and, of course, requires a beach. But we wanted to re-create the great flavors of the clambake without hours of preparation so we could enjoy this flavorful feast anywhere. A large stockpot was our cooking vessel of choice, and with careful layering, we could cook everything in the same pot and have it all finish at the same time. And we didn’t need to add water, because the shellfish released enough liquid to steam everything else. Sliced kielbasa went into the pot first, so that it could sear before the steam was generated. Clams and mussels were next, wrapped in cheesecloth for easy removal. Then in went the potatoes; they were best placed near the heat source and cut into 1-inch pieces to cook more quickly. Corn, with the husks left on to protect it from seafood flavors and lobster foam, was next, followed by the lobsters. It took less than half an hour for everything to cook—and we had all the elements of a clambake (minus the sand and surf) without having spent all day preparing them. Choose a large, narrow stockpot in which you can easily layer the ingredients. The recipe can be cut in half and layered in an 8-quart Dutch oven, but it should cook for the same amount of time. We prefer small littlenecks for this recipe. If your market carries larger clams, use 4 pounds. Mussels sometimes contain a weedy beard protruding from the crack between the two shells. It’s fairly small and can be difficult to tug out of place. To remove it easily, trap the beard between the side of a small paring knife and your thumb and pull to remove it. The flat surface of the knife gives you some leverage to remove the beard.
2 pounds small littleneck or cherrystone clams, scrubbed
2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1 pound kielbasa, sliced into ⅓-inch-thick rounds
1 pound small new or red potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 ears corn, silk and all but last layer of husk removed
2 (1½-pound) live lobsters
8 tablespoons salted butter, melted
1. Place clams and mussels on large piece of cheesecloth and tie ends together to secure; set aside. In 12-quart stockpot, layer sliced kielbasa, sack of clams and mussels, potatoes, corn, and lobsters on top of one another. Cover with lid and place over high heat. Cook until potatoes are tender and lobsters are bright red, 17 to 20 minutes.
2. Off heat, remove lid (watch out for scalding steam). Remove lobsters and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove corn from pot and peel off husks; arrange ears on serving platter. Using slotted spoon, remove potatoes and arrange on platter with corn. Transfer clams and mussels to large bowl and cut open cheesecloth with scissors. Using slotted spoon, remove kielbasa from pot and arrange on platter with potatoes and corn. Pour remaining steaming liquid in pot over clams and mussels. Using kitchen towel to protect your hand, twist and remove lobster tails, claws, and legs (if desired). Arrange lobster parts on platter. Serve immediately with melted butter and napkins.
Why This Recipe Works Inspired by Frogmore stew (which contains no frogs and isn’t even a stew), shrimp boils make a regular appearance at backyard picnics and along South Carolina’s coast in casual seaside restaurants. Though Old Bay is this stew’s star seasoning, we wanted the summery notes of shrimp and corn to really shine, so we staggered their cooking times and injected bright, robust flavors along the way. We browned pieces of smoky, spicy andouille sausage and left its rendered fat in the pot to carry its flavor into the briny broth of clam juice and water. We simmered Old Bay, a bay leaf, tomatoes, potatoes, and cut-up ears of corn until the potatoes were just tender and then added the browned sausage back to the pot. To add flavor and keep them moist, we cooked seasoned, shell-on shrimp in a steamer basket set atop the vegetables. This dish is always made with shell-on shrimp, and we think peeling them is half the fun. If you prefer peeled shrimp, use only 1 teaspoon of Old Bay in step 3. You can substitute kielbasa sausage for the andouille sausage. If doing so, add ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the broth in step 2. Use small red potatoes measuring 1 to 2 inches in diameter.
1½ pounds andouille sausage, cut into 2-inch lengths
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1½ pounds small red potatoes, unpeeled, halved
4 ears corn, husks and silk removed, cut into 2-inch rounds
4 cups water
1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
5 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning, divided
1 bay leaf
2 pounds extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound)
1. Heat sausage and oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until fat is rendered and sausage is browned, about 5 minutes; using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to plate.
2. Add potatoes, corn, water, clam juice, tomatoes, 1 tablespoon Old Bay, and bay leaf to pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until potatoes are barely tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Return browned sausage to pot. Toss shrimp with remaining 2 teaspoons Old Bay and transfer to collapsible steamer basket. Nestle steamer basket into pot. Cook, covered, stirring shrimp occasionally, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Strain stew and discard bay leaf. Serve.
Why This Recipe Works Crisp coleslaw with a light but flavorful dressing is the quintessential picnic side dish, but it’s also often one of the most disappointing. Store-bought packages of coleslaw are flavorless and bland, and homemade coleslaw is prone to turning watery and wilted. We wanted our coleslaw recipe to produce crisp, evenly cut pieces of cabbage lightly coated with a flavorful buttermilk dressing that would cling to the cabbage instead of collecting in the bottom of the bowl. We found that salting and draining the cabbage removed excess water and wilted it to a pickle-crisp texture. For a dressing that was both hefty and tangy, we combined buttermilk, mayonnaise, and sour cream.
½ head red or green cabbage, cored, quartered, and shredded (6 cups)
1¼ teaspoons table salt, divided
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
½ cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 small shallot, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
½ teaspoon cider vinegar
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
⅛ teaspoon pepper
1. Toss shredded cabbage and 1 teaspoon salt in colander set over large bowl and let sit until wilted, at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours. Rinse cabbage under cold running water. Press, but do not squeeze, to drain, and blot dry with paper towels.
2. Combine wilted cabbage and carrot in large bowl. In separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, mayonnaise, sour cream, shallot, parsley, vinegar, sugar, mustard, pepper, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt together. Pour dressing over cabbage and toss to combine. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. Serve. (Coleslaw can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
VARIATIONS
Buttermilk Coleslaw with Scallions and Cilantro
Omit mustard. Substitute 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro for parsley and 1 teaspoon lime juice for cider vinegar. Add 2 thinly sliced scallions to dressing.
Lemony Buttermilk Coleslaw
Substitute 1 teaspoon lemon juice for cider vinegar. Add 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme and 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives to dressing.
Why This Recipe Works Compared to traditional green and red cabbage, napa cabbage has a more tender, delicate texture and sweeter flavor that’s ideally suited for a slaw with a light, bright dressing. Its more delicate structure also means that it will leach twice as much liquid as regular cabbage. To avoid a bland, watered-down salad, we made a potent dressing with a high ratio of vinegar to oil. We also cooked down the dressing’s vinegar to offset the diluting power of the cabbage’s water. After we tossed the cabbage with the dressing and let it sit for about 5 minutes, the slaw reached the perfect level of bright acidity. Adding another crunchy vegetable, some colorful herbs, and a handful of seeds or nuts gave the slaw an additional layer of flavor and texture. This slaw is best served within an hour of being dressed. Use the large holes of a box grater to prepare the carrots.
⅓ cup white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
1 small head napa cabbage, sliced thin (9 cups)
2 carrots, peeled and grated
4 scallions, sliced thin on bias
¼ cup sesame seeds, toasted
1. Bring white wine vinegar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat; cook until reduced to 2 tablespoons, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer white wine vinegar to large bowl and let cool completely, about 10 minutes. Whisk in sesame oil, vegetable oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, and salt.
2. When ready to serve, add cabbage and carrots to dressing and toss to coat. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add scallions and sesame seeds and toss to combine. Serve.
VARIATIONS
Napa Cabbage Slaw with Apple and Walnuts
Omit sesame oil and increase vegetable oil to 4 teaspoons. Omit soy sauce and ginger. Substitute cider vinegar for rice vinegar. Decrease sugar to 2 teaspoons and increase salt to ¾ teaspoon. Substitute 2 celery ribs, sliced thin on bias, and 1 grated Fuji apple for carrots. Substitute 3 tablespoons minced fresh chives for scallions and ½ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped fine, for sesame seeds.
Napa Cabbage Slaw with Jícama and Pepitas
Omit sesame oil and increase vegetable oil to 4 teaspoons. Omit soy sauce. Substitute lime juice for rice vinegar, honey for sugar, and ½ teaspoon ground coriander for ginger. Increase salt to ¾ teaspoon. Substitute 1 seeded and minced jalapeño for ginger. Substitute 6 ounces jícama, peeled and grated, for carrots. Substitute ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro for scallions and ½ cup roasted and salted pepitas, chopped fine, for sesame seeds.
24-Hour Picnic Salad
Serves 12NO COOKMAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works Picnic side dishes should be simple, portable, and flavorful and this recipe checks all the boxes. It can be assembled in advance, put in the fridge for a night, and simply tossed and served the next day. Salting the layers of iceberg lettuce pulled moisture out; we used this water to thin our dressing to the perfect consistency. Soft ingredients such as mushrooms and spinach wilted into mush overnight but crunchy celery, bell pepper, and cucumber stayed crisp. Frank’s RedHot Original Hot Sauce is our favorite brand of hot sauce. If using a hotter brand, such as Tabasco Sauce, reduce the amount to 1 tablespoon.
Salad
1 head iceberg lettuce (2 pounds), cored and chopped, divided
1 teaspoon table salt, divided
½ red onion, sliced thin
6 Easy-Peel Hard-Cooked Eggs (this page), peeled and chopped
1½ cups frozen peas
4 celery ribs, sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced thin
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (1½ cups)
Dressing
1½ cups mayonnaise
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons hot sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1½ teaspoons pepper
1. For the salad Layer ingredients into large serving bowl as follows: half of lettuce sprinkled with ½ teaspoon salt, onion, eggs, peas, celery, bell pepper, cucumber, remaining lettuce sprinkled with remaining ½ teaspoon salt, bacon, and cheese.
2. For the dressing Whisk all ingredients together in bowl and spread evenly over top of salad. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Toss until salad is evenly coated with dressing and serve.
Broccoli Salad with Raisins and Walnuts
Serves 6 FASTMAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works Most recipes for this picnic classic leave the broccoli raw, but we found that cooking it briefly in boiling water improved both its flavor and its appearance. Adding the hardier stems to the boiling water before the florets leveled the playing field, so both became tender at the same time. Drying the broccoli in a salad spinner rid it of excess moisture, so the dressing—a tangy mayo-and-vinegar mixture—wouldn’t get watered down. As an added benefit, when treated this way, the broccoli retained its color, flavor, and crunch for a few days, allowing us to prepare it well in advance of assembly. Toasted walnuts and golden raisins brought crunch and salty-sweet balance to this salad. If you don’t own a salad spinner, lay the broccoli on a clean dish towel to dry in step 2.
½ cup golden raisins
1½ pounds broccoli, florets cut into 1-inch pieces, stalks peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped coarse
1 large shallot, minced
1. Bring 3 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven. Fill large bowl halfway with ice and water. Combine ½ cup of boiling water and raisins in small bowl, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes; drain.
2. Meanwhile, add broccoli stalks to pot of boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Add florets and cook until slightly tender, about 1 minute. Drain broccoli, then transfer to ice bath and let sit until chilled, about 5 minutes. Drain again, transfer broccoli to salad spinner, and spin dry.
3. Whisk mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, and pepper together in large bowl. (Blanched broccoli, plumped raisins, and dressing can be refrigerated separately for up to 3 days.)
4. Add broccoli, raisins, walnuts, and shallot to bowl with dressing and toss to combine. (Dressed salad can be refrigerated for up to 2 hours.) Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
Why This Recipe Works While corn on the cob is certainly a crowd-pleasing summertime side, we wanted to create an easy-to serve salad that would highlight corn’s sweet off-the-cob flavor. This bright salad pairing corn and tomatoes fits the bill, and as a bonus it can be made a couple of hours ahead. To avoid bland corn, limp tomatoes, and watery dressing, we salted and drained the tomatoes to remove excess moisture. Toasting the corn in a skillet brought out a delicious nutty depth while still allowing the kernels to keep some of their snappy bite, and adding the dressing and scallions while the kernels were still warm gave the corn a chance to soak up even more flavor. To give the flavors time to meld, we stirred in the remaining ingredients once the corn had cooled and allowed the salad to rest. Don’t add the tomatoes to the toasted corn until it is cool, or the heat from the corn will partially cook the tomatoes.
2 tomatoes, cored and cut into ½-inch pieces
1¼ teaspoons table salt, divided
2½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
5 ears corn, kernels cut from cobs (5 cups)
2 scallions, sliced thin
1½ tablespoons white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
1. Toss tomatoes with ½ teaspoon salt in colander set over bowl and let drain for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until spotty brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and stir in scallions, vinegar, pepper, remaining ¾ teaspoon salt, and remaining 1½ tablespoons oil. Let cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
3. Stir in drained tomatoes and parsley. Let sit until flavors meld, about 30 minutes. (Dressed salad can be refrigerated for up to 2 hours.) Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.
VARIATIONS
Fresh Corn and Tomato Salad with Arugula and Goat Cheese
Omit parsley. Substitute lemon juice for white wine vinegar. Stir in 2 ounces chopped baby arugula and 1 cup crumbled goat cheese with tomatoes.
Fresh Corn and Tomato Salad with White Beans and Basil
Substitute red wine vinegar for white wine vinegar. Toss 1 (15-ounce) can rinsed cannellini beans with vinaigrette and hot corn. Substitute 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil for parsley.
Farmers’ Market Find Corn
When the first ears of sweet, fresh corn start appearing in farmers’ markets and local supermarkets, most of us in the test kitchen turn giddy with excitement, especially since here in the Northeast, we often have to wait until late July or August for true local corn. And then the season is practically over by Labor Day. Not so in the South and the Midwest, where corn season happily stretches across the entire summer. Regardless of where you live, look for plump ears with green, pliable husks that are closely wrapped around the ear and clean, pale golden or white silk extending from the tops (the more silk, the better, since it is an indicator of the number of kernels). Don’t peel back the husk and silk (which makes ears less desirable for other shoppers). Instead, gently press on the kernels through the husk; they should feel tightly packed, plump, and firm, with no spots where it feels like there’s an absence of kernels. To store corn (for up to a few days), wrap it in a wet paper bag and then in a plastic produce bag and refrigerate it.
Watermelon Salad with Basil and Feta
Serves 4 to 6NO COOKMAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works Watermelon’s sweet, juicy flavor takes center stage in this savory twist on fruit salad. Salty feta, briny olives, and aromatic basil work in tandem with the watermelon for a salad full of contrasting flavors and textures. We started by macerating the fresh melon in sugar for 30 minutes; this easy step drove off excess moisture and prevented a watery salad. A simple dressing of white wine vinegar and olive oil allowed the bold flavors of the salad to shine, and soaking sliced shallot in the vinegar before tossing it in the bowl tamed its bite and infused the vinegar with plenty of flavor. Mild cucumber added fresh crunch, and red pepper flakes contributed a kick of heat. Letting the dressed watermelon and olives rest in the fridge chilled the salad and allowed the sweet and salty flavors to meld, and finishing with some basil and feta just before serving added a burst of freshness.
6 cups 1-inch seedless watermelon pieces
1½ teaspoons sugar, divided
1 shallot, sliced into thin rings
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon table salt, divided
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 English cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, seeded, and cut into ½-inch pieces
½ teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
½ cup fresh basil leaves, torn into bite-size pieces
3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (¾ cup)
1. Toss watermelon with 1 teaspoon sugar in colander set over large bowl and let drain for 30 minutes. Combine shallot, vinegar, ¼ teaspoon salt, pepper flakes, and remaining ½ teaspoon sugar in separate bowl and let sit while watermelon drains. Discard watermelon juice and wipe bowl clean with paper towels.
2. Pat cucumber and drained watermelon dry with paper towels and transfer to now-empty bowl. Using fork, remove shallot from vinegar mixture and add to bowl with watermelon. Add pepper and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt to vinegar mixture and slowly whisk in oil until incorporated. Add dressing and olives to bowl with watermelon and toss to combine. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
3. Add basil to salad and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving platter and sprinkle with feta. Serve.
Classic Potato Salad
Serves 4 to 6MAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works All-American potato salad conjures visions of lazy picnics and summertime cookouts, and our rich, flavorful version will have you loading your plate with this classic. Potatoes absorb moisture right after they cook, which means that adding the mayonnaise too early can lead to a dry, dull salad. To avoid this pitfall, we waited to add the mayonnaise but drizzled our just-cooked potatoes with a tangy, briny mixture of pickle juice and mustard. After the potatoes cooled, we added our creamy dressing, onion, celery, and pickles. Though it’s optional, we love the flavor of hard-cooked egg. Make sure not to overcook the potatoes. Keep the water at a gentle simmer and use the tip of a paring knife to judge the doneness of the potatoes. If the knife inserts easily into the potato pieces, they are done. This recipe can be easily doubled; use a Dutch oven to cook the potatoes in step 1.
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into ¾-inch pieces
½ teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking potatoes
¼ cup finely chopped dill pickles, plus 3 tablespoons brine, divided
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
¾ cup mayonnaise
½ cup finely chopped red onion
1 celery rib, minced
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar, plus extra for seasoning
1. Place potatoes and 1 teaspoon salt in large saucepan and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat and cook until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Drain potatoes thoroughly in colander, then spread out on rimmed baking sheet. Mix 2 tablespoons pickle brine and mustard together in bowl, then drizzle over potatoes, gently tossing until evenly coated. Refrigerate potato mixture until cooled slightly, about 15 minutes.
3. Combine mayonnaise, onion, celery, vinegar, celery seeds, pickles, remaining 1 tablespoon pickle brine, salt, and pepper in large bowl. Add cooled potato mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about 30 minutes. (Salad can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.) Gently fold in eggs, if using. Season with extra vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste before serving.
Why This Recipe Works Mayonnaise-based potato salad needs to be served cold, but for an alternative we could serve warm or room temperature, we opted for a light dressing paired with bright herbs. We boiled chunks of red potatoes and to help them keep their shape we added vinegar to the cooking water. A mixture of briny capers and tart lemon juice complemented the earthiness of the potatoes, while tarragon, parsley, and chives gave the salad a fresh character. Adding some of the vinaigrette while the potatoes were still hot let them absorb all of its flavor. To remove some of the onion’s harshness after chopping, place it in a fine-mesh strainer and run it under cold water. Drain, but do not rinse, the capers.
3 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking potatoes
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest plus 3 tablespoons juice
½ teaspoon pepper
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup finely chopped onion, rinsed
3 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
3 tablespoons minced fresh chives
2 tablespoons capers, minced
1. Combine potatoes, 8 cups water, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons salt in Dutch oven and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook at strong simmer until potatoes are just tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, whisk lemon zest and juice, pepper, and salt together in large bowl. Slowly whisk in oil until emulsified; set aside.
3. Drain potatoes thoroughly, then transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle 2 tablespoons dressing over hot potatoes and gently toss until evenly coated. Let potatoes cool, about 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooling.
4. Whisk dressing to recombine and stir in onion, tarragon, parsley, chives, and capers. Add cooled potatoes to dressing and gently stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Why This Recipe Works Pasta mixed with crunchy onion and celery and dressed with seasoned tangy mayonnaise makes for a cool and refreshing side for a summer cookout, but more often than not this classic is a mushy, unappetizing blob of overcooked pasta with too much dressing. The biggest challenge with macaroni salad is keeping the pasta from absorbing too much mayonnaise, which causes it to turn into a dry, flavorless mess. We had learned from our Classic Potato Salad (this page) that adding the mayonnaise to a warm salad will cause the starchy potatoes to soak up all of the mayo’s moisture, so for our macaroni salad we cooked the pasta until tender, and then rinsed and drained it so that there was still a little moisture remaining. Next we mixed in all of the ingredients except our mayonnaise and let the mixture sit so that the pasta could absorb not just the water, but also the flavors of the seasonings so that everything melded together. We prefer garlic powder to fresh garlic here because its flavor isn’t as sharp and the powder dissolves into the smooth dressing. Cooking the pasta until it is completely tender and leaving it slightly wet after rinsing are important for the texture of the finished salad. This recipe can be easily doubled.
8 ounces (2 cups) elbow macaroni
Table salt for cooking pasta
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
¼ cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
Pinch garlic powder
Pinch cayenne pepper
¾ cup mayonnaise
1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add macaroni and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until tender. Drain macaroni, rinse with cold water, and drain again, leaving macaroni slightly wet.
2. Toss macaroni, onion, celery, parsley, lemon juice, mustard, garlic powder, and cayenne together in large bowl and let sit until flavors meld, about 2 minutes. Stir in mayonnaise and let sit until salad is no longer watery, 5 to 10 minutes. (Salad can be refrigerated for up to 2 days; adjust consistency with hot water as needed.) Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.
VARIATIONS
Cool and Creamy Macaroni Salad with Roasted Red Peppers and Capers
Add ½ cup jarred roasted red peppers, chopped, and 3 tablespoons drained capers, chopped, to macaroni with onion.
Cool and Creamy Macaroni Salad with Sharp Cheddar and Chipotle
Add 1½ cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese and 2 tablespoons minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce to macaroni with onion and other flavorings.
RINSING MACARONI
After draining cooked macaroni, rinse under cold water to stop cooking and rinse away excess starch, which helps prevent sticking. Let pasta drain just briefly. It should be slightly wet when you dress it.
Pasta Salad with Pesto
Serves 6 to 8MAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works Full of bold herbal flavors, pesto makes for an excellent dressing for pasta salad during the hot summer months. And it couldn’t be simpler to make: Just process fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, salty Parmesan cheese, and extra-virgin olive oil together in a food processor. But when we tossed the pesto directly with hot pasta, the sauce became separated and greasy as the pasta cooled. We found that spreading the pasta on a baking sheet for about half an hour before adding the pesto was enough to adequately cool the pasta. A handful of baby spinach helped the pesto retain a bright green color but was mild enough in flavor to let the basil shine. Adding some mayonnaise was the perfect way to give our pesto the clingy, thick texture ideal for a pasta salad. We finished off our salad by reserving some of the toasted pine nuts to add a nice nutty crunch and tossed in sweet cherry tomatoes for a bright burst of freshness. Other pasta shapes can be substituted for the farfalle.
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 pound farfalle
1 teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking pasta
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 cups fresh basil leaves, lightly bruised
1 cup baby spinach
¾ cup pine nuts, toasted, divided
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1½ ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (¾ cup), plus extra for serving
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
12 ounces cherry tomatoes, quartered
1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Remove garlic with slotted spoon and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Let garlic cool slightly, then peel and chop fine; set aside.
2. Meanwhile, add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water and cook, stirring often, until tender. Reserve ¼ cup cooking water. Drain pasta, toss with 1 tablespoon oil, and spread in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Let pasta and cooking water cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
3. Process basil, spinach, ¼ cup pine nuts, lemon juice, garlic, and salt in food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add Parmesan, mayonnaise, and remaining ¼ cup oil and process until thoroughly combined; transfer to large bowl.
4. Toss cooled pasta with pesto, adding reserved cooking water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until pesto evenly coats pasta. (Cooled pasta can be tossed with half of pesto and refrigerated for up to 3 days; refrigerate remaining pesto separately, covered with 1 tablespoon olive oil. To serve, microwave pasta to remove chill, 1 to 2 minutes, then toss with reserved pesto, adding hot water 1 tablespoon at a time as needed until evenly coated. Continue with step 5.)
5. Fold in remaining ½ cup pine nuts and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
Tortellini Salad with Asparagus and Fresh Basil Vinaigrette
Serves 4 to 6MAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works For a super-easy but upscale pasta salad that would impress any picnic crowd, we paired convenient store-bought cheese tortellini with crisp asparagus and a dressing inspired by the flavors of classic pesto. First, we blanched the asparagus in the same water we later used to cook the tortellini, which instilled the pasta with the asparagus’s delicate flavor. Once the tortellini were cooked, we tossed them in a bold dressing of extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, shallot, and garlic. To finish the salad, we tossed in some bright, juicy cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, grated Parmesan, and toasted pine nuts along with the blanched asparagus just before serving. Cooking the tortellini until it is completely tender and leaving it slightly wet after rinsing are important for the texture of the finished salad. Be sure to set up the ice water bath before cooking the asparagus, as plunging it in the cold water immediately after blanching preserves its bright green color and ensures that it doesn’t overcook.
1 pound thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking asparagus and pasta
1 pound dried cheese tortellini
3 tablespoons lemon juice, plus extra for seasoning
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
¾ teaspoon pepper
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
12 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup)
¾ cup chopped fresh basil, mint, or parsley
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Fill large bowl halfway with ice and water. Add asparagus and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer asparagus to ice water and let cool, about 2 minutes; drain and pat dry.
2. Return pot of water to boil. Add tortellini and cook, stirring often, until tender. Drain tortellini, rinse with cold water, and drain again, leaving tortellini slightly wet.
3. Whisk lemon juice, shallot, garlic, pepper, and salt together in large bowl. Whisking constantly, drizzle in oil. Add tortellini and toss to combine.
4. Add asparagus, tomatoes, Parmesan, basil, and pine nuts and gently toss to combine. Season with salt, pepper, and extra lemon juice to taste. Serve. (Cooled tortellini, cooked asparagus, and vinaigrette can be refrigerated separately for up to 2 days.)
Fusilli Salad with Salami, Provolone, and Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
Serves 4 to 6 FASTMAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works Inspired by traditional antipasto flavors, we wanted to create a pasta salad that could take on hearty, interesting mix-ins. We started with fusilli pasta, which was substantial enough to hold up to the larger pieces of meat and cheese. Thickly cut salami and provolone added savory bite and richness, and sliced kalamata olives added a brininess to punch up the flavor. With several rich ingredients in the mix, a mayonnaise-based dressing was overkill, so we swapped it out in favor of a bright vinaigrette accented with tangy sun-dried tomatoes, red wine vinegar, garlic, and basil. When left to marinate for a day or two, the pasta took on even more flavor; to loosen the dressing and quickly take the chill off the pasta, we stirred in a little boiling water. Chopped baby spinach added just before serving lent extra color and freshness. Other pasta shapes can be substituted for the fusilli.
8 ounces fusilli
¾ teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking pasta
¾ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed, patted dry, and minced, plus 2 tablespoons packing oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar, plus extra for seasoning
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
¾ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 (¼-inch-thick) slices deli salami or pepperoni (8 ounces), cut into 1-inch-long matchsticks
4 (¼-inch-thick) slices deli provolone (8 ounces), cut into 1-inch-long matchsticks
½ cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced
2 ounces (2 cups) baby spinach, chopped
1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until tender. Drain pasta, rinse with cold water, and drain again, leaving pasta slightly wet.
2. Whisk sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, basil, garlic, pepper, and salt together in large bowl. Whisking constantly, drizzle in olive oil and sun-dried tomato packing oil. Add pasta, salami, cheese, and olives and toss to combine. (To make ahead, toss fusilli, salami, cheese, and olives with half of vinaigrette; refrigerate pasta mixture and remaining vinaigrette separately for up to 2 days. To serve, bring to room temperature, then stir in vinaigrette, then stir vinaigrette and ¼ cup boiling water into pasta mixture before continuing.)
3. Add spinach and gently toss to combine. Season with salt, pepper, and extra vinegar to taste. Serve.
Why This Recipe Works This hearty quinoa salad doubles as a side dish and a vegetarian main. We toasted the quinoa to bring out its flavor before adding liquid. Spreading the cooked quinoa on a rimmed baking sheet allowed the residual heat to finish cooking it gently as it cooled. Mango, bell pepper, and black beans lent brightness, color, and heft. A simple but intense dressing of olive oil, lime juice, jalapeño, cumin, and cilantro added the right amount of acidity and warmth. Finally, scallions and avocado added bite and creamy richness. If you buy unwashed quinoa (or if you are unsure whether it’s washed), be sure to rinse it before cooking to remove its bitter protective coating (called saponin).
1½ cups prewashed white quinoa
2¼ cups water
1½ teaspoons table salt, divided
5 tablespoons lime juice (3 limes)
½ jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
⅓ cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed
2 scallions, sliced thin
1 avocado, halved, pitted, and sliced thin
1. Toast quinoa in large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring often, until quinoa is very fragrant and makes continuous popping sounds, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in water and ½ teaspoon salt and bring to simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently until most of water has been absorbed and quinoa is nearly tender, about 15 minutes. Spread quinoa on rimmed baking sheet and let cool completely, about 15 minutes; transfer to large bowl.
2. Process lime juice, jalapeño, cumin, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt in blender until jalapeño is finely chopped, about 15 seconds. With blender running, add oil and cilantro; continue to process until smooth and emulsified, about 20 seconds. (Cooled quinoa and dressing can be refrigerated separately for up to 3 days.)
3. Add bell pepper, mango, beans, scallions, and lime-jalapeño dressing to cooled quinoa and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Dressed salad can be refrigerated for up to 2 hours.) Serve, topping individual servings with avocado.
Why This Recipe Works Orzo salad is a great all-purpose side for a picnic, a day at the beach, or a patio dinner. Wherever it’s served, it benefits from boldly flavored additions. We included vibrant broccoli, bitter radicchio, salty sun-dried tomatoes, and crunchy pine nuts. Cooking the orzo in the water that we used to blanch the broccoli imparted a delicate vegetal flavor throughout the dish and streamlined the recipe. To ensure that the orzo was tender even when served cold, we cooked it al dente. To unite all components of the dish, we whisked up a bold dressing with balsamic vinegar and honey. Toasting the pine nuts intensified their nutty flavor. Sharp Parmesan added a salty accent, and a hefty dose of chopped basil offered a fresh finish to this hearty side. Cooking the pasta until it is completely tender and leaving it slightly wet after rinsing are important for the texture of the finished salad.
12 ounces broccoli florets, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking broccoli and pasta
1⅓ cups orzo
1 head radicchio (10 ounces), cored and chopped fine
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)
½ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed, patted dry, and minced, plus 3 tablespoons packing oil
½ cup pine nuts, toasted
¼ cup balsamic vinegar, plus extra for seasoning
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon honey
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup chopped fresh basil
1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Fill large bowl halfway with ice and water. Add broccoli and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer broccoli to ice bath and let cool, about 2 minutes; drain and pat dry.
2. Return pot of water to boil. Add orzo and cook, stirring often, until tender. Drain orzo, rinse with cold water, and drain again, leaving orzo slightly wet. Toss orzo, broccoli, radicchio, Parmesan, tomatoes, and pine nuts together in large bowl.
3. In small bowl, whisk vinegar, garlic, honey, and salt together. Whisking constantly, drizzle in tomato oil and olive oil. Stir vinaigrette into orzo mixture. (Salad can be refrigerated for up to 1 day; refresh with warm water and additional oil as needed.) Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.
Classic Three-Bean Salad
Serves 8 to 10MAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works Recipes for this familiar picnic standby of canned green, yellow, and kidney beans tossed in a sweet, vinegary dressing, have changed little since the salad’s heyday in the 1950s. We wanted an updated, fresher-tasting three-bean salad recipe so we used a combination of canned kidney beans and fresh yellow and green beans. For the dressing, we relied on canola oil for mildness and red wine vinegar for tang. Heating the oil and vinegar with sugar, garlic, salt, and pepper intensified the vinaigrette flavor and sweetness. Refrigerating the salad overnight allows the flavors to meld. Allowing the beans to marinate in the dressing improves their flavor so prepare the salad 1 day before you plan to serve it.
1 cup red wine vinegar
¾ cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking beans
8 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
8 ounces yellow wax beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed
½ red onion, chopped
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
1. Heat vinegar, sugar, oil, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature.
2. Bring 3 quarts water to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and green and yellow beans; cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, fill medium bowl with ice water. When beans are done, drain and immediately plunge into ice water to stop cooking process; let sit until chilled, about 2 minutes. Drain well.
3. Add green and yellow beans, kidney beans, onion, and parsley to vinegar mixture; toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight to let flavors meld. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving. (Salad can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.)
Why This Recipe Works Canned chickpeas are an ideal ingredient for a salad because they absorb flavors easily and provide texture. Here a flavorful pairing of sweet carrots, peppery arugula, and briny olives transforms bland canned chickpeas into a bright and savory salad. We found that heating the chickpeas in the microwave briefly softened them just enough to allow them to quickly soak up the tangy vinaigrette. Shred the carrots on the large holes of a box grater or use a food processor fitted with the shredding disk.
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¾ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
3 carrots, peeled and shredded
½ cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1 cup baby arugula, chopped
1. Microwave chickpeas in medium bowl until hot, about 1 minute 30 seconds. Stir in oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and cayenne and let sit for 30 minutes. Add carrots and olives and toss to combine. (Chickpea mixture can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before continuing with step 2.)
2. Add arugula and gently toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
VARIATION
Chickpea Salad with Roasted Red Peppers and Feta
Substitute ½ cup drained and chopped jarred roasted red peppers, ½ cup crumbled feta cheese, and ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley for carrots, olives, and arugula.
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Serves 10 to 12MAKE AHEAD
Why This Recipe Works This tri-layer Midwestern specialty doesn’t much resemble salad, but the sweet-salty, creamy-crunchy combination grabbed our attention. We knew we could make this slightly offbeat potluck favorite shine with some homemade elements. We replaced the “whipped topping” with real cream, which we whipped into softened cream cheese with some sugar for a tangy, not-too-sweet middle layer. The top layer, traditionally made from boxed Jell-O, got an upgrade to plain gelatin flavored with real pureed strawberry juice and sliced frozen berries. The time it took to make these elements from scratch was well worth the extra effort. For a sturdier crust, use (thinner) pretzel sticks not (fatter) rods. Thaw the strawberries in the refrigerator the night before you begin the recipe. You’ll puree 2 pounds of the strawberries and slice the remaining 1 pound.
6½ ounces pretzel sticks
2¼ cups (15¾ ounces) sugar, divided
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup heavy cream
3 pounds (10½ cups) frozen strawberries, thawed
¼ teaspoon table salt
1½ tablespoons unflavored gelatin
½ cup cold water
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 13 by 9-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Pulse pretzels and ¼ cup sugar in food processor until coarsely ground, about 15 pulses. Add melted butter and pulse until combined, about 10 pulses. Transfer pretzel mixture to prepared pan. Using bottom of measuring cup, press crumbs into bottom of pan. Bake until crust is fragrant and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Set aside crust, letting it cool slightly, about 20 minutes.
2. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip cream cheese and ½ cup sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and, with mixer still running, slowly add cream in steady stream. Continue to whip until soft peaks form, scraping down bowl as needed, about 1 minute. Spread whipped cream cheese mixture evenly over cooled crust. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, process 2 pounds strawberries in now-empty food processor until pureed, about 30 seconds. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer set over medium saucepan, using underside of small ladle to push puree through strainer. Add remaining 1½ cups sugar and salt to strawberry puree in saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally, until bubbles begin to appear around sides of pan and sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes; remove from heat.
4. Sprinkle gelatin over water in large bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Whisk strawberry puree into gelatin. Slice remaining strawberries and stir into strawberry-gelatin mixture. Refrigerate until gelatin thickens slightly and starts to cling to sides of bowl, about 30 minutes. Carefully pour gelatin mixture evenly over whipped cream cheese layer. Refrigerate salad until gelatin is fully set, at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Serve.
Why This Recipe Works The sweet-tart, sunshiny taste of a good lemon bar captures the best of summer’s bright flavors, and these bars make for a simple picnic dessert that travels well. To make our bars, we started at the bottom, with a pat-in-the-pan crust. Using melted—not cold—butter allowed us to simply stir the crust together instead of using a food processor. For a truly crisp texture, we used granulated sugar instead of the usual confectioners’ sugar and baked the crust until it was dark golden brown to ensure that it retained its crispness even after we topped it with the lemon filling. We cooked our lemon filling on the stove to shorten the oven time and keep it from curdling or browning at the edges when it baked. The combination of lemon juice and lemon zest provided complex flavor, and a couple of teaspoons of cream of tartar (tartaric acid) gave it a bright, lingering finish. Do not substitute bottled lemon juice for fresh here.
Crust
1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (1¾ ounces) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon table salt
3 large eggs plus 3 large yolks
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest plus ⅔ cup juice (4 lemons)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
Confectioners’ sugar (optional)
1. For the crust Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Make foil sling for 8-inch square baking pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil so each is 8 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, and salt together in bowl. Add melted butter and stir until combined. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and press into even layer over entire bottom of pan (do not wash bowl). Bake crust until dark golden brown, 19 to 24 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
3. For the filling While crust bakes, whisk sugar, flour, cream of tartar, and salt together in now-empty bowl. Whisk in eggs and yolks until no streaks of egg remain. Whisk in lemon zest and juice. Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and registers 160 degrees, 5 to 8 minutes. Off heat, stir in butter. Strain filling through fine-mesh strainer set over bowl.
4. Pour filling over hot crust and tilt pan to spread evenly. Bake until filling is set and barely jiggles when pan is shaken, 8 to 12 minutes. (Filling around perimeter of pan may be slightly raised.) Let bars cool completely, at least 1½ hours. Using foil overhang, lift bars out of pan and transfer to cutting board. Cut into bars, wiping knife clean between cuts as necessary. (Lemon bars can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month; if frozen, thaw completely at room temperature before serving.) Before serving, dust bars with confectioners’ sugar, if using.
Why This Recipe Works The best key lime bars are packed with bold, sweet-tart lime flavor, but we wanted a version of these bars that we could make with limes from the grocery store rather than hard-to-find key limes. To get big lime flavor into our lime bars, we avoided weak, bitter-tasting bottled juice and went with the fresh stuff. It took only four supermarket limes (as opposed to 20 key limes) to yield the right amount of juice. But fresh lime juice alone didn’t give us a taste of the Florida Keys; so we also added lime zest. For these bars to slice and eat neatly, we needed the filling to be firmer than that of a typical key lime pie, so we supplemented the usual sweetened condensed milk and egg yolk with cream cheese. Our crust needed to be sturdier, too, and this meant using more crumbs. We had been using graham crackers, but when we increased the amount in the crust their flavor overpowered the filling. Animal crackers had just the right vanilla flavor, and light brown sugar added subtle caramel notes. Key limes can be substituted for the regular limes here, although they have a more delicate flavor; you’ll need about 20 to make ½ cup of juice. Do not substitute bottled key lime juice. Be sure to zest the limes before juicing them.
Crust
5 ounces (2½ cups) animal crackers
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
Pinch table salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Filling
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon grated lime zest plus ½ cup juice (4 limes)
Pinch table salt
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg yolk
¾ cup (2¼ ounces) sweetened shredded coconut, toasted (optional)
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Make foil sling for 8-inch square baking pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil so each is 8 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Grease foil.
2. For the crust Process animal crackers, sugar, and salt in food processor to fine crumbs, about 15 seconds. Add melted butter and pulse to combine, about 10 pulses. Sprinkle mixture into prepared pan and press firmly into even layer. Bake until crust is fragrant and deep golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
3. For the filling Stir cream cheese, lime zest, and salt in bowl until combined. Whisk in condensed milk until smooth. Whisk in egg yolk and lime juice until combined.
4. Pour filling evenly over crust. Bake until bars are set and edges begin to pull away slightly from sides of pan, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
5. Let bars cool completely in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours, then refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours. Using foil overhang, remove bars from pan. Cut into 16 pieces and top with toasted coconut, if using, before serving. (Key lime bars can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
Why This Recipe Works There’s no question that the chocolate chip cookie is the most iconic American treat, and these homey cookies are perfectly portable for an easy but mouthwatering picnic dessert. While both crispy cookies and cakey ones have their place, we wanted a version reminiscent of the classic Toll House cookie, one with crisp edges and a chewy interior. But perhaps nostalgia clouded our memory, because the Toll House recipe actually produces cookies that are a bit cakey and wan. We wanted a reliably moist and chewy cookie with crisp edges and deep butterscotch notes. The key ingredient was browned butter. Melting the butter made its water content readily available to interact with the flour, thus creating more gluten and a chewier texture. Continuing to cook the butter until it browned contributed deep caramel notes, as did dissolving the sugar in the melted butter. Using two egg yolks but only one white added richness without giving the cookies a cakey texture. Studded with gooey chocolate and boasting a complex toffee flavor, these are chocolate chip cookies, perfected. Light brown sugar can be used in place of the dark, but the cookies won’t be as full-flavored.
1¾ cups (8¾ ounces) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces) dark brown sugar
½ cup (3½ ounces) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon table salt
1 large egg plus 1 large yolk
1¼ cups (7½ ounces) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
¾ cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped (optional)
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in bowl.
2. Melt 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Continue to cook, swirling skillet constantly, until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer browned butter to large bowl and stir in remaining 4 tablespoons butter until melted. Whisk in brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt until incorporated. Whisk in egg and yolk until smooth and no lumps remain, about 30 seconds.
3. Let mixture sit for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans, if using.
4. Working with 3 tablespoons dough at a time, roll into balls and space them 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. (Dough balls can be frozen for up to 1 month; bake frozen dough balls in 300-degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes.)
5. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until golden brown and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft and puffy, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack. Let cookies cool completely before serving. Baked cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days; to refresh, place in 425-degree oven for 4 to 5 minutes.
Why This Recipe Works A picnic or potluck standby in the Lone Star State, Texas sheet cake is a sheet pan–size, pecan-topped chocolate cake. Its appeal comes not only from the fact that it’s easy to transport, uses mostly pantry ingredients, and feeds a crowd: It also offers layers of chocolaty goodness and a range of textures that come from pouring sweet chocolate icing over a cake that’s still hot from the oven. Once the cake has cooled, you’re left with a layer of icing on top, a fudgy middle layer where the icing and hot cake have melded, and a bottom layer of moist chocolate cake, plus the crunchy pecan topping. For the cake, we relied on a combination of butter and vegetable oil for fat, which produced a dense, brownie-like texture. We wanted the cake’s fudgy chocolate flavor to match its fudgy texture, so we used both cocoa powder and melted semisweet chocolate for a cake that was ultrachocolaty yet still moist and dense. Getting the texture of the icing right was key to this cake’s success—replacing milk with heavy cream gave it more body, while adding corn syrup produced a lustrous finish.
Cake
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 cups (14 ounces) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks
¼ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
¾ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup water
½ cup (1½ ounces) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Icing
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup (1½ ounces) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3 cups (12 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1. For the cake Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 18 by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk eggs and yolks, sour cream, and vanilla in second bowl until smooth.
2. Heat chocolate, oil, water, cocoa, and butter in large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk chocolate mixture into flour mixture until incorporated. Whisk egg mixture into batter, then transfer batter to prepared sheet. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer sheet to wire rack.
3. For the icing About 5 minutes before cake is done baking, heat butter, cream, cocoa, and corn syrup in large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Off heat, whisk in sugar and vanilla. Spread warm icing evenly over hot cake and sprinkle with pecans. Let cake cool completely in pan on wire rack, about 1 hour, then refrigerate until icing is set, about 1 hour. Cut cake into 24 pieces before serving. (Cake can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
Why This Recipe Works For a festive and impressive Fourth of July dessert, we wanted to create a layer cake that was worthy of serving with fireworks at a summer cookout. To ensure our cake was red, white, and blue all the way through, we decided to turn our layer cake into a poke cake. We started by cooking blueberries and strawberries and then combining each with gelatin to create two colorful, brightly flavored syrups. We used a simple white cake as our base; it was tender and flavorful but also had enough structure to handle a syrup soaking. We used a skewer to poke holes into the cake layers while they were still in their pans and then drizzled the blueberry syrup over one layer and the strawberry syrup over the other. A simple filling and frosting of whipped cream kept this cake light and refreshing for the summer holidays.
1. Cook blueberries, ¾ cup water, and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium saucepan over medium-low heat, covered, until blueberries are softened, about 8 minutes. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into bowl; discard solids. Whisk berry-flavored gelatin into juices and let cool slightly, about 15 minutes. Repeat cooking and straining using strawberries, remaining ½ cup water, and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Whisk strawberry-flavored gelatin into juices and let cool slightly, about 15 minutes.
2. Using skewer, poke 25 holes in top of each cake, twisting gently to form slightly larger holes. Pour cooled blueberry syrup over 1 cake layer. Repeat with cooled strawberry syrup and remaining cake layer. Cover cake pans with plastic wrap and refrigerate until gelatin is set, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
3. Run thin knife around edge of pans. Invert blueberry cake, discarding parchment, onto wire rack, then reinvert onto platter. Spread 1 cup whipped cream evenly over top. Invert strawberry cake onto rack, discarding parchment, and place, right side up, on whipped cream, pressing lightly to adhere. Spread remaining whipped cream over top and sides of cake. Serve.
MAKING POKE CAKE
1. Using skewer, poke about 25 holes over cake, being careful not to poke through to bottom. Twist skewer to enlarge holes.
2. Slowly pour cooled gelatin mixture evenly over surface of cake and it will slowly soak into cake.
White Cake Layers
Makes two 9-inch round cake layers
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
6 large egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2¼ cups (9 ounces) cake flour
1¾ cups (12¼ ounces) sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour pans. Whisk milk, egg whites, and vanilla together in bowl.
2. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until combined. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, until only pea-size pieces remain, about 1 minute. Add all but ½ cup milk mixture, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low, add remaining ½ cup milk mixture, and mix until incorporated, about 30 seconds (batter may look curdled). Give batter final stir by hand.
3. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and smooth tops with rubber spatula. Gently tap pans on counter to settle batter. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out with few crumbs attached, 23 to 25 minutes, switching and rotating pans halfway through baking.
4. Let cakes cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, discarding parchment, and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours. (Cake layers can be stored at room temperature for up to 24 hours or frozen for up to 1 month; defrost cakes at room temperature.)
Why This Recipe Works Free-form galettes are perfect for showcasing fresh summer fruit. For a dessert that could feed a crowd we formed an extra-large galette in a baking sheet. The expansive surface left the fruit beautifully exposed, and the surface area of the sheet meant the fruit juices evaporated readily and thickened enough after cooking that we didn’t need a thickener. You can toss the fruit mixture in step 4 in two bowls if it doesn’t fit in one. Be sure to weigh the flour for this recipe. In the mixing stage, this dough will be moister than most pie doughs, but as it chills it will absorb much of the excess moisture. Be sure to roll the dough on a well-floured counter.
3¼ pounds ripe but firm nectarines, halved, pitted, and sliced ½ inch thick
12½ ounces (2½ cups) raspberries
½ cup (3½ ounces) plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
¼ teaspoon table salt
1. For the pie dough Grate 5 tablespoons butter on large holes of box grater and place in freezer. Cut remaining 19 tablespoons butter into ½-inch cubes.
2. Pulse 1¾ cups flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined, 2 pulses. Add cubed butter and process until homogeneous paste forms, 40 to 50 seconds. Using your hands, carefully break paste into 2-inch chunks and redistribute evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 1 cup flour and pulse until mixture is broken into pieces no larger than 1 inch (most pieces will be much smaller), 4 to 5 pulses. Transfer mixture to bowl. Add grated butter and toss until butter pieces are separated and coated with flour.
3. Sprinkle ¼ cup ice water over mixture. Toss with rubber spatula until mixture is evenly moistened. Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup ice water over mixture and toss to combine. Press dough with spatula until dough sticks together. Using spatula, divide dough into 2 equal portions. Transfer each portion to sheet of plastic wrap. Working with 1 portion at a time, draw edges of plastic over dough and press firmly on sides and top to form compact, fissure-free mass. Wrap in plastic and form into 5 by 6-inch rectangle. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
4. For the galette Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll each dough rectangle into 16 by 11-inch rectangle on floured counter; stack on prepared sheet, separated by second sheet of parchment. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until dough is firm but still pliable, about 10 minutes.
5. Using parchment as sling, transfer chilled dough rectangles to counter; discard parchment. Wipe sheet clean with paper towels and spray with vegetable oil spray. Starting at short side of 1 dough rectangle, loosely roll around rolling pin, then gently unroll over half of long side of prepared sheet, leaving about 2 inches of dough overhanging 3 edges. Repeat with second dough rectangle, unrolling it over empty side of sheet and overlapping first dough piece by ½ inch.
6. Ease dough into sheet by gently lifting edges of dough with your hand while pressing into sheet bottom with your other hand. Brush overlapping edge of dough rectangles with water and press to seal. Leave any dough that overhangs sheet in place. Cover loosely with plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
7. Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and lowest positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Gently toss nectarines, raspberries, ½ cup sugar, and salt together in bowl. Spread nectarine mixture evenly over chilled dough-lined sheet. Fold overhanging dough over filling, pleating corners, trimming excess dough as needed, and pinching overlapping edges to secure. (If dough is too stiff to fold, let stand at room temperature until pliable.) Brush dough with water and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
8. Place large sheet of aluminum foil directly on lower rack (to catch any bubbling juices). Place galette on upper rack and bake until crust is deep golden brown and fruit is bubbling, about 1 hour, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let galette cool on wire rack until filling has set, about 2 hours or up to 8 hours. Serve.
ROLLING SLAB PIE DOUGH
1. Starting at short side of 1 piece of dough, loosely roll around rolling pin, then gently unroll over half of long side of sheet, leaving about 2 inches of dough overhanging 3 edges of sheet.
2. Repeat with second piece of dough, overlapping first piece of dough by ½ inch in center of sheet.
3. Ease dough into sheet by gently lifting edges of dough with your hand while pressing into sheet bottom with your other hand.
4. Brush edge where doughs overlap with water, pressing to seal.
