Cold meals / dishes - quick and easy recipes - page 49

Adzuki beans—also known as azuki or Asian red beans—are frequently used in desserts across Asia, in countries like China, Japan, and Korea. Keeping some of the beans whole in these creamy ice pops helps add a bit of texture. Special equipment: You will need freezer pop molds for this recipe.

Like classic Vietnamese iced coffee, this frozen pop contains strong brewed coffee and sweetened condensed milk. It’s a caffeinated treat that’s not recommended for the kiddies! Special equipment: You will need freezer pop molds for this recipe.

The classic, nonalcoholic version of a cream soda contains club soda, cream, and usually vanilla syrup. Our boozy version uses vanilla and ginger liqueurs instead of syrup and the creamy froth of Guinness stout instead of cream to take this drink from soda fountain to bar top. What to buy: Domaine de Canton is a ginger-flavored liqueur that can be found at specialty liquor stores. Navan vanilla liqueur is a vanilla-infused Cognac made by Grand Marnier.

Pegu Club bartender Kenta Goto’s lovely cocktail La Fleur de Paradis spends its evenings perched atop a weathered zinc bar, sipped by the beautiful people of New York. Our rendition of it using wheat beer instead of champagne is more at home in a plastic cup, enjoyed by folks sporting cut-off shorts and soaking in the sun on a picnic blanket or the open gate of a pickup truck.

The simple act of griddling a PB&J sandwich with lots of butter changes the whole thing, making the outside crispy and the inside warm and extra gooey. What to buy: We took the purist route here with peanut butter and strawberry jam, but feel free to swap in your own combination of nut butter and jelly.

Earthy porcini mushrooms and salty Parmesan are a winning Italian combination. Ground and mixed with salt, they become the perfect seasoning for scrambled eggs, roasted chicken, or creamy pasta, pumping up those dishes with savory, umami flavor. Special equipment: You will need a coffee or spice grinder for this recipe.

Knocking back a glass of Pisco Punch is a boozy part of San Francisco’s history. This potent cocktail traces back to the 1890s, when a bartender named Duncan Nicol invented it in SF. This recipe, adapted from San Francisco bartender and Small Hand Foods proprietor Jennifer Colliau, is an easy three-ingredient drink to mix: Simply shake pisco, lemon juice, and pineapple gum syrup together and serve with a pineapple wedge if you’re feeling fancy.

Guacamole may be the most popular accompaniment to tacos, nachos, or tostadas, but this crema is just as easy and flavorful. Using a food processor to blend an avocado with sour cream, cilantro, and lime juice creates a smooth sauce that works great as a dip for Chorizo Scotch Eggs or as a topping for Black Bean Cakes with Fried Eggs.

This chopped salad is a departure from your average leafy green salad, made instead with chunky, crunchy chopped vegetables. Sweet snap peas, cucumber, and carrots are cut into bite-sized pieces and tossed with cilantro, scallions, and a spicy Thai-inspired dressing for a healthy and flavorful side dish. Add some grilled shrimp or leftover roasted chicken and serve over rice noodles for a healthy weeknight meal or easy packed lunch. What to buy: Look for chile-garlic paste in the Asian sectio...

Dicing raw zucchini and yellow squash for a salad is a fast way to use up these plentiful summer vegetables. Toss them with some red bell pepper, grapes, pine nuts, chopped mint, and a Moroccan-inspired dressing to round out this healthy dish. Paired with a grilled rib-eye or a hearty piece of fish, this salad adds plenty of flavor to a summer meal with minimal time in the kitchen. What to buy: Look for preserved lemons in gourmet grocery stores or online; or you can make your own.

CHOW’s former food editor Aida Mollenkamp turned me on to the Black Manhattan, a variation on the traditional whiskey and sweet vermouth drink made with amaro, which she first discovered at San Francisco’s Alembic. In this version, I throw back in a little of the sweet vermouth, as well as a touch of deep, dark nocino, an Italian green walnut liqueur, which gives the whole drink a smooth, nutty finish. Don’t forget, this recipe makes enough to serve you and a friend!

Inspired by the idea of making a camping cocktail, we thought it’d be novel to use a little pine liqueur to bring the taste of the great outdoors to the canteen. We found the punchy, herbal liqueur a little tricky to mix with, but ultimately we were able to balance it out with some dark rum and a little pineapple juice. This recipe is scaled to fit into a canteen, and serves four.

Adding a bit of pumpkin purée, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a basic cream cheese frosting gives it holiday appeal. It’s also easy to make: Just beat butter and cream cheese together in a mixer, then add powdered sugar and spices, and throw in the pumpkin at the end. Use it to frost pumpkin cupcakes, carrot cake, or ginger cake.

Dicing the avocados, cucumber, and pineapple gives this guacamole a chunkier salsalike texture rather than the standard smashed or smooth style. The cucumber and pineapple lighten the mixture and add fresh, sweet, and acidic flavors. Try it on fish tacos or for chip-dipping and margarita-sipping. What to buy: Look for avocados that give slightly when pressed but are not completely soft. We used Hass avocados.

Mango lassis are commonly served at Indian restaurants, but their thick consistency and sweet flavor can be like drinking a milk shake with your meal. This savory and refreshing version of the yogurt drink from Chef Susan Feniger of Street restaurant in Los Angeles is flavored with fresh mint and cumin, and lightened by the addition of sparkling water. What to buy: Indian black salt, also known as kala namak, is a sulfurous-tasting salt used in Indian and Pakistani cuisine.

Simplicity reigns in this salad of butter lettuce and pumpkin seeds. The roasted garlic and apple juice in the vinaigrette add a welcome twist. What to buy: If you want to intensify the pumpkin flavor, make the vinaigrette with pumpkin seed oil. Game plan: We roast garlic a few times a week and keep it around to add a subtle layer of flavor to dishes. Put a whole head of garlic in a 400°F oven and roast until the cloves are soft when pressed.