Introduction to Summer Recipes

Summer is a time when many of us eat at least some of our meals outdoors, which means looking for bright and delicious dishes that hold up to the rigors of car travel. Those trips can come in the form of rolling out to a cookout or neighborhood get-together, but warm and sunny weather and kids being home from school also inspire impromptu picnics and trips to the pool, too — or maybe the beach or mountains, if you’re lucky.

The Convenience of Homemade Eats

No one can blame you for if you’d rather silence a growling stomach with something quick from a fast-food or fast-casual restaurant. But here’s a pitch from someone who spends hours (and hours) on the road each month making weekend trips to Northern Virginia: homemade eats are almost always cheaper and healthier than ones you get from a fast food or fast-casual restaurant. Packing a picnic basket or cooler with scratch salads, sandwiches, and desserts that you can reach for whenever you get the munchies on route is also quicker for those of us who like to get where they’re going in the shortest amount of time possible.

Planning a Simple Menu

The five recipes that follow make good on that plan in that all are easy to make in a short amount of time, with even limited culinary skills. And, importantly, they travel well. Each is easy to pack and portion, relatively mess-free to eat with your hands or a plastic fork, and can withstand a few hours tucked into a cooler, refrigerated bag, or wicker picnic basket.

Pressed Italian Sandwiches

For sandwich lovers, we’ve got a meat- and veggie-packed Italian pressed sandwich that’s as fun to make as it is to eat. After assembling them, you wrap the sandwiches in plastic, place something heavy on top to flatten the bread (I used foil-wrapped bricks, but a cast-iron skillet also works) and then place them in the fridge so the flavors can melt into one another.

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf ciabatta or other long/wide crusty white bread, cut in half lengthwise with a serrated knife
• 4 tablespoons pesto, homemade or jarred
• 4 tablespoons olive tapenade, homemade or jarred
• 4 ounces salami, thinly sliced
• 4 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
• 4 ounces spicy soppressata
• 8 ounces mozzarella, sliced
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers from a jar, drained well and chopped
• 1/2 cup pepperoncini rings, drained well
• 2 large handfuls arugula
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  

  Instructions:

  1. Spread one side with the split ciabatta with pesto and the other with the olive tapenade.
  2. Layer the three meats down the length of one half of ciabatta. Top the meats evenly with the roasted red peppers and pepperoncini.
  3. Add mozzarella cheese in an even layer and season lightly with salt. Place arugula in a bowl, drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic, and season with a pinch more salt.
  4. Place dressed arugula on top of cheese, and place the other half of ciabatta on top and press down firmly.
  5. Wrap the loaf tightly in plastic and place on a sheet pan. Put another sheet pan upside down on top and weight it with something heavy, like a cast-iron skillet. (I used bricks wrapped in aluminum foil.)
  6. Let the sandwich sit to press and chill overnight in the fridge. Slice crosswise into 6 even pieces and serve. To take on a picnic, wrap each sandwich in parchment, and tie with a pie of twine.

Easy Pasta Salad

Nothing is easier to throw together quickly (and cheaply) than a big bowl of pasta salad. Since it’s summer, this iteration is dressed up with fresh veggies that are easy to find at any market in July — cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, greens, and Italian garden herbs. The fact that even picky kids will eat pasta salad — especially when it includes mozzarella — makes it even more of a winner.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups uncooked tubed or curly pasta
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large handfuls of cherry tomatoes
• 2 Persian cucumbers
• 2 cups arugula or baby spinach
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, optional
  

  Instructions:

  1. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. When al dente, drain and toss with a little olive oil so it doesn’t stick together. Set aside to cool while you prepare vegetables.
  2. Slice cherry tomatoes in half and cucumbers into half moons. Add to bowl with arugula or spinach, basil, parsley, and mint.
  3. Whisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl or jar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. Add pasta to the bowl with the veggies, add mozzarella balls and Parmigiano-Reggiano, drizzle on the dressing and toss well to combine.

Lemon Hummus with Homemade Pita

Lemon hummus can be portioned into single-serving containers for easy noshing.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 cup smooth tahini
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 5 tablespoons water, or as needed to blend
• Paprika, red pepper flakes, and/or fresh parsley, for garnish, optional
  

  Instructions:

  1. Prepare hummus: In a high-speed blender, place chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt.
  2. Use the blender baton to blend until very smooth, adding water as needed to reach your desired consistency.
  3. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Broccoli, Cheese, and Apple Salad

Broccoli salad is crisp, refreshing, and full of flavor. This no-cook, crunchy version is gluten- and nut-free, and if you’re avoiding dairy, the cheese is optional.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound broccoli florets (from 1 1/2 pounds broccoli stalks), thinly sliced and then roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese, optional
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries or dried tart cherries, chopped
• 1 tart apple, peeled, seeded, and chopped
  

  Instructions:

  1. To a large bowl, add chopped broccoli, onion, cheese, cranberries, and apples. Set aside.
  2. In a 1-cup liquid measuring cup or small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients (olive oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, garlic, and salt). Whisk until the mixture is well blended.
  3. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir until all of the broccoli is lightly coated. I highly recommend letting the salad marinate for at least 20 minutes, or even overnight in the refrigerator.

Brown Sugar Snickerdoodles

A cookie that travels well is one that won’t melt, stacks up neatly in a container, and won’t make a mess when you’re eating it. For me, that’s a snickerdoodle with its signature crystalline coat of cinnamon-sugar.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  

  Instructions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until it’s soft, smooth, and light.
  3. Scrape down the bowl, add the sugars to the beaten butter, and mix until they are fully incorporated and lighter in color.
  4. Beat in salt followed by the egg. Mix until the batter looks uniform.
  5. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, and baking soda. In three additions, beat this slowly into the butter-egg mixture until you see a few dry streaks remaining. Switch to a stiff spatula and gently mix the cookie dough until no more dry flour remains.

Tips for Flawless Food Transportation

• If you’re transporting food that needs to stay cold, consider pre-chilling your cooler by filling it with an ice bath (and then draining it) before packing.
• Because coolers work best when they’re full, choose one that’s just large enough to hold your food, plus a little ice on top.
• Avoid leaks! Use sturdy containers with tight-fitting lids.
• Square and rectangle containers take up less space in a cooler or picnic basket.
• To minimize opening the cooler (and keeping food cold), pack your food in the order you will be eating it — sandwiches on