Summer - quick and easy recipes - page 6

Traditionally, Caesar salad was made tableside by a tuxedoed waiter tossing romaine leaves with the whole egg, cheese, and garlic all at once. We’ve made the process a little bit easier, and a lot less dramatic, by combining the dressing ingredients first. Note: While it’s perfectly safe for healthy adults to consume raw eggs, the elderly, pregnant women, or anyone with a delicate immune system should avoid them.

In this quick, healthy recipe for porridge adapted from Food & Wine magazine, quinoa simmers with dried figs, maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Milk and a sprinkling of chopped, toasted pecans and halved figs complete this nourishing breakfast.

Digestifs are boozy after-dinner drinks said to tame the effects of a rich, heavy meal. They’re ridiculously easy to make: Just add citrus peels or herbs to grain alcohol and steep, then strain and mix with simple syrup. Digestifs keep forever (we store ours in the freezer so they’re pre-chilled), ready whenever you want a nightcap or a cocktail mixer. This recipe relies on the peel from pomelos to create a wonderfully aromatic liqueur.

This alternative to basil and pine nut pesto is great on pizza, pasta, or straight from a spoon.

Polenta, writes Chez Panisse’s Cal Peternell in Twelve Recipes, is “more ratio than recipe.” The standard is 4 parts water to 1 part polenta, simmered for 30 minutes. Be careful to add the polenta to the boiling water in a slow, steady stream with one hand as you whisk with the other—this will prevent lumps from forming. (If you end up with a few lumps despite your best efforts, don’t sweat it; it’ll still taste delicious.) Enriching it at the end with butter and cheese isn’t strictly necessary.

For this quick and easy chicken pho recipe, you’ll need rice vermicelli noodles, shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken, chicken broth, ginger, Asian fish sauce, basil, cilantro, mung bean sprouts, hoisin sauce, and Sriracha.

A classic baked oyster recipe from Jennifer Puccio, executive chef of Marlowe, The Cavalier, and Park Tavern in San Francisco.

A classic French vinaigrette with red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, shallot, lemon juice, and olive oil is one of the most versatile sauces in the kitchen. Use it to dress a simple green salad or an elaborate composed one, employ it as a quick marinade for raw meats or a casual accompaniment for grilled ones.

This spring break cocktail with a scandalous name blends vodka, peach schnapps, fresh orange juice, and cranberry.

Drinks writer Rob Chirico says the Tequila Sunrise—a blend of tequila and orange juice, with a grenadine glow at the bottom of the glass—is a Prohibition-era cocktail invented at the Agua Caliente racetrack in Tijuana, Mexico.

Penne pasta cooked al dente combines with sautéed spinach, crumbled feta, crème fraîche, and yogurt in this easy vegetarian baked pasta dish.

For this fresh, healthy summer salad recipe that balances sweet, tart, and salty, grilled watermelon, combines with feta, and mint.

This easy, spicy lime and jalapeño coleslaw recipe adapted from Bon Appétit is perfect with fish tacos, or next to a burger. This recipe is featured on our Summer of Clean Eating channel.

This Devil’s Juice Sangría from New York City’s The Meatball Shop is the perfect drink to make in large batches. The flavor gets better over time, and it’s fun to serve in a big punch bowl for a group. You’ll have more Ginger Syrup than you’ll probably need, but any leftovers will keep in the fridge up to 2 weeks.

Sweet, ripe mango and aromatic fresh dill are the surprises in this easy shrimp salad adapted from Epicurious. It’s an elegant first course for a warm-weather dinner party or a summer luncheon outside on the terrace.

Fresh or frozen berries, a little sugar, and yellow cake mix are all you need for this easy campfire cake and berry cobbler recipe.