The summer heat has arrived, and we can truly enjoy being outdoors, taking in the sun and savoring our favorite summer foods. As the temperature rises, however, it becomes a challenge to prepare food without heating up the kitchen. Preparing casual meals using the bounties of garden-fresh vegetables from the farmers market and easy recipes is the way to go.
What’s better than relishing the dining experience under a clear blue sky or under the stars in the evening? America’s Test Kitchen’s “The Complete Summer Cookbook: Beat the Heat with 500 Recipes that Make the Most of Summer’s Bounty,” by the editors of America’s Test Kitchen (2020, $32.99), is a beautiful volume of recipes, enough to last a lifetime of summer cooking. As it heats up, we tend to avoid cooking indoors as much as possible.
Many of the recipes are designed to be ready in 30 minutes or less: dinner-size salads, make-ahead meals, dishes that can be served cold or at room temperature and no-cook delights. The editors begin with the “Top Ten Test Kitchen Tips for summertime cooking and eating.” One tip is to make mezze your meal; not every meal has to have a main course with a couple of sides.
They suggest making a spread of appetizers and small bites the meal. The Mediterranean Mezze Meal includes pita chips, hummus, crudité, beet muhammara, tzatziki, marinated eggplant with capers and mint, tabbouleh, country-style Greek salad, plus nectarines and berries in Prosecco. When you come home from.