Make Ahead

Telmo grew up in a Mexican neighborhood in San Jose, California. On warm evenings, he could be found at a busy roadside seafood joint called La Costa spooning up refreshing bites of coctel de camarón, or "shrimp cocktail." Served in a tall Styrofoam cup, the La Costa cocktail combines a sweet (but not cloying), tangy, and spicy tomato-based sauce, briny poached shrimp, avocado, cucumber, and pico de gallo, all topped with some shakes of a salsa picante and served with tostadas or saltine crackers. Our version is made with roasted fresh tomatoes instead of the traditional ketchup to brighten it up. The resulting sauce is more like a gazpacho than the typical country club-style cocktail sauce. The cocktail can be assembled a couple of hours ahead of time, but not too far in advance, as the shrimp becomes rubbery if left in the lime juice for too long. To make this shrimp cocktail into easy party fare, spoon it onto small store-bought tostadas, garnish with a little cilantro, and serve.

This cowboy-style "bowl of red" is all about tender chunks of beef chuck and a five-chile-pepper purée.

The best thing about making ranch from scratch? If you like a more garlicky or more herby ranch, the choice is yours to adjust the recipe accordingly.

It doesn't come out of a soft-serve machine, and you can't twist it, but our version of fro-yo wins at everything else.

Straight talk: This is the greatest sandwich bread a person could ever hope for. And you absolutely need a stand mixer to make it.

The ultimate do-ahead, portable power breakfast; it's also great with fresh fruit.

You can find labneh at Middle Eastern markets and specialty food stores.or you can make your own.

Zucchini may not be the most loved vegetable, but when shallow-fried into patties, even kids will go crazy for them.

Top your sundaes with chocolate sauce and macerated raspberries for an easy summer dessert.

Once you try this easy and delicious recipe, you'll never buy grocery-store ricotta again.

No ice cream maker? Use store-bought frozen yogurt, or serve this over lightly sweetened Greek yogurt.

A super-juicy watermelon is key; it should feel heavy for its size and sound hollow when tapped.

A grown-up shaved ice, with a welcome hit of spice from the pepper.

This addictive peanut-and-seed mix has "unbeatable summer snack" written all over it. It's got just the right amount of salty-spicy crunch to keep you reaching for another beer, and another handful, and another beer... —A.M.

We love the rich, salty flavor of anchovies, especially with lamb, but we don't really want to bite into one. Chop until they're practically a paste.