If you own a grill, chances are at some point this summer you’re going to make burgers. You’ll probably make hot dogs as well. As far as summer food goes, those two are canon. But if you plan on making regular grilling a part of how you make dinner — including regular ol’ dinner on a Tuesday night — burgers and hot dogs won’t take you very far. Grilled chicken, however, will. So will snappy grilled shrimp that cooks in minutes, lemony, flame-teased asparagus, blistered corn on the cob, and a mahogany-tinged pork tenderloin seasoned with a fast-and-fancy dry rub.

These five foods will feed you, your family, and your friends over and over again this summer, which is why we believe they’re the first batch of recipes you should learn how to grill. Make them often enough and you’ll start changing the recipes to better suit your needs. Maybe you’ll add some heat to the yogurt marinade we use for grilled shrimp, or perhaps you prefer the sweetness of oranges to lemons when grilling the asparagus. The point is, after you learn how to grill chicken you can master it.

Our cooking lessons for grilled chicken, grilled shrimp, grilled pork tenderloin, grilled asparagus, and grilled corn on the cob are designed and tested (and tested again) to work just as they are — and you can count on them to be delicious. But they’re also waiting for you to riff on them. So consider them to be, as Jacques Pepin says, “a point of departure.”

We’re excited to see where you arrive.

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(Image credit: Sarah Rae Smith)

I imagine that many of us have sweet memories from days gone by of making lemonade in the kitchen with our parents or grandparents. Even if you grew up in a “from concentrate” or “bottled beverage” family, there’s a good chance you’ve given it a whirl as an adult. But have you ever tried making whole-lemon lemonade? As in, blending a whole lemon, ice, and sugar? We did — here’s how it went.

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For weeknight dinners I’m all about super-simple sides. That usually translates to roasted veggies, with broccoli leading the pack. On its own, even the crowd-pleaser roasted broccoli can get a little boring and repetitive, but it certainly doesn’t have to be that way. The easiest way to switch things up? Change the seasoning.

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(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

This is my favorite summer meal prep salad — the kind of thing I crave after a weekend of heavy barbecued foods, cold beers, and rich ice cream. On the tail-end of a quick summer getaway I had an epiphany: This is just the kind of salad to make right after coming home from vacation. The rhythm of preparing everything — from the soothing chop, chop of all the fresh vegetables to the zen whisking of the dressing — gives me my kitchen groove back every time.

If that all sounds a little too frou-frou for you, let me tell it this way: This salad is perfect for meal prepping, as it holds up really well in the fridge. It’s got tons of fresh raw vegetables, making it a crunchy delight of flavors and texture, and it will make you feel ready to face the work week post-vacation.

Open up your favorite grocery delivery app and get ready to order all the ingredients so you can make this as soon as you get home.

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(Image credit: Composite: Tara Bellucci; Image: Julie Clopper/Shutterstock)

The best parts of IKEA are the prices, the look of many of the pieces, and all the amazing “hacks” there are online to make your inexpensive furniture look ultra chic (I’m looking at you, RÅSKOG cart).

The worst part is everything else. You know what I’m talking about — the schlepping, the searching, the lengthy checkout lines, the loading of the furniture, then getting home and building an entire bedroom using only an allen key and sheer will.

Although the building part won’t change, everything else could get a lot easier starting in 2018. Reuters is reporting that IKEA will start selling products on third-party websites like — wait for it — Amazon.

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How To Make Sorbet with Any Fruit

(Image credit: Emma Christensen)

Did you ever order rainbow sherbet as a kid? I know I did, but mainly because someone had the ingenious idea to name a food rainbow. I remember it tasted fruity and creamy, but not as rich as ice cream. Then I encountered sorbets and got confused — were they really just the same kind of fruity frozen dessert?

The names sorbet and sherbet have been used interchangeably to some extent over the years, but there are distinguishing differences between the two, so let’s demystify them now.

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(Image credit: Leela Cyd)

Called namoora in Lebanon, basbousa in Egypt, and haressa in Syria and Palestine, this semolina sheet cake is often served throughout the Arab world and often during Eid Al-Fitr.

With only a handful of ingredients and a straightforward technique, it is perhaps one of the easiest desserts you’re not making. This version from Amanda Saab, the writer behind Amanda’s Plate, is drenched in a lemon and lavender syrup, giving this already-fragrant cake a floral update.

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A big hug for Dad from his kids on Father’s Day is enough to make him smile, but have the kids surprise him with an edible gift and he’ll really be grinning from ear to ear. These simple treats are easy enough for kids to assemble and, with a little help from a grown-up, they’re a sweet way to make Dad feel special.

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We all have those mornings when we wake up completely disinterested in starting the day. We hit the snooze button, pull the covers over our eyes, and casually pretend that no one will come searching for us if we just stay in bed all day. On those days, the only thing that just may get things in motion is a grumbling stomach. In that state of laziness, there’s no way a breakfast that involves a whole lot of effort is happening. Luckily, these 10 recipes are exactly what you need in that instant — low-impact but sure to quiet that grumbling stomach with something easy and delicious.

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