Gourmet

Lobes of golden mushrooms, shreds of buttery Gouda cheese, and the heartiness of spicy greens come together in this substantial salad. It's a terrific companion to the chive shortcakes, stew, and baked tomatoes, but keep it in mind when all you're after is a soup-and-salad supper.

Americans have learned to appreciate plain whole-milk "Greek-style" yogurt in all its thick, rich, creamy glory, and those attributes are played up here. Buttermilk and lemon juice bolster its pleasing tartness, and light corn syrup adds body.

You yield to temptation at the farmers market and stagger home with pounds and pounds of tomatoes—and now they are all burstingly ripe at the same time. Don't panic, and don't put them in the refrigerator either. They'll turn flavorless and cottony. Instead, slow-roast them until they become smooth and almost meaty in texture. After six to eight hours in a low oven, they're ideal for bruschetta and for tossing with pasta.

A classic American sandwich gets a makeover: The avocado dressing has an inviting creaminess to it, and the crunchy grilled croutons are a revelation.

Smoky grilled vegetables—not a cloying amount of meat or cheese—rule here. Instead of embellishing the enchiladas with a complex (and time-consuming) Mexican pipián (pumpkin-seed sauce), cook a few customary pipián ingredients and then purée them with cilantro for an easy enchilada that's herbaceous and fresh.

Comfort food, August-style: A creamed-vegetable stew tastes mighty fine ladled over pillowy biscuits dotted with chives. A store-bought smoked turkey leg deepens the stew's flavor almost effortlessly—its bone and skin go into making the broth (along with the corn cobs and silk), and its meat is stirred into the stew.

A take on muhammara, a Turkish and Syrian red pepper spread thickened with bread crumbs and walnuts, this sunset-hued condiment comes together in minutes and does double duty as an accompaniment to both the kebabs and the grilled pita.

In this main-course riff on salade niçoise, the olives make a splash in the dressing while peppery arugula stands in for lettuce, grilled salmon for oil-packed tuna. Yet the beautiful contrasts of the original are still front and center: potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, and hard-boiled eggs.

Make this delicate dessert in a shallow ceramic baking dish so that when it's baked, all that's visible is a sea of golden, toasty caramelized bread slices.

The inspiration for test kitchen director Ruth Cousineau’s velvety chilled bean soup comes from Mediterranean-cooking authority Claudia Roden's recipe for bissara, an Egyptian bean-and-herb purée. The beans here are lima and green, simmered in chicken broth (you can use vegetable broth if you want to go vegetarian) and then puréed until silky. The herbs—parsley, cilantro, dill, and mint—are blended with olive oil so that you can finish the soup with a verdant drizzle, but don’t think of the herb oil as merely a garnish: Its bright flavor brings everything together.

The piquancy of little sweet-and-sour squash helps balance the lavishness of the creamed corn and okra stew. The surprise ingredient here is maple syrup: It adds a more rounded flavor to the pickles than sugar. A mixture of tiny green, yellow, and pattypan squash makes a visual impact, but slices of regular zucchini would be delicious, too.

Crown broiled peaches with pillows of meringue and a bit of honeyed crunch.

Apricots and almonds have an affinity for each other, as you'll discover in this marriage of the stone fruit and a cool semifreddo dotted with crushed almond praline.

A simple, delicious summer dessert with nectarines.

Hot-wing aficionados will flip for these grilled shrimp, seasoned with hot sauce and butter. Celery and homemade blue cheese dip are delicious accompaniments.

With its ample doses of maple syrup, cream, and the freshest berries, this easy, elegant treat will knock apple pie off its pedestal. True to the spirit of Yankee thrift, any leftover berry mixture can be put to good use at tomorrow's breakfast table, as a topping for pancakes.

Salads made with hearty romaine stand up well to strong flavors like garlic, lemon, and pungent Parmigiano-Reggiano. The chopped anchovies lend depth and savor, not fishiness, to the dressing.