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Cold soup and hot shrimp—this is a fantastic combination on a warm night. Blending the honeyed sweetness of this summer melon with intensely savory vegetables makes this dish incredibly refreshing. And I give the hot, spicy shrimp a hit of freshness by grilling finely sliced mint right onto them.

The ginger syrup for the grapefruit intensifies the citrus flavor while adding a bright yet subtle heat that cuts through the richness of the cakes and avocado.

There are few things better than a good Maine lobster. With this technique, I preserve the taste of the sea by cooking the meat in its own juices. The secret? Cut the lobsters in half and balance the shells so that they capture all of the cooking juices. If you have a wood-burning oven, now is the time to use it.

At the height of summer, I’m always thinking of new ways to combine farmer’s market vegetables. Eggplants and peppers are a natural pair, and I like to highlight their different textures here. I roast the eggplants until they almost collapse, but quick-char the peppers to keep their crunch while giving them a smoky flavor. Perfectly seared scallops tie the two textures and flavors together.

I think tomatoes and summer squash always taste great together. The key to this two-vegetable simple spin on ratatouille is roasting the tomatoes first. It intensifies their sweetness and makes the whole dish rich in flavor.

Here I combine woody herbs with the potatoes and tender herbs with the fish. The result is an intensely flavorful and fragrant dish.

Super-savory green olives form the base of an amazing vinaigrette that brings out the sweetness of snapper and late-summer corn and potatoes.

Barbecue sauce, especially a spicy one, may seem an unusual pairing for fish, but the richness of salmon not only stands up to the heat, it actually is enhanced by the flavor of the sauce.

This broth is so good I could drink it by the bowlful. Be sure to serve this with steamed sticky rice. Even better: When I have leftover sticky rice, I press it into small cubes and fry them until crisp and golden brown. You can find konbu, bonito, miso, and yuzu at a Japanese grocery or a well-stocked Asian market.

Any fish on the bone works here—whole red snapper or salmon steaks would also be good choices—but I especially love just-caught sea bass. Set on a bed of fennel and smothered with tart-sweet Meyer lemons and cherry tomatoes, the fish absorbs all those flavors while it steam-roasts in dry white wine. I love the distinctive citrus aroma of Meyer lemons, but you can use regular lemons here, too.

Savory sausage, bitter kale, and sweet tomatoes—is there a better trio? Instead of cooking them in a braise, I throw them on pizza.

When i was a kid, one of my favorite fall activities was hunting for wild mushrooms with my brothers in the woods around our home. For this pizza, make sure the mushroom pieces are all roughly the same size so they cook evenly. The runny egg yolk that sauces this pizza binds all the flavors together.

Fresh spinach and cheese is one of my favorite combinations. Here, the blast of the heat from the oven wilts the greens into the melted cheese. To brighten the flavors, I toss in a bunch of fresh herbs, too. If you have a pizza oven or stone at home, use it here. It’ll char the edges of the leaves and make them crisp.

This pasta dish pairs creamy with crunchy, tart with sweet. Summer string beans also offer a little crunch to balance the juiciness of the tomatoes. I especially like using orange Sunbursts from my garden.

This is one of the most requested dishes in my home, especially when we have children over. Instead of making a béchamel sauce, Marja simply blends her ingredients and bakes them into a rich custard that suspends the pasta. Her blend of five cheeses creates layers of flavors in this homey casserole. Marja’s always happy to bake it for a crowd, and everyone’s always happy to eat it.

For four generations, the Vongerichten family has been turning out this tart, which is like a quiche but creamier.

This will delight vegetarians—and carnivores, too. The warm, meaty mushrooms are so satisfying, especially when topped with pickled chiles, arugula, and Parmesan shavings. Fragrant fresh rosemary, which too often overpowers, adds a subtle depth of flavor to homemade mayonnaise, which is key here.

When I lived near Nice in the sunny south of France, I discovered that everyone there has a version of this summer salad. By tasting ones made by everyone from legendary chefs to humble housewives, I came up with my own. My sun-dried tomato vinaigrette makes this version distinctive. The perfumed sweetness of elderflower cordial highlights the concentrated sweetness of the tomatoes. Be sure to use the best sushi-grade bluefin or yellowfin tuna you can find.

This dish is almost embarrassingly easy, but such a crowd-pleaser that I just had to share it. Use a flavorful prepared marinara—smoked tomato, mushroom, or chunky vegetable.