memorial day
plus: exceptional grilled chicken and the best pasta salad on earth
Monday, May 18, 2026
Good morning!
If this past weekend’s summer preview weather is any indication, every single person in New York City appears to be out to settle an imagined debt with what the extra-cold, extra-snowy winter deprived us of. The sidewalks were packed. It would have been quicker to go home and churn ice cream than wait on a line for it, not that Cafe Panna isn’t worth it. If there there are any Aperol spritzes left in the five boroughs, I will be surprised. I am not immune, either. We planted herbs and tiny tomatoes, and considered a bird feeder for our terrace. On Saturday had linguine and clams, the perfect summer meal, with friends. I brought this asparagus salad, skipping the eggs. On Sunday, we made corn (too early in the season but I’ve had worse), a crunchy salad with homemade ranch (do you need a recipe?), and boiled lobster. And I’m counting down the seconds to this holiday weekend, summer’s official kick-off. Below, a few of my Memorial Day weekend go-to recipes that I hope you feel ready for summer, too, including the best pasta salad on earth.
Cheers,
Deb
I’ve written three cookbooks and one audiobook and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Not sure which one to check out first? Take a look at the recipe index and see which collection jumps out at you most.
burrata with charred and raw sugar snap peas
My favorite way to eat burrata (butterflied!) and a favorite thing to put on top of it, a mixture of grilled and fresh sugar snaps, finished with lemony crumbs, mint, and as much chile heat as your heart desires.
napa cabbage salad with buttermilk dressing
A giant salad that’s at the halfway point between a salad and slaw with a lightweight ranch dressing that would be good on anything on earth, but especially crunchy raw vegetables, is the exact kind of dish I crave on a hot day.
dilled potato and pickled cucumber salad
This is my family’s favorite potato salad, one that’s as populated with vegetables — crunchy, delicious ones, like radishes and lightly pickled cucumbers — as it is with potatoes, so it feels like something you might eat with dinner in warmer weather, and not only as a bbq side.
pasta salad with roasted tomatoes
Stop swearing off pasta salad -- just the gloopy ones. This one is all texture and zip: al dente noodles, slow-roasted tomatoes, crunchy nuts, salty cheese and a garlic-oregano vinaigrette. I wish I always had some in the fridge.
fake shack burger
My favorite kind of burger is thin and smashed to a salty craggy-edged crisp and you don’t even need an outdoor grill to make it. I’ll walk you through every part of making a glorious imitation of a Shake Shack burger; you’re in for such a treat.
exceptional grilled chicken
Exceptional grilled chicken — grilled chicken that’s forgiving of human (whoops I left it on a couple minutes too long), grill (my grill suggests heat more than it blasts it), and chicken (you can buy what the grocery store has in stock that day) imperfections — is absolutely failproof with this method, and your dinner deserves nothing less.
carrot and white bean burgers
An unfussy veggie burger recipe with simple pantry ingredients from Lukas Volger. Add smashed avocado, pickled red onion, and hot sauce and you’re in for a colorful treat, a perfect beginning to your summer.
strawberry summer sheet cake
With sunken strawberries that melt into jammy puddles and edges that brown and become faintly crisp as it bakes, here our favorite summer cake is one-bowl-ed and scaled up, ready to feed the crowd that forms wherever you bring it. [Video below!]
chocolate ice cream sandwiches
One-bowl, one-pan classic chocolate ice cream sandwiches with a perfect yield, perfect texture from the freezer, all from perfectly little effort. Our summers are going to be even more amazing with these in them.
vermontucky lemonade
We’ve been on a kick with maple syrup-sweetened lemonade and bourbon over ice cubes clinking in a very cold glass, and encourage you to join us. If you’ve got any mint, it’s extra refreshing shaken with a sprig or two.
strawberry summer sheet cake
The Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser is a lower-walled enameled cast-iron Dutch oven that works as well as a deep sauté pan as it does a soup pot, roasting pan, or even casserole dish that perfectly fits a pasta bake. It’s the ideal size and usability (dishwasher safe!) for everyday cooking. Not a week has gone by in the 14 years I’ve had mine when I don’t cook in it at least three times, so when it was no longer sold in U.S. stores, I asked Staub — a French cast-iron manufacturer originally from Alsace; you can watch me tour the forge/factory here! — if they would partner with me to bring it back, because I knew you’ll fall in love with the pan too. We launched the Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser in spring 2024. The Braiser is now sold exclusively at Williams-Sonoma and available in eight gorgeous new colors! The newest two — a classy off-white (pardon, French Crème) and a soft pink (Pink Peony, which you know I sing to the tune of Pink Peony Club) — launched just last month.
Cranberry (bright red)
Grenadine (deep red)
Sage (light green)
Basil (dark green)
La Mer (dark blue-green)
Sapphire (dark blue)
(New!) French Crème (off-white) ✨
(New!) Pink Peony (soft pink) ✨
The Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser Recipe Starter Pack: Oh, you did get a new braiser? I’m so happy for you. Here are a few recipes you can kick off your cooking with!
Braiser: An entire category of recipes on smittenkitchen.com
My “I Dream Of Paris” Menu for the French Crème launch: Dijon Roast Chicken, French Onion Soup for a Crowd, and a Perfect Apple Tarte Tatin
Baked Ziti with Meatballs and Ricotta (Williams-Sonoma, Video)
Apple Butterscotch Crisp (Zwilling, Video)
Braised Chickpeas with Kale and Burrata (Zwilling)
shop my favorites
Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more that you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most. This isn’t just an Amazon storefront. For each item, I attempt to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.
See you next week!
