(sketch by me at a restaurant)
This is perhaps my very favorite cold dish ever. Imagine sticky noodles with Asian flavoring, creamy peanut butter, chopped green onions....
Little fresh mozzarella balls, spiral pasta (couscous or orzo), fresh summer veggies, pepperocini, fresh herbs, and a tangy dressing.
I make chicken salad often and my favorite way is with mayo, a tiny bit of mustard, a dash of ranch, walnuts, cut up grapes or tart apple, celery, and onion.
This tangy, super fiber-filled side dish is a powerhouse. It isn't just something served with BBQ, but placed on sandwiches. The California or West Coast Reuben involves turkey, thousand island dressing, swiss cheese, and cole slaw.
My very favorite way to eat salad is chopped. Normal salads have big chunks of cucumber, bell pepper, etc., and have to dump tons of dressing on to soak it all. If you chop it all into little bits, you can toss with 1 tablespoon of dressing and everything is coated, every bite has the flavors of all the veggies/fruits/herbs.
If you want to impress your luncheon guests, this is a winner. Imagine fresh tart lemon, dijon mustard, mayonnaise, celery, garlic, and red onion. This is great atop of avocado or hollowed tomato.
It's not just the standard you grew up on. A tuna melt on a rainy day is a comforting reward. I've always used diced pickles, but relish works great too. Some mayo, onion, pickle, and more -
Generally when it comes to summer barbecues or fried chicken, I will heap macaroni salad on my plate. It's cold, it's tangy, and it's filling.
There are two camps for potato salad - the german variety that has a dressing and hard boiled eggs and then there's the mayo and mustard variety.
INGREDIENTS FOR SUMMER COOKING
feta cheese - great on salads, bruschetta with fig jam, stuff it in a date and wrap the date in bacon and cook in high heat oven.
watermelon - with cucumbers, mint, serrano pepper, avocado, and feta cheese topped with a dressing of Greek yogurt, maple syrup (or honey), avocado, olive oil, lime juice.
limes - for marinades, drinks, and limeade.
salad mix - cold proteins are great on summer salads like chopped roasted chicken, boiled eggs, shrimp.... Add some summer fruit too - strawberries, tart apple, watermelon.
cheddar biscuit mix - These aren't just great for breakfast sandwiches and with chowders, they're awesome for slider sandwiches whether it's pulled bbq pork or spicy fried chicken.
cole slaw - put it on sandwiches, top a salad with it, use in wrap sandwiches.
tortillas, salsa - everything is good on a tortilla from tacos to quesadillas to wrap sandwiches. Try a tropical salsa this summer with pineapple, jalepenos, lime juice, mango, papaya, and cilantro.
grill seasoning - There are lots of grilling season mixes on the shelves, but you can also make your own with cracked pepper, coriander, chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic....
Otter pops are not just a nostalgic summer cooling aid, but open one and drop it into a cocktail - it's fantastic with rum or tequila. Another great standby is Kool-Aid.
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