Summer

The right amount of mustard is a key ingredient for great potato salad. Since yellow mustard is usually high in sodium, this recipe calls for dry mustard instead.

Sweet and spicy, this fruit salsa is a refreshing accompaniment to grilled chicken, pork, fish, or shrimp. It is also great as a quick, healthy snack when served on apple or pear slices or warm whole-wheat pita triangles.

Crisp, colorful vegetables are the highlights of this salad. Try it for a summertime picnic for a group or for the next family reunion.

Refreshing and crunchy, this fruit salad makes a good brunch dish with Turkey Sausage Patties (page 166).

This pretty, quick-to-prepare, and divine-tasting salad is perfect for potlucks and summer lunches. Vary the vegetables and try other vinaigrettes in this chapter (pages 96–97) for different flavors.

A combination of mango, cantaloupe, and banana creates a taste of paradise with just the swirling of the blender.

When the dog days of summer arrive, turn to this no-cook chilled soup. It is low in sodium and calories, contains no fat, and is quite refreshing.

Beautiful in color, this soup is creamy without using dairy products. The crunchy pumpkin seeds provide a nice texture contrast. Serve the soup hot in the winter and chilled in the summer.

A rustic whole-wheat biscuit topping complements the lightly sweetened fruit of this homey dessert.

Sliced almonds add crunch to the crumbles topping plump slices of sweet, firm-fleshed nectarines in this fragrant dessert.

This is one of my favorite desserts. Dried apricots, almonds, and honey are the key sweet flavors of the Mediterranean. With a nod to Provence, we top it all with Lavender Crème Anglaise.

This is the perfect tart to celebrate summer. It showcases the ripest heirloom tomatoes, fresh corn, and basil. You can use any tomatoes, but I like to use a mixture of colors. The corn kernels add crunch and a burst of flavor. The tang of the goat cheese pulls all the tastes together.

Panzanella is a rustic Italian bread salad, created to use leftover bread. The vibrant tomatoes add moisture to the stale bread for a great summer main course or side dish. In this version, the bread is grilled for extra flavor. If your tomatoes are not at the peak of flavor, grill them, cut side down, until marked to bring out their natural sugars. Cut them into chunks and toss in the dressing before adding to the salad.

Charred with butter and sugar, Broiled Peaches are a summertime romantic dinner-for-two essential in R. B.’s little black cookbook. Guys who lack strong dessert skills can relax. Broil the peaches early, set them aside at room temp, and assemble the dessert when ready to serve. R. B. likes his peaches with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a splash of Amaretto, Smoky Caramel Sauce (page 198), and toasted sliced almonds on top. Substitute fruits abound for this dish—you can butter, sugar, and broil banana halves, fresh pineapple spears, seeded melon wedges, and pitted and halved plums. We use whatever is in season. They all taste great with any of our cheater smoked dessert sauces.

Muffin-cup shortcakes made with self-rising flour turn shortcake biscuits into fast stir-up muffins. The muffins retain the biscuit qualities essential for shortcake—a crisp outer crust and a soft pillowy center that can hold up to a drenching of sweet fruit. Min sprinkles the muffin tops with fancy coarse sugar before baking because it looks pastry chef cool and has a nice crunch. Strawberries are traditional and terrific, of course, but not the only fruit to use. We spoon on any fruit that’s affordable, looks great, and is in season. Any berries or mix of berries and peaches are our summer favorites. In the winter we’ve made shortcake with sliced bananas, Smoky Caramel Sauce (page 198), and whipped cream.