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Going Beyond Gazpacho

We love gazpacho as much as the next person, but we can’t help but feel a little resentful of its hold over the cold soup market. Chilled soups are as versatile as their winter-ready hot counterparts, but rarely get the attention. So we’re devoting the dog days of summer to upping the variety of our chilled soup game.

Here are a few that we’ve earmarked for our cooking:

Cold Peach Soup (Saveur)

Chilled Red Pepper and Beet Borscht (Martha Stewart)

Zucchini Vichyssoise (Ina Garten)

Chilled Corn Soup with Lobster Salad

(Photo: Peach Soup, Saveur)

Be a Bloody Mary Pro

As one of the most ubiquitous cocktails in existence, Bloody Marys are subject to endless fiddling. It seems like every bartender who’s ever worked a brunch shift has used the Bloody Mary as a canvas on which to dump their ideas, with results that range from delicious to cruel and unusual.

Our approach to the Bloody Mary has always been restraint. We’re fans of the classic Zing Zang mix plus a minimalist celery garnish. But we’re also known to fiddle, and two takes on the drink have become staples in our weekend rotation.

The first came out of the need to make a fresh and bright morning cocktail for one. When you’re not entertaining, there’s no need to mix up a huge batch of tomato juice; just stick to this muddled variation that takes advantage of tomato season. And the second stays loyal to the classic template, but swaps out Worcestershire and horseradish for a combination of soy sauce, fish sauce, and wasabi.

Muddled Fresh Bloody Mary

Serves 1

2 cherry tomatoes

2 to 4 thin rings of fresh jalapeño

4 basil leaves, plus one for garnish

½ ounce simple syrup

½ ounce lemon juice

½ ounce lime juice

2 ounces vodka or tequila

Freshly ground black pepper

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the tomatoes, jalapeño, basil and simple syrup until the tomato has released most of its juices. Add the lemon and lime juice, liquor, and a few generous grinds of black pepper. Fill the shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a tall, ice-filled glass and garnish with a basil leaf.

Japanese Bloody Mary

Serves 8

16 ounces organic tomato juice

1½ teaspoons prepared wasabi paste

2 ounces fresh lemon juice

1 ounce soy sauce

½ ounce Asian fish sauce

½ ounce Sriracha

1 cup vodka

Celery salt

In a pitcher, whisk the tomato juice and wasabi until the wasabi is completely incorporated into the liquid. Add the lemon juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, hot sauce and vodka and whisk well. Pour into ice-filled glasses that have been rimmed in celery salt, and serve.

Eat This: Stone Fruit

Stone fruits (a family that includes peaches, plums, nectarines and apricots, as well as numerous hybrids) are one of the best treats of summer. But this year, due to a drier, hotter growing season out West, they're a short-lived treat. So the time to whip out your favorite peach pie recipe is now. In a week or two, your stone fruit options will be much more limited.

We’ve gathered some inspiration for seizing the moment:

Nectarine Tart (New York Times)

Green Bean and Peach Salad (Saveur)

Pluot Summer Salad (101 Cookbooks)

White Nectarine Prosecco Sangria (Bonjon Gourmet)

Peach & Pork Kabobs (The Peach Truck)

Weekend Workahead: Refrigerator Pickles

We have great admiration for those who get motivated enough to pickle and preserve all the great fruits and vegetables of the season, then show enough patience to hoard them all away for a winter day.

For our part, we rarely have the time nor discipline to go about such tasks. So we rely on the refrigerator pickle, a brilliantly easy shortcut that allows us to pepper our meals with acidic flavor bombs, minus the wait.

Refrigerator pickles are essentially brined vegetables that don’t go through the canning process—no messing with hot water baths or sterilization. Their shelf life is shorter, yes, but we tend to go through our jars fairly quickly. And pickled treats, whether it be shallots, cucumbers, blueberries or even eggs, are one of the oldest tricks in the cook’s arsenal for adding layers of flavor to a dish.

The basic ratio we employ in creating a refrigerator pickle brine is this: equal parts vinegar and water, and roughly twice the amount of sugar to salt.

You can customize this brine with types of spices and vinegar you use. Try champagne vinegar with basil flowers and mustard seeds for bright, lemony cucumber pickles; cider vinegar and curry powder yields a heavily spiced green tomato pickle.

Here’s our recipe for pickled shallots, which we use in salads (they're particularly delicious in potato salad), sandwiches, or as a garnish for a cold soup.

Shallot Refrigerator Pickles

Makes 2 quarts

2 cups water

2 cups red wine vinegar

1 cup sugar

⅓ cup salt

2 tablespoons black peppercorns

1 tablespoon mustard seeds

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon juniper berries

2 star anise pods

8 shallots, sliced

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the water, vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar and salt dissolve. Pack the shallots into jars and pour the hot brine over the shallots. Let cool completely. Cover and store in the refrigerator; let sit at least one day before eating. The shallots will keep, refrigerated, for 2 months.

Your Summer Roadtrip Playlist

Summer is the very best time to hit the road and go for a drive, whether it’s just over to the next town—or across the country. And the most crucial tool you’ll need for a proper trip (beyond your favorite GPS app) is a proper playlist. The best playlists span a wide array of genres and styles, but share connective tissue, flowing from song to song. Tracks that all members can sing along to are especially appropriate.

Luckily, we have you covered. We’ve tailored this Spotify playlist to accompany you as you cruise. Enjoy, and happy trails.

A Charcoal Manifesto

When it comes to grilling, don’t even talk to us about propane tanks. We’re members of Team Charcoal all the way. To us, the extra time and effort required to prepare a charcoal grill is worth it for the superior heat and flavor that results.

That said, we fully recognize that charcoal is something of a commitment, and the value proposition may not be worth it if all you’re trying to do is grill a few burgers. That’s why we’ve come up with ways to make the most of a single charcoal session, using the heat source from the moment it’s lit to the last dying embers. Here are your step-by-step instructions.

Light your charcoal. We prefer hardwood charcoal over briquettes, and use a chimney starter to speed up the process. Let it burn until the flames have died out and the charcoal is covered in gray ash.

While the charcoal is still in the chimney: Wrap whole sweet potatoes in two layers of foil. Hull strawberries and make a foil packet; add the strawberries and drizzle with cider vinegar.

When you’re ready to pour the charcoal into the grill, place the wrapped sweet potatoes in the bottom of the grill and cover with the hot charcoal. Position the top grate over the coals and grill add steaks, burgers or other high heat-friendly foods.

About 15 minutes later, add cut vegetables (such as eggplant, squash, peppers and corn) to the grill (which now will be medium hot) and grill to your desired doneness. You can serve these with your protein or save them for lunches and dinners later in the week.

As the charcoal begins to turn into embers (the heat will now be low), carefully remove the top grate and place the strawberry pack directly on the coals. Let cook for 30 minutes.

Retrieve both the strawberry pack and the sweet potato packs from the embers. Serve the coal-roasted sweet potatoes with butter and maple syrup; drizzle the embered strawberries over ice cream.

If you want to be super fancy, add one of the still warm coals to a quart of heavy cream. Let sit for 2 minutes, then strain, discarding the ember. Whip the cream to make a smoky topping for shortcake or pie.

Revenge of the Blender

For years, blender drinks dominated the sales of bars everywhere. Brain-numbingly cold, undeniably fun and intentionally deceptive (cheap booze is well-masked with the syrupy flavors of many classic frozen drinks), frozen cocktails were a mainstay of cocktail culture.

Then came the classic cocktail renaissance of the last two decades, and blender drinks were persecuted early and often. Many of the reasons for denouncing the blender drink had merit: most examples of the genre were unbalanced and full of artificial ingredients.

But it’s also true that drinking culture may have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. We cast the tool aside, instead of just the recipes themselves. Luckily, the blender has regained a foothold in the cocktail community, and this time the results are quality all the way, relying on fresh ingredients and classic recipes.

Here are some guidelines to reuniting with your favorite frozen drinks at home.

The Blender: If money is no object, investing in a VitaMix will ensure perfectly blended cocktails every time. These powerful machines, indispensable among chefs, are the blender equivalent of a tank, and can purée anything thrown at them. If you’d rather ease into the category, consider an immersion blender like those made by Bamix.

The Ice: One of the biggest missteps in making frozen drinks is in adding the ice. Crushed ice is always the way to go; adding big cubes is hard on your blender and result in a pebbly consistency. No crushed ice on hand? Smash your cubes in a clean kitchen towel before adding them to the jar of the blender.

The Recipes: As a general rule, the best blender drinks are those that are typically shaken and contain a fair amount of citrus and sugar (margaritas and daiquiris, of course, fall into this category). Booze-forward drinks, like negronis or old fashioneds, can also be blended, but tweaking the recipe to add additional sugar and citrus juice are ideal to help the mixture freeze properly (too much booze will cause the drink to melt quickly). But our favorite gateway drink for the blender is a classic: the piña colada. With a few small details (two types of rum, fresh pineapple juice), it more than stands up to the test of time.

The Piña Colada

Yield: 1 drink

¾ ounce spiced rum

¾ ounce Jamaican aged rum

2 ounces fresh pineapple juice

2 ounces cream of coconut

Pineapple wedge and cherry, for garnish

Blend the ingredients with a heaping cup of crushed ice until evenly pureed. Pour into a hurricane glass and garnish with a pineapple wedge and a cherry.

Weekend Workahead: Labne

Die-hard yogurt fan?

It’s time to take your love of culture to the next level: turn it into labne. Not quite a cheese, not quite a yogurt, labne is a Middle Eastern ingredient produced by straining yogurt to thicken it and enhance its tart, tangy flavor.

Plenty of chefs and restaurants are slinging this spread on their menus. At the just-opened Superiority Burger in New York, former Del Posto pastry chef Brooks Headley has added a vanilla labne gelato to his dessert menu. Labne features as a starter on the opening menu of the Nashville location of Charleston hotspot Butcher & Bee. And in Los Angeles, roasted apriums (a plum-apricot hybrid) are folded into labne as the centerpiece of a salad at the always-buzzing Sqirl.

Make some yourself and use it as a dip for pita bread (just add olive oil and za’atar), layer it on a sandwich with cucumber and avocado, or mix it with some brown sugar and cumin and use it as a dip for roasted carrots or winter squash.

Labne

Makes about 2 cups

1 quart unflavored full-fat Greek yogurt

Salt

Line a fine mesh strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth, and suspend the strainer over a large bowl. Mix about 1 teaspoon of salt into the yogurt and transfer the mixture to the cheesecloth. Place everything in the refrigerator and let strain for 24 hours. Discard the liquid (whey) or save it to add to soups or smoothies (it’s packed with nutrients). Transfer the labne to an airtight container and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Food Diary: Alex Raij

It’s hard enough to juggle a family and a restaurant where one just one person works in the kitchen. But in the case of Alex Raij and Eder Montero, the husband and wife team run restaurants (El Quinto Pino, La Vara, Txikito) while raising young children. We caught up with Alex to discuss how she cooks at home and at work, and how her kids have changed the way she eats.

I have coffee for breakfast. I’ve been that way my whole life, just not a breakfast person. It’s still a family meal, though: we sit down and have breakfast together, my kids eat scrambled eggs or Cheerios; my husband and I have coffee; sometimes he has toast or a bagel. During the summer I’ve been going to the farmer’s market in the mornings, so I’ll snack on fruit as I’m buying it for the restaurants—cherries and blackberries mostly.

I head into work mid-morning and don’t really eat lunch because I’m constantly tasting things. I’m trying everything that the prep team is cooking, making sure that it all tastes like it should. I don’t really sit down for a full meal until our staff meal just before service, which is generally rice with some sort of protein and a salad. The kitchen staff cooks the rice with big chunks of jalapeño; I pick out the chiles and eat those, but not the rice. Then my mouth is on fire! It’s a nice little boost of endorphins before service starts.

I try to get home around 7 or 8; most of the time, the babysitter has already cooked dinner for the kids. I cook for my kids a lot, but often I’ll make things earlier in the week and they’ll eat them with the babysitter. If they’ve already eaten, I’ll just snack on some good cheese or salami for dinner.

In the summertime, though, the kids go to bed later, so it’s sort of a free-for-all. It’s a bit disorganized, but I love it because we eat together more. There’s never much of a dinner plan; Eder and I cook based on how we shop. We buy things that look great, rather than going into the store with a set plan. Sometimes I wish my house was more of a meal-planning household—Monday is taco night, Tuesday is pizza night, etc.—but honestly my kids’ tastes change constantly, so it would be futile to try to lock in something so repetitive.

That said, there are definitely some things we rely on: We always have eggs in the house. We buy really great eggs at the market, and that’s a quick and easy meal that my kids will always eat: scrambled or fried eggs with some toast. And I use my pressure cooker all the time for making quick beans and lentils or cooking chicken. You can cook perfect, tender chicken in 35 minutes, and it makes this gorgeous stock that’s already clarified and so rich. The other “trick” that can add a huge amount of flavor to anything is sofrito, a kind of base of slowly sauteed garlic and onions and other aromatics. It’s great to have that around and throw into things; they immediately taste more pronounced, the flavor is more developed.

(Check out Alex's sofrito recipe in this arctic char dish.)

Reason Number 2 Why Kitchensurfing is Better Than Takeout

Our itch for takeout hits especially hard during the summer, when we’re doing our best to stay out of the kitchen. But the price of convenience is steep and disappointing; that side salad might be missing, or the burrito comes with chicken instead of the beef that you ordered.

Rather than cross your fingers and hope that things arrive as they’re supposed to, consider Kitchensurfing's weeknight dinners. We’ve been enumerating the ways in which this new service is better than takeout, and here’s number 2:

You’ll always get exactly what you ordered. When a chef prepares dinner in your home, nothing’s left to chance.

The Kitchensurfing Guide to Summer Weddings

It’s the height of wedding season, and marriage has never been more top of mind than it is right now (thanks, SCOTUS!). So we’ve prepared for this summer of love with a handy guide that will make you a better wedding guest, from gifts to toasts to dance moves.

Gifts It’s always a great idea to hit the couple’s registry as soon as you get the invite (or even the save-the-date). The earlier you shop, the less chance you have of being stuck with the soup tureen (womp womp). Should the registry be picked over by the time you get to it, go for an experiential gift: if the betrothed are fitness nuts, book them a class together for something unique, like aquatic spinning or yoga in a salt chamber. For bookish types, a membership to the local museum or lecture series will surprise and delight; and what food and drink lovers wouldn't want to return from their honeymoon to dinner with a Kitchensurfing chef?

What to Pack If you’re heading to a destination wedding, be sure to make the most of your time away by being prepared. A guidebook to the location will help you fill any downtime (we’re big fans of this beautifully designed indie series. Pack some safety pins, stain-remover wipes and a sewing kit in case you have any last-minute snafus with your outfit. And don’t forget the most important item in your suitcase: a flask. It’ll help the vacation vibe, act as social lubricant, and help you enjoy even the most tawdry wedding party drama.

Toast If you’ve been tapped to give a toast, the best thing you can do is plan ahead. Unless you’re a professional improv actor (and maybe even then), winging it drastically increases your potential of blowing it. Keep it short, sweet and from the heart. And if you still need help, approach writing your toast like a game of Mad Libs with the help of this site.

Dance Move As always, Queen Bey has dictated the way we’re all moving (or attempting to) on the dance floor. This breakdown of “Feelin’ Myself” is your bible. Learn it, dance it, love it.

Pro Moves: How to Pack Your Cooler

Let us introduce you to a new summer love: the cooler.

Or should we say “re-introduce,” since we’re certain that many of you have longstanding relationships with your Colemans and Yetis. But if you’re anything like us, you haven’t thought much about the potential of these workhorses beyond grabbing a cold one at a party.

With the biggest cooler holiday of the year on the horizon, we’re taking this opportunity to tap into the vessel’s fullest chilly potential. Here are a few ways to make the most of it:

Beers on the bottom. When packing your cooler with drinks, follow this technique: canned beer, ice, bottled beer, ice, wine. Canned beer creates a sturdy foundation, and wine doesn’t (and shouldn’t, if you’re asking a sommelier) need to get quite as cold as your suds.

Just add water. If you’re trying to get drinks cold fast, add a little bit of water in with your ice (you’re looking for a slushy consistency). This will reduce the temperature faster.

Keeping food dry. There’s nothing worse than packing ingredients in a cooler, only to discover hours later that it’s a soggy mess. When packing ingredients, build a cooling layer (using ice packs or bags of ice) on the bottom, then line it with wire baking racks or a baking sheet to create a shelf that will keep food out of the melted ice.

Rule of two. Coolers come in just as handy at home as they do on the road. When hosting a party, pack two coolers: one with cold drinks, and another with fresh ice to add to drinks. Keeping them separate will make sure that the ice in your guest’s glasses is clean.

Larger for longer. If you’re taking a cooler on an overnight, use the largest blocks of ice (or ice packs) that you can find. The larger the block, the longer it will take to melt.

Punch it up. We saved the best for last. Our favorite way to use a cooler: use it as a giant insulated punch bowl by filling it full of liquor. Try out the technique with this classic recipe.

Break Up with Your Oven (Not Your Sweet Tooth)

We love cooking as much as anyone. But hear this: if you enjoy standing in front of your stove on a 90 degree day, you’re probably a masochist.

But a temporary breakup up with your range doesn’t have to be a ban on cooking altogether. Come summer and its abundance of fresh fruit, dessert can be as simple as grabbing a fresh peach from the farmers’ market. But when you’re craving something a bit more refined, consider these no-cook recipes:

Key Lime Pie Popsicles: Sweetened condensed milk provides the sugar and creamy texture of this citrusy pop; a coating of graham cracker crumbs emulates the classic pie crust.

Classic Icebox Cake: The ingredients may not be fancy, but the dish is delicious enough to keep generations of cooks coming back, even as the “icebox” has gone the way of the dodo.

Chocolate Mousse: Take a page from the French with this elegant dessert. Egg whites and chocolate come together to form something magical.

Watermelon Granita: The sweetness of ripe watermelon is captured in this refreshing, icy treat.

Weekend Workahead: Tomato Water

When it’s in season, a fresh tomato doesn’t need much to shine. Just a bit of salt, pepper, and olive oil and you’re in business.

But it’s helpful to have a few back-pocket summer techniques for when you hit the tomato salad wall. Sure, you could fire up the stove and turn your tomato haul into sauce, but when the thermometer spikes, the last thing we want to is to sweat it out in a hot kitchen. Instead, we make tomato water, a delicious and versatile elixir that requires no cooking and lends itself to plenty of quick meals.

Light, intensely flavored, and easy to make, tomato water can form the base of a chilled summer soup, or can be added to a vinaigrette or cocktail.

Here’s how to make it:

Tomato Water

Makes about 2½ cups

2 pounds tomatoes, quartered

3 garlic cloves

2 shallots, halved

¼ cup chopped parsley

¼ cup basil leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a food processor, pulse the tomatoes, garlic, shallots, parsley, and basil 10 to 15 times until well combined.

Line a mesh strainer with cheesecloth and place over a large bowl, then add the tomato mixture, pressing down on the solids. Let it strain for 1 hour to make sure all of the liquid has been extracted. Discard the solids. Season the liquid to taste with salt and pepper. Store the tomato water in a lidded jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

And here’s how to turn it into a meal (or fancy cocktail):

Pasta with Tomato Water, Basil and Garlic

Tomato Water Bloody Mary

Grilled Salmon in Tomato Water

Tomato Water & Olive Oil Sorbet

Our Best Summer Menus

Truth be told, we’ve been grilling and eating ice cream cones since Memorial Day. But now that it’s officially summer, we’re ready to celebrate the season’s best eating with the brilliant menus from Kitchensurfing chefs across the country.

Boston Light, bright, and full of flavor, this Japanese-inspired warm-weather meal primarily features vegetables and seafood.

Chicago Ditch the heavy starches with this gluten-free meal that spotlights Mediterranean flavors.

Los Angeles Refreshing summer salads, grilled corn on the cob, and top-notch burgers make this the ultimate summer meal.

New York This special occasion meal puts the bounty of summer on a pedestal. From an heirloom tomato salad to scallops with the first of summer stone fruit, you’ll be tasting the best of the season from start to finish.

DC Sometimes you have to combat heat with more heat, and what better way to do it than with spicy noodle bowls?

Hamptons This menu puts the grill front and center, with course after course celebrating this indispensable summer technique. Plump grilled shrimp, perfectly cooked pork belly, and charred corn are just the beginning.

Seattle Green is the theme of this dinner menu; fresh light flavors showcase local produce and seafood.

Indie Ocean

If you haven’t yet enjoyed that perfect first beach day — baking under the afternoon sun, soothing dips in the cool brine, lobster rolls and rosé (or brats and beers) on the blanket, sweaters at sunset, etc. — then you will soon. And if you’re lucky (or a “freelancer”), many more will follow.

When they do, you’ll want the perfect playlist to carry you through your lazy, hazy days. Pack your mini speaker: We’ve assembled a blend of sunny, sand-kicking indie tunes that will take you to the beach and back.

Your Summer Hamptons Cheat Sheet

The latest bout of humidity leaves no doubt: summer is in full swing, and it’s time to hit the beach. For most New Yorkers, that means a trip out to the South Fork. Whether your vibe is new-cool Montauk, preppy Amagansett, old-money Sagaponack or lifestyle-chic East Hampton, here are a few tips to maximize your sun and surf enjoyment.

To Be Seen: Surf Lodge

This harbinger of cool brought a whole new vibe to most casual point on the fork. With free concerts, celeb sightings and endless parties, it’s gained a less than stellar reputation with the old-timers (including its very own “Dodge the Lodge” boycott slogan). But there’s no better place to show off the artistry of your tan.

To Hide: Sunset Beach, Shelter Island

Shelter Island is technically not the Hamptons, and that’s the point. Take a short ferry ride to this sleepy isle and check into the 20-room Sunset Beach boutique hotel, the best-kept secret of hotelier André Balazs (he of Standard Hotel Fame). A mostly empty beach, delicious cocktails, and a decidedly European vibe, makes this the perfect place to go off the grid.

To Detox: Gurney’s

This classic Montauk resort has rebranded itself as a destination for the wellness set, with a recently remodeled spa, ongoing classes with fitness gurus, juice cleanse and yoga retreats, and more. But if you need a break from the green juice, you can always grab a bowl of pasta at the just opened Scarpetta Beach (a seaside import of Scott Conant’s popular NYC Italian restaurant).

To Eat Out: Highway, Momi Ramen, Salt Box

Every summer, a new crop of restaurants enters the seasonal dining fray; this year’s class is particularly promising. There’s Highway Restaurant, formerly Highway Diner, which has undergone renovations and is under new management (its new owners also have stakes in Eleven Madison Park and Shuko in NYC), as well as a new chef. Miami import Momi Ramen promises to bring proper bowls of tonkotsu to the shore. And Salt Box in Montauk features classic beach fare (think lobster rolls, grilled oysters and fish tacos) done right, thanks to an alum of the Fat Duck and Nobu in the kitchen.

To Eat In: Kitchensurfing

Part of the fun of renting (or owning) a beach house is...you know... being in it. Do dinner at home in style with Kitchensurfing Hamptons. Peruse the menus of top-notch chefs, then pick your favorite to come to your house and cook everything right in front of you and your guests. Then you can hit the beach for a night swim while we deal with cleanup.

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