How to Make a Perfect Summer Feast
'Weekends cant come quickly enough now that weve passed the Rubicon of the Fourth of July. We need them to banish memories of summer commuting and the stick and pull of work clothes at noon, when you get three feet outside your office and already regret going to the bank. Whether youre in a friends backyard or a city apartment with the air-conditioner on high, the next two months are meant for barefoot padding from Friday until Monday dawn. We ought to cook to match.
Summer is a cooking season in which there is no set menu save what looks good at the store. That was my objective, anyway, when I went to the farmers market to prepare for this meal, intended for a small group of friends but easily scaled up to a lot of friends or down to immediate family. . .
As I shopped, a plan formed in my head for a simple, no-fuss, cook-it-anywhere summer feast. There would be salads: tomatoes and watermelon combined with a sharp tang of feta; grilled potatoes in a dressing, bright with acidity and heavy with bacon fat and smoky chipotle; a slaw reminiscent of tropical beaches. The main event: barbecued chicken with a sauce that nods at the tangy white one made famous at Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Ala. This is beer-can chicken, essentially, in a silken coat.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/07/magazine/how-to-make-a-perfect-summer-feast.html?hp