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Make Ahead

Sprightly Lemon Vinaigrette

Lemon and oil is a magical marriage that stumps our companions whenever we serve it. "Sumac?" they guess. "Pickled plum? Verjus?" Beautiful in its simplicity, this vinaigrette is our most-oft served, as it is the one most likely to improve any salad it meets.

Peach Iced Tea Sorbet

A frosty glass of refreshing iced tea is the inspiration for this sorbet. Iced tea flavored with peaches has nearly outpaced tea with lemon in recent years. Bottles of tasty peach tea are available in most stores, but you can also brew your own with peach tea bags. If you use bottled tea in this recipe, make sure it isn't diet. This sorbet is a good way to use peaches so dead-ripe that they cannot be eaten whole or sliced because any small brown soft spots disappear into the tea. The vodka improves the texture of the sorbet, as does the corn syrup. Use tea-flavored vodka if you have it, although plain vodka works fine. Pouring a splash of the sweet tea vodka or bourbon over the soft sorbet makes an excellent slushy for grown-ups.

Amaranth-Walnut Cookies with Brandy

Everyone needs a real butter cookie once in a while. I certainly do. These cookies showcase the intense nuttiness of amaranth flour. Rolling them in minuscule amaranth seeds gives them a playful touch and adds a nice crunch, but they are also delicious without. Fine sea salt retains some of its crystalline texture during baking, adding sparks of salt to contrast the natural sweetness of the whole grain flours. For best outcome allow the dough to chill thorougly and firm up, ideally overnight. If the dough balls become soft while you finish them with the walnuts, as in step 4, chill the baking sheet with the cookies for 20 minutes before baking.

Tomato Terrine

Serve this terrine as an elegant starter to a summer meal.

Sluggers' Strawberry Slushies

This grown-up take on a ballpark staple can also be made without an ice cream maker. To do so, put 1 cup of the wine, covered, in the refrigerator; chill. Purée the remaining wine with all remaining ingredients in a food processor. Pour the mixture into ice cube trays and freeze until solid. When you’re ready to serve, just purée the ice cubes with the remaining wine in a blender.

Watermelon Sugar Cocktail

A spicy salad of pork belly and watermelon pickle at New York City's Fatty Crab restaurant inspired bartender Philip Ward of Mayahuel to invent a liquid riff on the dish. If you're a Margarita fan, you'll love this drink, which is made with mezcal, tequila's smoky cousin. Don't mess around with the cheap stuff; look for bottles in the Del Maguey line of mezcals, including Vida de San Luis del Rio.

Raspberry Vinegar

Use this versatile, brightly flavored vinegar in dressings, for deglazing when making pan sauces, and for the Raspberry Shrub

Chile-Thyme Spice Mix

Use this zesty spice mix for sprinkling over the shellfish, corn, and potatoes.

Pickled Peppers

Marshmallow Creme-Hot Fudge Sundaes

Stirring in store-bought marshmallow creme, such as Marshmallow Fluff, gives this chocolate sauce its fudgy texture. Spoon it over ice cream for classic New England—style sundaes.

Cauliflower ChowChow

Sweet-Corn Gelato

This recipe has been a New York favorite since the mid-'90s, or so claims Otto pastry chef Meredith Kurtzman: "I ate something like this at Gramercy Tavern first, and later at Babbo. So it's not really new." But few have done as well as Kurtzman to capture the season&151;and so much flavor&151;in each bite.

Pickled Baby Squash

Dilly Beans

These brined green beans get their snappy flavor from fermentation. Use them to make the Dilly Bean Potato Salad, serve with charcuterie, or use as a Bloody Mary garnish.

Bread-and-Butter Pickles

These old-school sandwich pickles strike the perfect sweet-sour balance.

Tomato and Crab Soup

This soup is equally delicious served hot or chilled.

Tomato Jam

Pair this bespoke ketchup with Grilled Rosemary Chicken .

Apricot Compote

Prosecco-Rose Petal Pops

If I were hosting a swanky rooftop engagement party on a hot summer evening, I'd make these refreshing, not-too-sweet ice pops. You'll need to let the Prosecco get flat in the refrigerator before making the pops. If you're in a hurry, decant it into a large bowl, and it will turn flat faster. Be sure to use food-safe rose petals that haven't been sprayed with pesticide.
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