The only cookbook you'll need during the year's warmest months
A hot day and hanging over your stove were never meant to be. When fresh
produce beckons but you haven't much energy to respond, these recipes
help you settle into a more relaxed kind of cooking designed to keep you
and your kitchen cool. Untether yourself from the oven with make-ahead
meals best served cold (or at room temp), like Poached Salmon with
Cucumber and Tomato salad and Tzatziki. Fix-and-forget recipes like
North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork made in the electric pressure cooker
won't steam up the kitchen. Equally easy are dinner salads; we've got
enough to keep them interesting and varied, from Shrimp and White Bean
Salad with Garlic Toasts to Grilled Caesar Salad. Barely more effort are
fresh summer recipes requiring the briefest stint in a pan, such as Beet
and Carrot Noodle Salad with Chicken or Braised Striped Bass with
Zucchini and Tomatoes.
Ready to take the party outside? You'll find all you need for casual
patio meals prepared entirely on the grill (from meat to veggies, even
pizza). Throw a fantastic cookout with easy starters, frosty drinks, and
picnic must-haves like Picnic Fried Chicken, Classic Potato Salad, and
Buttermilk Coleslaw. Visited the farmers' market? Find ideas for main
dishes as well as sides inspired by the seasonal bounty, plus the best
fruit desserts worth turning on the oven for. To end your meal on a
cooler note, turn to a chapter of icebox desserts and no-bake sweets.
