Summer Tomato Sorbet

Heirloom tomatoes go on ice for this simple yet elegant sorbet. Use yellow, red, orange, or purple fruit, but my all means, make this sorbet.

Saint Phanourios’s Cake

Bake this cake in honor of Phanourious, the patron saint of lost objects, and you just might find something you never knew was missing.

Bruschetta with Tomato

Bruschetta rubbed with garlic and loaded with tomato are de rigeur summer fare. Pile heirloom tomatoes on the toast for a twist on the classic.

Spaghetti with Raw Tomatoes

Summer at its simplest, not to mention it’s most splendid, seeing as how five minutes of effort yields a meal that rivals round-trip tickets to Italy.

Fresh Fig and Raspberry Tart with Honey

Fresh figs, raspberries, and almonds take on a French accent in this stunning company’s-coming dessert. An indulgent drizzle of honey takes the cake, er, tart.

Japanese Cucumber Salad

Simple. Spunky. Surprising. Refreshing. Just what we look for in a summer salad. Cucumbers, vinegar, oil, ginger, and lemongrass do the trick.

Scale Up–Scale Down Salad

Whether you like a big or small salad, you’ll find it here. We think of this as an anything-goes-anytime-of-year salad. Swap outs are highly encouraged.

Apricot Blackberry Cobbler

Fresh apricots and blackberries are nestled under a biscuit topping in these individual summery cobblers. Substitute any fruit to personalize them.

Funnel Cakes

No, these aren’t the cloyingly sweet, belly-achingly greasy funnel cakes from your childhood. They’re infinitely better. But they still bring back memories. Boy, do they ever.

Fava Bean Puree

Few things say spring like the brilliant green of a fava bean. Here, a little help on how to harness these harbingers of warm weather.

• Quick Glance
• 30 M
• 45 M
• 5

Shaved Summer Squash with Squash Blossoms

An unexpected, elegant salad of thinly shaved summer squash tossed with squash blossoms, lemon, and some crumbly cheese. Lovely with just about anything.

Red Eye Devil’s Food Cake

A caffeinated incarnation of a classic, this stack of cocoa-inflected cake and fudgy ganache takes its bittersweet edge from both chocolate and a cup of joe.

• Quick Glance
• 50 M
• 2 H, 30 M
• 18

Corn and Green Tomato Salad

For this salad, fresh corn, green tomatoes, and red onion are tossed in a refreshing Champagne vinaigrette. All hail summer!

Mini-Muffin Financiers

Don’t let these delicate, diminutive cakes with the froufrou French name fool you. They’re a cinch to toss in the oven–and even easier to toss in the mouth.

• Quick Glance
• 15 M
• 45 M
• 15

A Potato Dish for Julia

A kind of fast stovetop version of classic potatoes Anna, these are nipped by butter, a bit of garlic, and black pepper. It was a favorite of Julia Child.

Fresh Peach Pie

Fresh peach pie is a fleeting joy—thanks to a short peach season. Nonetheless, this dessert is juicy, just sweet enough, and perfectly balanced with spices.

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

Sweetly tart strawberries squat atop of a cloud of mascarpone and a firmament of crushed cookies. Easy peasy.

• Quick Glance
• 20 M
• 2 H, 20 M
• 8

Watermelon and Ginger

Is anything as welcome as a thick slice of watermelon during the dog days of summer? Yup. Consider it a sweet heat.

• Quick Glance
• 5 M
• 5 M
• 4

Coleslaw with a Hint of Maple Syrup

A touch of maple syrup infuses traditional coleslaw with a unique, unexpected sweetness. Try this slaw with pulled pork sandwiches, burgers, or barbecue.

Cornmeal Drop-Biscuit Peach Cobbler

This sensuous peach cobbler is the simplest of impressive desserts—it packs all the comfort and wow-factor of pie with none of the crust-hustle and worry.