December 2009

With so many places to dine al fresco in and around Boston, the question is not where to picnic, but what to tuck into the basket. In the heat, mayonnaise dressing makes everyone nervous, but potato salad is a must. This French potato salad calls for mustard instead of mayo; a vinaigrette adds a piquant touch to the potatoes, here tossed with freshly picked green beans. When the potatoes are tender, toss them quickly with red onion, white wine, and vinegar. As they cool, the potatoes absorb the zippy marinade.

These substantial bread twists are loaded with fresh rosemary and thyme, generously brushed with garlic oil, and, after they come out of the oven, rolled in a mixture of Parmigiano-Reggiano and parsley. Don’t be at all surprised if they steal the show.

The same way bell peppers char nicely on a grill, the skin on eggplant does, too; grilling makes the skin easy to remove. Don’t light a grill specially for this because you can also char the eggplant under a broiler or over a gas burner. This dip mixes the coarsely chopped flesh of the eggplant with garlic (try using a Microplane grater to chop the cloves), parsley, olive oil, vinegar, and crushed red pepper. If you do light the grill, place the eggplant over the hottest spot. Serve the spread at room temperature, accompanied by crackers, breadsticks, or a crusty loaf.

Think spicy tuna and a sushi bar comes to mind. But there are other ways to meld rich fish and hot condiments. One is this composed canned tuna salad, made with the same spicy sauce used in those popular sushi rolls. You can make the same dish with shrimp, grilled salmon, smoked salmon, or leftover roast striped bass. The sauce begins with ordinary mayo, to which sesame oil and a few squirts of the Thai hot sauce sriracha are mixed in - enough to make a lip-tingling, faintly pink-colored sauce.

This summer salad of red or golden beets is cool and creamy. If you use red beets, their juices will stain the horseradish mixture a faint pink color. The salad is a fine match with grilled meats and fish.

OVER the years, I’ve described cobblers, crisps, betties, free-form tarts and just about everything else I could think of to keep people from having to tackle the classic pie. A pie crust in itself is not much of a challenge, but many home cooks fear or fail at transferring the crust from countertop to pie plate.

PAD THAI, savory noodles that are a national dish of Thailand, can be made in multiple variations, but cooks must stay on their toes. At its sprightly best, pad Thai has fresh, tangy flavors. The sauce — with a splash of lime or lemon juice — is sweet, sour and spicy. The gently chewy, translucent rice noodles are mixed with a toss of bean sprouts, baby bok choy, slivers of sweet red pepper, string beans and a sprinkle of fresh basil and cilantro. Tiny clouds of scrambled egg and cubes of swiftly sautéed tofu add protein. The final touch is a topping of chopped, roasted, salted peanuts.

If you have native tomatoes, slice them and set on thick slices of grilled, crusty bread. Top with the eggplant-chevre mixture.