Alcohol

Plum wine is a traditional Japanese aperitif that's wonderful straight or with a splash of soda.

Spritzes use mixers and ice, so skip pricey Champagne.

Our warm-weather drinking philosophy in a nutshell: When in doubt, add bubbles.

Secret ingredient: pickle juice. Its salty edge rounds out the Sherry

My favorite apple pie recipe comes from a friend who shares my name, and who was kind enough to share with me a recipe for an apple pie that's practically a work of art. More than a thousand words long, it features little anecdotes here and there, making the recipe valuable for the writing alone, never mind the pie that comes off its pages. We wanted to re-create the flavor of apple pie in ice cream, but pie crust didn't quite work out when tucked into custard—it got too soggy for it to be any good. Instead, we decided to keep the filling and use bits of cooked crumble topping as cookielike bites mixed in with bits of apple. Calvados is a nice way to bump up the apple flavor, but if you don't have that on hand, rum or brandy should do in pinch.

With a mega-flame and a gargantuan pot, you can cook an ocean's worth of seafood in a fraction of the time it would take on the stovetop—without stepping foot in a steamy kitchen.

At the bar, we have giant ice molds to make the ice cubes that keep this punch cold, but when I do it at home, a Tupperware container works just as well. Fill a 1-quart to 2-quart container with hot water (which freezes into clearer ice) and stick it in the freezer twenty-four hours before the party. Then add the giant cube to your punch bowl right before the guests arrive; it keeps everything cold and looks beautiful.

The delicate orange flavor of Aperol melds well with bitter lemon soda in this crisp cocktail.