Make Ahead

Grilling whole fish is not as tricky as it sounds. We tie ours with kitchen twine, which makes them easy to handle.

A spicy, tangy option for anyone who loves to put mayo on burgers.

If you can chop tomatoes, you can make tomato water. The rose-colored liquid that releases from the cut fruit tastes like a super-concentrated, drinkable version of ripe tomatoes.

This recipe calls for baking one giant cookie, a way to ensure even, consistent ice cream sandwiches.

"I totally ripped this off from my mom." —Allie Lewis Clapp, food editor

Fiery kimchi gets a little sweetness from gochujang pepper paste.

An aggressively seasoned marinade delivers big flavor.

Pair this summery side dish with grilled pork chops or flank steak, or chop and fold it into couscous for a light meal.

This steak pairs well with grilled corn or a crunchy salad.

This riff on gazpacho gets unexpected sweetness—and great color— from the addition of cherries and a peach.

Fresher and more vibrant than the jarred stuff, this easy-to-make relish is good on hot dogs, burgers, and grilled sausages.

How do you make grilled corn taste even better? Douse it in flavorful herb butter.

The flavor of the spiced pickled fennel really pops with the sweet tomatoes.

Scoring the plums helps the poaching liquid infuse the fruit all the way to the pit.

This fantastic pesto combines the complex flavors of various herb flowers—use whatever you have on hand. After the herbs bloom but before they set seed, grab some blossoms and grind them up. You can use this pesto on pasta or bruschetta, but it also makes a great topping for fish or marinade for poultry, beef, or pork.

Editor's note: Use this sauce to make Myron Mixon's Smoked Whiskey Wings . I have heard people eating barbecue at festivals say that "the sauce makes the barbecue." It's not true. The smoke makes the barbecue. The sauce is a finisher. It's what you put on your meat after it cooks to enhance its appeal. It can add a great punch, but I've had plenty of delicious barbecued meat with no sauce at all. I've been around barbecue sauces of different stripes all of my life. My family's sauce recipe, which my parents were just beginning to market when my father suddenly passed away, is what got me into cooking competitive barbecue in the first place. We have always preferred a hickory-style sauce, meant to closely evoke and complement the flavor of hickory-smoked meats. It's world famous and a secret recipe, so the only way you'll taste the original is to order it from me, but if you insist on not giving me your business, here's a reasonable approximation that is still damn delicious.

Rainbow chard is especially pretty pickled, but any variety will work.