Fruit

Lemon peel and lemon juice, rosemary, and an olive oil dressing give this a nice lightness. If you prefer a creamy potato salad, use 2/3 cup mayonnaise in place of the olive oil.

Great with the Caveman Porterhouse or with chicken, fish, or lamb.

Naturally sweet, fresh figs get an all-over taste treatment with tangy goat cheese, smoky pancetta, slightly bitter fruit liqueur, and heat from black pepper. Serve these figs as finger-food appetizers or place them on top of dressed greens for a salad. High-heat planking caramelizes the figs and burnishes the goat cheese, adding another level of flavor. The high heat cooks the fruit quickly, resulting in an outer charred fruit and warm center that has texture and bite but is not mushy. This is an excellent way to plank most fruits and vegetables. Keep a spray bottle of water handy to lightly douse flare-ups. Suggested plank: 2 maple or oak grilling planks, soaked in water for at least 1 hour

Small whole fish like trout, char, walleye, bass, and even lake perch are excellent for planking, especially smoke-planking. They get the flavor of the wood plank on one side and a burnished golden color and smoky flavor on the other. An indirect fire is used to slowly cook the whole fish through. Char, in flavor and texture a cross between trout and salmon, is best planked whole. It's easier to fillet after it is cooked and stays moister that way. This method can be used with fish fillets and steaks, too. Whenever you grill fish, grill lemon halves alongside. The little bit of browning adds flavor, and the heat makes the lemons burst with juice. Suggested plank: 2 cedar grilling planks, soaked in water for at least 1 hour
Suggested wood: Sugar maple or apple chips, or chopped corncobs

This is a great nonalcoholic mojito—a flavorful twist on the sugarcane and rum drink of old Havana.

If the cutlets are thicker than 1/3 inch, slip them into a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag, and pound them with a mallet.

Chipotle chiles canned in adobo sauce are sold in the Latin foods section of some supermarkets.

This is terrific on grilled baguette slices, sprinkled with feta or fresh goat cheese. Or try it as a topping for grilled fish or chicken.

Not to be confused with coconut milk, coconut water is the tart liquid found in the center of young coconuts.

Fresh mint and lime juice add a bright finish to this drink.

Frozen açai puree is available in the freezer section of most supermarkets.

Fresh ginger gives this a zesty kick.

This has to be one of the oldest porch drinks. My grandmother once told me it was the soft drink of her generation (that, and Coca-Cola, which, with a trace of cocaine in its early days, put a pep in her step). Shrubs make great use of fresh fruits—blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, you name it—and are kept in concentrate form, which, tightly covered, will keep in your refrigerator for a couple of weeks (just whisk it to incorporate the sugar "foam" that forms on top). Don't be alarmed by the vinegar; the sugar and water tone it down, leaving it most enjoyable. This could be made into a punch by pouring the shrub concentrate into a large bowl and adding 12 to 14 cups of water followed by ice cubes.

One of my favorite dishes at Brazil a Gosto, chef Luiza Trajano's elegant restaurant in São Paulo, is a baked cocada (a coconut candy made of coconut and sugar cut into squares) with lemon sorbet. It is so delicious that I had to experiment with it back in my American kitchen. I have to admit I am very happy with the final result and I think you will be, too. This is an unpretentious and easy dessert to assemble. You can prepare everything in advance and just bake it on the day of serving.

A press-in crust makes this party-worthy dessert easy to put together. For a pretty presentation, don't cover the lime curd completely with berries. The contrast between the dark berries and the bright lime curd is striking.

Panna cotta is an Italian custard dessert. It's similar to pudding but is thickened with gelatin instead of egg yolks. This version is a velvety almond custard topped with fresh cherries and a candied almond garnish.

At 1105, a bar in Copenhagen, juniper-inflected gin is paired with caraway-flavored aquavit, Scandinavia's traditional eau-de-vie.

All-American strawberry shortcake goes modern with a hit of balsamic vinegar and a dash of black pepper. Making the biscuits square instead of round is quicker and easier than using a biscuit cutter. Plus, you won’t have to reroll the dough, which can make the biscuits tough.

A V-slicer or mandoline is the perfect tool for thinly slicing the fennel. The fresh apricots add a nice sweetness to the salad, but feel free to skip them if they're not available in your area.