Quick Pickled Red Onions

A tasty condiment for burgers, tacos, BBQ (or anything)

Quick pickling – also called refrigerator pickling – is an easy way to pickle almost any vegetable you can think of. It’s much faster (and much less work) than the traditional canning process.

Red onions are a great choice for pickling. They make a tasty topping for burgers, tacos, and BBQ. Even scrambled eggs. You can also use them as an ingredient in wraps and sandwiches. Or add them to a cheese/charcuterie board for extra color and flavor. Or just drop them atop cream-cheese covered crackers.

Some people say you can even eat them all by themselves, out of the jar, standing in front of the refrigerator. Not that we’d ever do that. 

Smacked (Smashed) Cucumber Salad

Spicy chili crisp livens up this classic Chinese side (or first course)

Cukes! Is there a better veggie for beating summer’s heat?

For a quick pickled version, try them in this Sichuan dish. It combines cudgeled cukes with tangy extras. It’s terrific with Chinese food, of course. But it works just as well with traditional cookout fare. So skip the coleslaw and serve this as a side with pulled pork or barbecued ribs. Or hamburgers and hot dogs.

Smashing good stuff. 

Bacon Jam with Jalapeño

A zesty spread for breakfast breads or predinner canapés

This bacon jam (you could also call it relish or chutney) makes a great addition to morning biscuits or toast. But it’s also terrific atop a cracker (preferably with a bed of cream cheese or pimento cheese) as a canapé.

Or use it on about anything you can imagine. If you can think of it, it’ll probably be good.

Because bacon. One of our favorite food groups.

Chimichurri Sauce (or Dip)

This traditional Argentine herb sauce is great on grilled meat or fish

Chimichurri Sauce mixes minced parsley (and often cilantro) with lively spices and vinegar. It’s a traditional topping for grilled steak in Argentina. But it’s also tasty on any grilled meat, fowl, or fish.

This sauce takes only a few minutes to make. And, conveniently, you can prepare it a couple of hours ahead of time.

The flavor is so enticing, you’ll be tempted to use it as a spread or dip. Ask us how we know.

Potato and Sausage Salad

Garlicky mustard vinaigrette adds moxie to this side (or main) dish

Cookouts are around the corner. That means potato salad on the picnic table.

But we like it even better on our dining room table. Add in some sausage, and it can even serve as a main course. Bonus: It’s quick and easy enough to make for a weeknight meal.

Tot another one up for taters.

Fennel and Pear Salad

Garnish with blue cheese or Parmesan for an early springtime starter

We could be fancy and call this insalata di finocchio e pere. But it tastes just as good in English.

The subtle anise flavor of fennel plays well with the crisp sweetness of pears. Add a garnish of blue cheese (we favor Gorgonzola) or maybe Parmigiano Reggiano, and you’ve got a springtime starter that will awaken your taste buds from their long winter’s nap.

So yeah, we love finocchio (no Pinocchios).

Carrot Slaw

Mustard adds tang to this French-style dish

Coleslaw doesn’t require cabbage (really). You can use almost any shredded vegetable to make slaw. In France, carrots are a popular choice.

And what a terrific choice it is! The bright color and vibrant flavor of carrot slaw will liven up any picnic or cookout. Plus, you can make this dish several hours ahead of time.

Tasty, make-ahead dishes are gold. In this case, 14-carrot gold.

Marinated Mushrooms

This make-ahead Italian-style dish is ideal for summer entertaining

During the lazy days of summer we want to be, well, lazy. But we still want to entertain. So we look for dishes that are easy to make, preferably ones we can prepare ahead of time.

Enter these Italian-style marinated mushrooms. Flavored with olive oil, lemon, and vinegar, they make a wonderful appetizer or side dish. And they taste better when made several hours ahead, or even the day before serving. They’re also delicious when cold or at room temperature – so they’re perfect for the picnic table.

Plus they taste really good! Kind of addictive, actually. Magic mushrooms, you might say.

Collard Greens and Radish Slaw

Coleslaw with attitude for picnics and cookouts

Umm, coleslaw. Now that summer is on the way in our part of the world, we can’t stop thinking about it. And variations on it.

Like this collard-greens version.

Collard greens are a close relative of kale, that rock star of veggies. And like kale, they’re flavorful, nutritious, and versatile. Use them in coleslaw, and you’ll find that a familiar dish has acquired an entirely new personality.

That’s a good thing. Because with Memorial Day right around the corner (officially kicking off cookout and picnic season here in the US), you probably need all the coleslaw recipes you can get.

Roast Green Beans with (or without) Garlic

Intense flavor in a quick and easy dish

Markets are bursting with fresh produce in our part of the world. Including green beans (aka string beans or snap beans). So why not roast a mess of them?

Oven heat concentrates and deepens the (already wonderful) flavor of fresh vegetables. And roasting veggies requires little effort – prep work is minimal.

Best of all, these beanies are equally good served hot or cold. So they’re both dinner-party perfect and picnic friendly.

Carnitas in Adobo Sauce

A richly flavored Mexican favorite

Most of us know about adobo sauce, right? It’s the stuff that canned chipotle chilies are packed in. But have you ever made homemade adobo? It’s a great sauce or marinade for meat, especially pork.

Our method for making adobo sauce is quick and easy. And in this post, we serve the sauce with its best friend, carnitas.

So get ready to pig out for Cinco de Mayo.

Marinated Cauliflower Salad with Capers

This healthy Mediterranean-style starter can be made ahead for extra versatility

Cauliflower has been an “it” vegetable for years. And why not? It’s flavorful and nutritious, and works well in lots of dishes.

We particularly like to marinate cooked cauliflower in olive oil and vinegar, then serve it as a salad. Adding capers gives it tang. Tossing in some parsley and pimento ups the flavor and color.

Best of all, you can make this salad ahead of time. So it’s perfect for entertaining – no last-minute rush to get that first course on the table.

Peach and Chipotle Gazpacho

This zesty, refreshing vegan starter tames summer heat

The dog days of summer are here in our part of the world. So let’s cool off with gazpacho, shall we?

This peachy version combines sweet summer fruit with savory cukes and bell peppers, then lets them romp in chipotle fire.

Make this soup ahead of time and pop it into the fridge. Then – chill out!

Beet and Red Onion Salad

Refreshing and lively, this is the perfect summer starter

As the weather grows warmer, we need something to tease our appetites. Something like this simple-to-make (and delightful-to-eat) summer salad.

It’s got great color, and better flavor. And it’s a wonderful way to use all the locally grown beets that show up in markets this time of year.

Can’t beat that.

Hot Bacon Coleslaw with (or without) Jalapeño

Serve this as a side, or use it to top a BBQ pork sandwich

Cookout season will soon be here. So it’s time to seek out side dishes!

Like this one. Coleslaw is always a hit. And you can’t go wrong with bacon. Put them together and . . . instant favorite.

This dish is terrific all by itself, too. Or use it to top a pulled-pork sandwich, or even to garnish fish tacos.

This coleslaw is versatile. And that’s no hogwash.

Cranberry Shrub Cocktail with Bourbon

You can also make a kid-friendly version of this holiday drink

Ready for some holiday cheer? So are we.

The season calls out for cranberries, of course. And bourbon is perfect for warming a long December night. Mix them both with a tangy, vinegary shrub syrup, and you have a cocktail that even Santa can’t resist. (But we know some of his elves don’t drink, so we provide instructions for a nonalcoholic version of the cocktail, too.)

Wishing you a berry merry December.

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Mint

Raspberry vinaigrette brightens this scrumptious starter

Beets have a thing for goat cheese. So let’s throw them together, we say.

Add some mint, drizzle on raspberry vinaigrette – and you’ve got a dish that sings with savor and flavor. One that’s easy to make, too. Great for stressless entertaining.

Which is perfect this time of year. Because on a hot summer evening, you don’t want dinner to turn into a goat rodeo.

Berry Shrub (Nonalcoholic)

Use almost any berry or fruit to make this refreshing beverage

Shrubs were all the rage during colonial times, both here in the US and in Britain.

Shrub syrup is usually made from fruit preserved with vinegar and sugar. Berries are a popular choice of fruit – and they’re our favorite.

Shrub syrups tend to be used in drinks (with or without booze). Today we’re making a nonalcoholic shrub drink, so you can serve this one to the whole family. It’s easy to make too. Just add shrub syrup to soda water and you’ll have an old-timey beverage that’s better than commercial sodas.

So mix one up and quaff like Alexander Hamilton. No wig required.

Spicy Pork Vindaloo

Kinda, sorta like Indian chili con carne

Vindaloo has an incendiary reputation. But no worries if you’re heat-adverse — it’s easy to tame this dish by lightening up on the chile.

Which means you can share this vindaloo with even the most finicky dinner guests (and the flavor is so good, you’ll want to). You can also tell them that pork is really, truly authentic in this dish (more on that below). The vindaloos they’ve had in restaurants are copycats. They’ll feel honored to be at your table.

Quick Corn Relish

Jalapeño adds zip to this tangy side dish

Have a hankering for some old-fashioned corn relish? But forgot to preserve any fresh corn when it was in season? No problem. We’ve got you covered with this easy refrigerator corn relish.

This recipe uses frozen corn, which is generally high quality. It’s also available year round, so you can make this relish whenever the mood strikes. The entire process takes only a few minutes. And the flavor improves over time as the ingredients mingle, so you can mix it up days (or even weeks) before you plan to serve it.

The perfect make-ahead recipe for a big dinner, wouldn’t you say? It’s especially good when you have lots of other last-minute dishes to juggle. Like Thanksgiving, for instance.