Dinner

Grilling watermelon caramelizes the sweetness of the fruit, and the char gives just a hint of smoky flavor.

This recipe pairs crispy fried plantains with homemade hot sauce and a cooling lime sour cream, but each is delicious all by itself.

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.

Smothered pork chops may be an iconic soul food specialty, but this recipe proves you can smother anything. All it really means is coating slow-cooked meat with a blanket of saucy aromatics that end up as gravy too.

If your watermelon isn’t very sweet, force it to be savory by adding peppery radishes and a quick vinaigrette. With mint strewn all over, it's super-refreshing.

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.

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. 

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

I love the notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, sweet warming spices in these baby back ribs.

Marinate shrimp in a sweet-spicy mixture of apricot preserves, lime, habanero, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger—then throw them on the grill for dinner in 15 minutes.

Since the crunchy apple and kohlrabi are so refreshing, it would make the perfect palate cleanser between heavier courses at dinner, but most often I eat it for a light lunch.

The key to these juicy steaks is to flip them often, so the fat renders evenly without overcooking the meat. And don’t sleep on that herb salad—it adds freshness to the sticky-salty-sweet pork.

Starting the wings in a cold oven allows the fat to render slowly so they get even crispier. Pour off the infused fat and save for stir-fries or cooking crispy eggs.

The smoky charred peppers play well with the cool cucumbers and lemony ricotta. If you can’t find Italian frying peppers or just aren’t feeling them, grilled eggplant or zucchini would also pair well here.

You can fill this tart shell with your choice of sweet or savory fillings—from cheeses, to roast vegetables, to stone fruits.