American

Some would call showering potato salad with potato chips “gilding the lily.” We would call it “extremely sensible and incredibly tasty.”

Zucchini keeps this cake incredibly moist, while scattered chocolate chips (or chocolate pyramids) and chopped walnuts add texture and dimension.

What’s better than a brownie? A brownie with a layer of peanut butter cookie, that’s what.

Peanut butter, jelly, and buttery crackers, now a in no-churn ice cream pie form. Any nut or seed butter, jam or jelly, will work.

Juicy ripe tomatoes and sweet summer corn perk up this fresh take on the old-school Southwestern casserole. Bonus: it just happens to be gluten-free.

As wild as it may seem, pour hot water over peak summer fruit and batter before sliding the lot into the oven for cobbler with an extra-crackly, extra-satisfying crust.

Grill your corn right away over the high heat of just-lit coals, then let it hang out in a cooler while you grill proteins and more delicate vegetables. The corn will finish cooking by steaming in the cooler and stay warm for hours.

These creamy black-eyed pea patties are flavored with mushroom, miso, tamari, and Scotch bonnet chiles. They’re finished off with a sweet-and-tangy barbecue sauce and a spoonful of chowchow.

Canning and preserving have long been an essential tactic of survival, and chowchow is a condiment born of both ingenuity and necessity. Here, green tomatoes not yet ripe enough to eat are transformed into a bright pickled expression of the first days of summer. It has been said that chowchow began as a collection of remnant produce that couldn’t be used in other dishes, so it became its own reclaimed relish. As you chop each vegetable, consider that origin: making the most from the least, creating abundance from scarcity. You can use four heatproof glass pint jars for this, though I prefer eight 8-ounce jars instead so I can share it around. Using pickling salt, such as Morton Canning & Pickling Salt, helps the liquid stay clear and keeps the cabbage from turning brown.

This Caesar salad works in flavors from the African American kitchens in the Lowcountry. That means fresh tomatoes, fried okra, cornbread croutons, and a zesty red bell pepper dressing that ties it all together.

Smoky mezcal, fresh pineapple juice, serrano chile, and cilantro—this is one of my favorite cocktails. The mezcal gives it some edge, and the pine­apple makes it easy drinking. 

Down South, we call this a sitting salad. It can sit on the summer picnic table without wilting, so it’s the perfect potluck dish.

No cookout in the South is complete without baked beans. This is a simple recipe that combines sweet and smoky ingredients for a thick, rich, and perfect side dish.

Mark our words: This is the easiest pie you’ll make all summer. The graham cracker crust gets filled with a simple mixture of sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice, and it gets topped with a golden-brown crown of meringue.

This dish is the embodiment of a chowder-style Southern fish stew, packed with shrimp, scallops, potatoes, corn, and more.

No cocoa means this red velvet cake is a vibrant magenta. To finish: a classic cream cheese frosting and a scattering of chopped pecans.

A family recipe that will never get old.

When you have a big backyard full of people to feed, it’s tough to beat pulled pork that’s been smoked until it’s fork tender. 

Hibiscus punch with ground ginger, roasted pineapple, and fresh lime. Rum optional.

These fried green tomatoes from Nicole A. Taylor are the star of her Juneteenth menu.