We’re at the last month of summer . Well, not quite officially, since it technically ends on September 22, 2024, but it’s pretty much the tail end before many of us head back to school and our regular routines. But let’s not get us down—it’s time to savor the last few moments of the season (and all the ripe produce!).
Plan those last couple of barbecues and al fresco gatherings— kung pao chicken kebabs , a miso flank steak salad , and smoky summer corn will satisfy guests. Take advantage of the stellar produce in season by incorporating them into just about every dish. We’ve got a melon salad with pickled chilies , zucchini with basil and butter , a marinated heirloom tomato salad , spicy chicken thighs with summer squash , and grilled Chinese eggplant steaks to put on the menu.
And don’t forget about dessert. Prioritize summer fruits with poached peach trifles , a blueberry, orange, and cardamom cobbler , and melon and Greek yogurt panna cotta .
Salads, Sides, and Starters
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Cold Sesame Soba Noodles
Crisp vegetables, a spicy sweet dressing, and soba noodles combine to make a perfect, picnic-ready side dish .
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Melon Salad with Pickled Chiles
You can use any melon that’s at peak ripeness, but the salad is prettier and tastier if you use multiple varieties.
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Charred Onion Labneh with Smoked Trout Roe
Ashes & Diamonds chefs Ethan Speizer and Madison Gabor describe this dish as “A casual caviar setup giving sour-cream-and-onion vibes, utilizing tangy labneh in harmony with high-quality crème fraîche and charred spring onions. There’s truly nothing better than chips and dip with a little dollop of roe or caviar. It’s an indulgent poolside snack.”
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Zucchini with Basil and Butter
Sweet summer squash needs little more than butter and basil.
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Grilled Watermelon and Shrimp Skewers
Grilling watermelon adds a smoky note to the fruit and gives it a slightly meaty texture that matches well with shrimp. Cooking takes only a couple of minutes, so have both sets of skewers ready before you start. You’ll need 12 flat metal skewers (12 in. long) or 18 skewers (8 in. long)—or use bamboo skewers of the same size, soaked in water for 30 minutes.
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Marinated Heirloom Tomato Salad
This marinated heirloom tomato salad is a delicious and colorful summertime side dish.
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Smoky Summer Corn
Grilled corn sprinkled with crunchy, spicy Salsa Seca is going to be your new favorite summer party food.
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Broccoli Crunch Salad
Raw broccoli chopped into tiny pieces is combined with aromatic vegetables and edamame, then generously dressed with an aioli spiked with Fly By Jing’s now legendary chili crisp .
Mains
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Kung Pao Chicken Kebabs
These chicken kebabs are marinated in crowd-pleasing Kung Pao flavors (don’t skip the fermented bean paste doubanjiang for the full effect). A garnish of basil and puffed rice provides a vivid finish and pleasing textural contrast.
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M5 Burgers with Bacon Jam
Use dry-aged beef for a deeply flavorful patty, then add unctuous bacon jam for a truly decadent burger experience.
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Spicy Chicken Thighs with Summer Squash
A metal cooling rack set in a rimmed baking sheet makes bi-level cooking possible—squash below, chicken above—so the meat’s glaze stays nicely charred, while the juices drip into and moisten the squash.
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Grilled Chinese Eggplant Steaks with Zhong Sauce
Umami-packed Zhong sauce is the sweet and spicy secret to this luxurious grilled eggplant dish that gets just the right amount of char from a hot grill.
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Tacos la Paz
Is there anything more Baja than a breaded and fried fish taco ? Said to have originated in Ensenada in the northern part of Baja in the 1950s, the batter may have actually been inspired by Japanese immigrants in the area who fried the fish in tempura. Make chipotle crema by mixing sauce from canned chipotles in adobo into sour cream until it’s just spicy enough!
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Gochujang Spareribs
Los Angeles restaurant Yangban Society’s sweet and spicy and oh-so-sticky pork ribs benefit from a sauce spiked with gochujang, the deeply flavored fermented Korean chili paste. For maximum deliciousness, make sure you give yourself 3 to 12 hours to cure the pork ribs in the dry rub.
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Cod with Tomato Curry and Corn
This party-worthy main course is one of the best uses of peak-season tomato and corn we’ve ever tried. It’s a bit cheffy to make corn broth with leftover corn cobs, but it adds a layer of flavor you can’t get otherwise. If that’s one step too many, feel free to skip! You can make the curry the morning of your party or a day ahead.
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Elote Spaghetti
Saucing an Italian dish with the flavors of Mexican street corn is exactly the sort of madcap riff chef Donald Hawk, of Phoenix’s Valentine , specializes in. They make their pasta in-house with ‘00’ white Sonoran wheat and local egg yolk, but you can make this dish with store-bought spaghetti. And while they source their goat cotíja from Crow’s Dairy, normal cotíja works too.
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Miso-Marinated Flank Steak with Salad
Sweet-salty white miso makes beef taste wonderfully beefier. Marinate the steak the night before so it’s quick to cook the next day. Serve with hot rice if you like.
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Whole Grilled Channel Island Rock Cod
At the Surfrider Hotel, chef Jacob Wetherington wraps local rock cod with olive leaves and foraged bay laurel, and garnishes it with fresh fennel flowers. We substitute more readily available fennel stalks.
Desserts
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Poached Peach Trifles
These luscious spiced trifles are just about the most indulgent summer dessert.
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Blueberry, Orange, and Cardamom Cobbler
When you’re in the mood for an all-blueberry dessert, you can’t beat this combination with citrus, spice, and vanilla bean to heighten and add depth to the fruit’s gentle flavor.
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Mango Royale
American ice box cake meets Filipino crema de fruta (a layered cake often made with canned fruit cocktail) in Isa Fabro’s fresh, creamy dessert. “It’s American and Filipino at the same time—like me!” says the chef. You’ll need a 9-in. springform pan, and a small offset spatula is helpful for spreading. Mangoes may need a few days to ripen in a paper bag.
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Peach Bread Pudding
Juicy, ripe peaches at the height of stone-fruit season shine in this great summer dessert. “The brandy sauce makes it special, but it’s also good for breakfast without the sauce,” says reader Sarah Epstein, of Palo Alto, California. “During the rest of the year, I use the basic recipe and substitute other fruits. One of our favorites is sour cherries with dark chocolate chunks.”
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Melon and Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta
Although as silky as the Italian classic, this version is lighter and more refreshing, with yogurt standing in for half of the cream—and diced fruit adding bursts of sweetness.
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