Favorite hot-weather dinners ~ 2016 edition

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Like Medtran, if I only cooked light dishes in the summer, we'd never eat a lot of food, so I don't really change my menu with the seasons. But for a light, quick supper I often fall back on a few of our favorites, none of which require me to turn on the oven.

Fish Tacos - change up the fish and toppings somewhat, but lettuce or cabbage for crunch, avocado, cilantro, lime, and either my chipotle mayo or bang-bang sauce.

BLT - standard lunch fare here - we eat it 2 or 3 times a week when tomatoes are good. We get 2 tomato seasons each year, spring and fall. In mid-summer it's too hot and wet for tomatoes. They are brought down from northern US & Canada, and are still good. In the winter, we skip this.

Sous-vide fish, chicken breast or pork chop with mango salsa. Fish is good right out of the bath, but meat gets a quick hot sear before serving. My mango salsa includes red pepper, red onion or scallions, lots of cilantro, and plenty of fresh lime juice.

I have a couple of main dish type salads, a curried chicken with apples, almonds, grapes & currants and a Maurice Salad ala J.L. Hudson's restaurant and a jerk chicken salad with a mango dressing that I pull together frequently.

But I'm as likely to braise some short ribs or chicken thighs in July as I am in November.

Surprisingly, we don't grill much - it's just too hot outside in the summer.
 
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Panzanella.

Grilled steak with salad and baked potatoes.

Hot dogs with cool sides (macaroni salad or potato salad, ice tea or beer, sometimes coleslaw), and usually baked beans.

Grilled burgers.

Dinner salads: a bed of lettuce obscured by some variation of chicken, ham, cooked eggs, tuna chunks, some sort of cheese, various common and fancy salad veggies. Just so long as it's all cold and pushed onto the fork with a crusty roll.

Tuna or chicken salad sandwiches on soft rolls. Usually with a salad.

A big bowl of ice cream with hot fudge and whipped cream on top. :ermm: Did I type that out loud? :huh:


How do you make your taco salad?...Do you let it cool first, or use leftover, or put it on hot, or... ?...
It's usually warmer than room temp, but not so hot that it would burn your tongue. Unless you're talking about the seasonings. That depends on how heavy my hand was that day...
 
About the Taco Salads...I used to make it with chilled taco meat, but I've been reformed thanks to paying attention here some time ago. It's much better with at least warm taco meat in the salad. Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks. ;)
 
Caprese salad is one of my favorites, although I like red wine vinegar with it :yum:

Welcome to Discuss Cooking :)

A more substantial twist of the Caprese salad is the addition of breaded fried eggplant slices. I first ran into this salad when I worked in a facility that had a Marriott catered cafeteria. Shingle the tomato, mozzarella and room temperature eggplant slices, garnish with a chiffonade of fresh basil and drizzle with a sharp vinaigrette made with red wine vinegar and olive oil. This can also be plated as a stack or tower. The leftovers can be baked the next day and sprinkled with some grated cheese.
 
I thought of a couple more...

Tabbouleh. When local tomatoes are in season.

Nicoise salads. You can sub chicken for tuna. And add some tarragon, pretty soon its something else.
 
It has to be a potato salad using a whole five pound bag of potatoes. Also a cole slaw with the KFC buttermilk dressing. I am lucky if it lasts two days. If I go to my daughter's for a cookout, I am designated to always bring these two foods. :angel:
 
I am in line with others on grilling. My grill also has a side burner (mandatory) so I try to do as much as I can outside to keep from adding heat to the house. BLT, anything grilled - lots of veggies grilled and sauted, lots of fish, and we like to do cold fruit salads.
 
Welcome to Discuss Cooking, Ray! :flowers:
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GG, I'm sure you'll get several responses here, but I like room temp ground beef best for taco salad - or at best, slightly warm. By the time I put the salad dressing on, it cools down a little more.

My fave taco salads are Romaine, iceberg, red onion or scallions, tomatoes, seasoned ground beef, shredded pepper jack or regular Monterey jack, sliced olives, and crushed tortilla chips. Topped with ranch, or ranch mixed with a little adobo sauce. :yum:

Mine is very similar. But I also add sliced olives, and use medium cheddar or Colby cheese. I also like mine dressed with Russian dressing to which I've added some chili powder. Top it with roughly crushed tortilla chips. Eat cold.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
I keep my charcoal grill out front under the awning -- ready to go. I grill out like 4 times a week when the weather's hot. I just grab a beer and put some paper in the charcoal lighter and get it hot, dump it in, and cook hamburgers, chicken, or brats. With a salad, macaroni or potato salad on the side, etc..

That way the kitchen doesn't get hot with the stove on, and no pots or pans to clean. Wife's back is messed up, so I have to do all the shopping, cooking.
 
Since we do have days when the temperature drops a bit, not much change from my winter meals. But I do make sure I get my potato salad and coleslaw . Just less baking. I try to save it for cooler days when I put the oven on. :angel:
 
I've been adding a lot of micro greens to my salads. My favorite is sunflower. Otherwise I have tried kale, broccoli, lettuce. Pretty easy to do on the deck and lots of flavor. ImageUploadedByDiscuss Cooking1464911864.080395.jpg


Eat anything you want, but make it yourself.

Posting from the app.
 
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