It’s cruel that the best time of year to bake is also when you’re least likely to want to turn on the oven, and yet every summer I heat up the kitchen baking cherry pie and blueberry crisp. Desserts made with peak fruit are irresistible, and I mean that literally: I can’t resist them. I know we’re here to talk dinner, but if you have some spare time in low-key August, then you might want to know about these: peach cobbler, blueberry pie and lemon-blackberry shortcakes.
If you’re still not turning on the oven, I get it. I recently went on the radio at WNYC to talk about our no-cook recipes. Eric Kim’s cold noodles with tomatoes, which follow, come close to no-heat cooking; you just have to boil the noodles. Tell me what you’re making at [email protected]. I love to hear from you.
1. Sheet-Pan Chicken Thighs With Spicy Corn
Melissa Clark’s new chicken recipe will work anytime, but it’s most ethereal made with fresh summer corn. You marinate the chicken in the brine from a jar of pickled jalapeños, and add the peppers to the corn. I’ll probably cook two jalapeño-less thighs and corn for my kids alongside everything else.
2. Poc Chuc (Citrus-Marinated Grilled Pork)
This simple recipe, which has roots in Yucatán, Mexico, comes from Christian Reynoso, who uses a puckery combination of orange, grapefruit and lime juices to marinate pork, along with a heap of garlic. The pork only needs a few minutes on a hot grill, then you can serve it with tortillas, rice and beans.
View this recipe.
3. Cold Noodles With Tomatoes
The icy slurp of chilled noodles is the ideal antidote to hot August weather. Eric Kim’s recipe is inspired by a few different cold Korean soups, and by gazpacho, too — another tomatoey answer to the question of what to eat in the heat.