Making Burgers? Three Tips.


A pan-seared burger with secret sauce, pickled onions, and tomato on homemade brioche.

Brioche buns on a baking sheet.

3 Tips For Better Burgers

    1. Make a secret sauce. (With pantry ingredients.)
    2. Make quick-pickled onions.
    3. Make the buns: No-Knead Brioche Buns


Marinating & Grilling 101

At the start of every grilling season the same questions always seem to arise: Is marinating really necessary? And if so, for how long? Is salt in the marinade a no-no or a must? What about acid? What kind of charcoal should I buy? Lump or briquettes? Do I grill covered or uncovered? 

Let’s review right here → Marinating & Grilling 101.


A weber grill filled with two smoking chimney starters.

Favorite Smoky Grilled Chicken with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce & Skhug

A platter of grilled, smokey chicken, cucumber-yogurt sauce,, skhug and lemon
A bowl filled with cucumber-yogurt sauce.
skhug

On the Grill: 9 More Ideas


A platter of chicken souvlaki with lemon, tzatziki, cucumber salad, and pita.

A platter of grilled hanger steak, resting.

Grilled T-Bone Steak with Dead Easy and Quick Marinade

skillet-grilled fish tacos



Grilled cedar-planked salmon with soba noodles





Charred eggplant produces a creaminess without the help of oil, and the charring moreover imparts such a nice smokiness to the eggplant's flesh. Some sort of flatbread or grilled bread is a must with each of these preparations, and if you happen to have some za'atar in your pantry, the aromatic spice mixture complements the eggplant so nicely. // alexandracooks.com

Grilled Meats

Grilled Fish

Grilled Veg

Salads & Sides: 12 Ideas


A plate of sugar snap pea salad with buttermilk dressing.

A bowl of shaved fennel salad.





A large bowl of chopped Thai salad satay ready to be served.

carrot-quinoa salad with lemon-tahini dressing

charred broccoli salad with dates, almonds, and cheddar

A bowl filled with a spring fattoush salad with arugula, radishes, snap peas, and cucumbers.

Kristina's pasta salad





A simple dressing of olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice with just a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes works best in this quinoa salad, both complementing quinoa's flavors while not oversaturating its delicate texture. // alexandracooks.com

Slaw-ish

Veggie-Heavy

Beans & Grains

MANY More Ideas Right Here → Salads & Sides

Desserts


Bowls of blueberry cobbler with ice cream on a table.



blueberry crisp

gooey oat bars, stacked vertically

brownies

Brown Butter Blondies with Sea Salt

These cookies, soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies, still happen to be my favorite, chocolate chip or otherwise, a decade after first making them. These cookies might help when you're snowed in. I can't think of a better way to pass the time. // alexandracooks.com

I have made this strawberry mascarpone tart several times with a lemony, sweetened mascarpone topped with fresh berries. This is the only pastry crust I will make all summer long in my hot kitchen, on my unforgiving countertops, with my warm, clammy hands. Sayonara rolling pin, see you in the fall. // alexandracooks.com

Rhubarb custard cake on a plate.

Seasonal Fruits

Bar Love

More Favorites

MANY More Ideas Right Here → Desserts

What to Drink?


Palomas are similar to margaritas, but include grapefruit juice. This version lends itself to large-batch mixing. The trick? Instead of juicing limes, you peel them and blitz them whole in a blender. Brilliant! And instead of salting the rims of glasses, you add salt directly to the mix. They're surprising and refreshing, a nice change from many on-the-rocks summer cocktails. // alexandracooks.com

watermelon agua fresca

Strawberry Paloma Slushie

Watermelon Aqua Fresca