Dairy Free
Grilled Cauliflower Wedges With Herb Tarator
Charring cauliflower on the grill turns the exterior crisp and golden, while the internal flesh becomes sweet and nutty. Cutting the head into wedges first maximizes the caramelized surface.
Hickory-Smoked Baby Back Ribs
If you like your ribs extra saucy, remove them from the grill when they’re ready, baste them one last time with the barbecue sauce, then throw them back on the grill to make them nice and sticky.
Black-Eyed Pea Salad With Hot Sauce Vinaigrette
Down South, we call this a sitting salad. It can sit on the summer picnic table without wilting, so it’s the perfect potluck dish.
Caribbean Smothered Chicken With Coconut, Lime, and Chiles
Smothered pork chops may be an iconic soul food specialty, but this recipe proves you can smother anything. All it really means is coating slow-cooked meat with a blanket of saucy aromatics that end up as gravy too.
Watermelon Salad With Radishes
If your watermelon isn’t very sweet, force it to be savory by adding peppery radishes and a quick vinaigrette. With mint strewn all over, it's super-refreshing.
Classic BBQ Baked Beans
No cookout in the South is complete without baked beans. This is a simple recipe that combines sweet and smoky ingredients for a thick, rich, and perfect side dish.
Frogmore Stew
This dish is the embodiment of a chowder-style Southern fish stew, packed with shrimp, scallops, potatoes, corn, and more.
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
When you have a big backyard full of people to feed, it’s tough to beat pulled pork that’s been smoked until it’s fork tender.
Jerk Baby Back Ribs With Pineapple Salsa
I love the notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, sweet warming spices in these baby back ribs.
Habanero BBQ Shrimp
Marinate shrimp in a sweet-spicy mixture of apricot preserves, lime, habanero, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger—then throw them on the grill for dinner in 15 minutes.
Vegan Corn Muffins With Whipped Sweet Corn
These tender, fluffy cornbread muffins skip the butter and call for creamy whipped corn instead. A side of homemade jalapeño pepper jelly adds some spice.
Apple and Kohlrabi Coleslaw
Since the crunchy apple and kohlrabi are so refreshing, it would make the perfect palate cleanser between heavier courses at dinner, but most often I eat it for a light lunch.
Ranch Fun Dip
Guaranteed to make any raw vegetable taste good, and it will last for weeks! The pistachios, nutritional yeast, and salt should be ground to the texture of coarse sand so the dip easily clings to the cut sides of the vegetables—just like, well, Fun Dip candy.
Grilled Pork Shoulder Steaks With Herb Salad
The key to these juicy steaks is to flip them often, so the fat renders evenly without overcooking the meat. And don’t sleep on that herb salad—it adds freshness to the sticky-salty-sweet pork.
Crispy Turmeric-and-Pepper-Spiced Chicken Wings
Starting the wings in a cold oven allows the fat to render slowly so they get even crispier. Pour off the infused fat and save for stir-fries or cooking crispy eggs.
Jalapeño Pepper Jelly
Serve this spicy pepper jelly with fresh cornbread muffins.
Kong Jaban
Cooked in dashi with soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil, these sweet-and-savory black beans are often served as a side dish in Korean households as an accompaniment to spicy stews.
Agua de Limón con Chía
Chia seeds look like poppy seeds, but when soaked in liquid for a while, they bloom and develop an awesome gummy texture. This limeade is made using the whole lime, which gives it a slight bitterness, but trust me: it’s so good you won’t want to make it any other way.
Rosemary Agrodolce
This versatile condiment brings a balanced mix of sweet, salty, acidic, and herbaceous flavors that complement virtually any pizza. If it’s not pizza night but you’ve got leftovers, drizzle this over roasted vegetables, cooked chicken, or a crispy-skinned piece of fish.