Labor Day weekend supposedly marks the end of summer, but as I’ve previously grumbled in this newsletter: No, thank you. There will be time enough for heavy sweaters and root vegetables and things cooked in cavernous Dutch ovens. For now, while the sun is setting well past 6 p.m., I want tees and tomatoes and the phrase “hot off the grill.”
Specifically, I want these spicy grilled shrimp, a New York Times Cooking classic from Mark Bittman (check out the rating and ecstatic reader notes). Not counting the olive oil and salt, his recipe calls for just five ingredients and just minutes on the grill (or under the broiler). Serve a pile of the shrimp on a plate with cold beer and plenty of napkins, or with a creamy, crunchy salad — maybe Andy Baraghani’s extra-green pasta salad, or Kay Chun’s classic coleslaw. Happy definitely-not-ending summer!
Featured Recipe
Spicy Grilled ShrimpView Recipe →
The end of August is for eating as much corn on the cob as you can, cycling through all sorts of flavored butters: miso, Old Bay, cacio e pepe, and the very buttery Buffalo sauce. This new recipe from Jerrelle Guy introduces a new challenger, honeyed goat cheese, which captures butter’s creaminess with a tangy twist. Paired with Colu Henry’s skillet chicken and zucchini with charred scallion salsa, it makes for an absolutely stellar late-summer meal.
I do not wish, however, to shame anyone who has already swapped their Birks for Blundstones. (The best thing about cooking, after all, is making exactly what you want, when you want, the way you like it.) For the fall fanatics — or anyone who loves an easy, flavorful fish dinner — here’s Nargisse Benkabbou’s chermoula potato and fish stew, warm with paprika and cumin, and bright with harissa. And I’m already eyeing the fennel at my farmers’ market for this fennel and lentil salad with caper-mustard dressing, a new recipe from Yasmin Fahr that’s essentially a checklist of my go-to pantry staples (French lentils, apple cider vinegar, capers and mustard).
But I do think we can all agree that we need to be eating as many peaches as possible before they go away. Melissa Clark’s peach upside-down cake can be made with whichever stone fruit you likebetmaster, but, come on — peaches!