Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint
Jacques Pépin elevates this classic summer salad with one simple trick: cutting the watermelon into elegant spheres with a melon-baller instead of merely chopping it up with a knife.
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Baja-Style Rosemary Chicken Skewers
Chicken skewers are a great way to flex those summertime grilling muscles. In this recipe, the rosemary adds fragrance and flavor.
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Hot Dog Melts
Whether 4th of July or midsummer BBQ, hot dogs are a summertime necessity. Wolfgang Puck’s over-the-top version, which are cheese-filled and bacon-wrapped, are the ultimate in hot dog fare.
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Marsala Cipollini Onions
This recipe is inspired by the chef of Tavernetta in Denver, Ian Wortham, who uses these caramelized onions as a topping for grilled lamb steak.
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Parmesan Tuiles with Heirloom Tomato Salad
This beautiful hors d’oeuvre, complete with summer heirloom tomatoes, is actually fairly easy to make and a great option for a warm-weather dinner party.
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Maine-Style Lobster Rolls
This recipe for lobster rolls comes from Food & Wine Senior Food Editor Mary-Frances Heck, who dresses the meat with mayo and serves it in a hot, buttered bun (with a cold beer, of course).
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Cherry-Vanilla Clafoutis
This light summer dessert is made even more appropriate for July when it’s cooked on the grill, leading to an unexpected smoky flavor.
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Skirt Steak with Charred- Okra and Plum Salad
Nothing says summer like grilled steak, and the combination of meat with crunchy okra and sweet plums is an unexpected touch.
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Raspberry, Lime and Toasted Coconut Pops
Made of all natural ingredients, these popsicles taste like frozen fruit. They’re a refreshing pick-me-up when the summer heat is just too much.
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Fried Shrimp Flatbreads with Spicy Cardamom Sauce
While July is often thought of as a month fit for grilling, who says you can’t fry your food, too? Make like chef Josef Centeno and top flatbread with fried shrimp.
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Grilled Potato Salad with Mustard Seeds
Stephanie Izard’s potato salad has it all: crunch from grilling the sliced potatoes in butter, tang from a mustard seed vinaigrette, and crunch from fresh scallions and celery.
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Smoky Pineapple
Chef Rocky Barnette’s slow-grilled, smoky pineapples take 2 to 3 hours to cook, but they’re worth the wait.
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Red Wine BBQ Chicken
Although July is primetime for rosé, get creative with your leftover red wine by turning it into a barbecue sauce, as in this recipe for red wine BBQ chicken.
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White Gazpacho
While traditional gazpacho is made with tomatoes, this version is full of fruit: apples and grapes combine with cucumber and almonds to produce that unique white color.
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Sesame Bagels with Soppressata and Burrata
Missy Robbins’ Italian bagel sandwiches are an unexpected dish to nosh on all summer, and they’re a great update to any picnic basket.
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Tajarin with Grilled Kale Pesto
This pasta recipe comes from Kevin Fink, a 2016 Food & Wine Best New Chef. If you don’t want to make the homemade tajarin right from the get-go, try making the pesto and using it with store bought pasta.
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Caramelized Coconut Green Beans
In this vegetable side dish, the spice from the Thai chiles is mitigated by the sweetness of the fresh coconut.
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Brown Sugar Cake with Ricotta and Blueberries
Here at Food & Wine, we’re calling this cake — which helped Joe Flamm win season 15 of Top Chef — the dessert of the summer. With the aid of ricotta mousse and blueberry sauce, the dish is chewy, creamy, and tart all in one.
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Summer Squash Gratin
This aesthetically-pleasing gratin is especially great for summer potlucks since it can be cooked and transported all in the same skillet.
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Minetta Burger
July calls for burgers, and there’s no patty more iconic than the one chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr created at Minetta Tavern, using a blend of beef short rib and brisket.
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Kwame’s Waffle Fries
Kwame Onwuachi serves these waffle fries with berbere salt, a citrusy Ethiopian spice blend, at his DC restaurant Kith/Kin.
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Chocolate Shell
Magic shell, that chocolate sauce that hardens instantaneously when it’s poured over ice cream, is the ultimate summer party dessert trick. Food & Wine Culinary Director Justin Chapple’s version includes coconut oil for added flavor.
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Espresso BBQ Sauce
If you’re dubious of espresso in BBQ sauce, just wait until you try the rich, dynamic flavor the powder imparts in this sauce from grilling experts Cheryl and Bill Jamison.
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Heirloom Tomatoes Stuffed with Summer Succotash
Thomas Keller hollows out heirloom tomatoes and fills them with succotash made of lima beans, peppers, and corn for a stunning presentation.
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Grilled Snapper with Pink Chile Salt
The homemade pink chile salt takes the cake in this snapper recipe, and it takes two seconds to make: simply puree hot red chiles with kosher salt until the combination turns pink.
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Layered Blackberry-and-Turmeric Lemonade
At Oriole in Chicago, bar manager Julia Momose serves this striking layered lemonade, which is a fun and unique party drink.
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Strawberry Tart with Flaky Pastry
At Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, Elisabeth Prueitt serves this flaky tart topped with a healthy layer of whipped cream and fresh strawberries (though pretty much any season fruit can be substituted).
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Soft-Shell Crab Sandwiches with Pancetta and Remoulade
Get creative with soft-shell crabs and make these flavorful sandwiches, packed with homemade remoulade and pancetta.
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Grilled Corn with Mango-Habanero Butter
Corn is a July staple. This recipe from Bobby Flay calls for on-the-cob action with a side of sweet and spicy mango-habanero butter.
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Apricots and Plums Poached in Rosé Wine
Get even more in the spirit of rosé all day (yes, that’s possible) with this rosé-centric dessert.
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Zucchini Omelet (Avga me Kolokithakia)
This Greek-inspired omelet, which is as beautiful as it is delicious, makes ideal use of peak zucchini season.
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