A glass filled with cherry spritzer and two cherries beside it.

Cherry Spritzer

This simple elixir, er, spritzer draws on sweet cherries, tart lime, and sugar syrup. Splash into sparkling wine or seltzer as needed throughout the dog days of summer.

Black bowl of green gazpacho, with two ice cubes, drizzle of olive oil

Green Gazpacho

Though this cool, creamy, don’t-turn-on-the-stove soup is hardly penance, it certainly makes amends for all those burgers and brats. Summer detox, anyone?

Grilled Porterhouse Steak

Smoked Porterhouse Steak

A porterhouse of Flintstone-ian proportions can be awesome to behold, tricky to cook. Your Fred or Barney may never admit he needs a little advice, but here it is anyways.

A piece of blue cheese tartine with two slices of crispy bacon on a grey plate.

Blue Cheese Tartine

A blur of sweet, smoky, creamy goodness, this tartine of sourdough, a schmear of blue cheese, and a dribble of honey makes basic bruschetta seem humdrum.

A wooden bowl of barley salad with shopped spinach, tomatoes, feta cheese, onion, and olives.

Barley Salad

For this barley salad, pearl barley and black barley are tossed with pine nuts, chiles, cucumber, and olives. Serve the salad as starter or as a toothsome lunch.