Essential Summer Meals You Need to Master

Image via Complex Original

See that old loaf of bread staring at you from the depths of your fridge? Listen to us: take it out, line a bowl with some slices, fill the bowl with berries and sugar, top with more slices, and weigh the whole thing down overnight. The next morning, you'll have fresh berry pudding. It's basically magic. Get the recipe on Food52.

The last thing you want to do on a bangin' summer day is spend the entire time cooking. Make a batch of the Internet's most famous tomato sauce today and it will last you all week. Throw it on pasta, pizza dough, chicken parm—it makes everything taste good. Get the recipe on Food52.

You can't survive the summer without a killer recipe for grilled steak. Here's a steak rub simple enough to throw together after work, but complex enough to impress all your guests. The steak recipe is one step and takes thirty minutes from start to finish, so there's practically nothing standing between you, a juicy sirloin, and a barbecue with your friends. Get the recipe on Food52.

Forget everything you know about dry, bland pork burgers. Thanks to the addition of bacon (we find ourselves saying that a lot lately), these burgers are juicy and succulent. Why? Bacon is actually folded into the pork. It releases flavor and richness as the burgers cook, making for the moistest, most savory pork burgers ever. Get the recipe on Food52.

In the summer, squash is cheap and just about everywhere you look. Follow a few easy steps and you can transform a boring vegetable into spicy, salty, gooey, crunchy goodness. This gratin—don't freak out, that's just a fancy word for vegetables baked with cheese until everything bubbles—will have you going in for seconds. Get the recipe on Food52.

It's against the law to have a barbecue or a picnic without slaw (at least it should be). Here's a recipe that tastes light without skimping on the mayo. Almonds, sesame seeds, basil, and ginger add crunch and flavor that you won't find in the boring supermarket stuff. Get the recipe on Food52.

A buttery roll overflowing with crab and held together by creamy avocado mayonnaise. What more is there to say? (Don't sweat the crab: substitute whatever fresh seafood you can get your hands on.) Get the recipe on Food52.

When you think chowder, you probably think thick, creamy, and full of clams. Well, think again. Here's a chowder that's going to change that: sweet, spicy, and full of bacon, it'll have you licking the bowl clean. Get the recipe on Food52.

When you wake up groggy after a long night of partying, the last thing you want to do is get in your car and pay for overpriced, dry French toast. This recipe is simple, fast, and perfect for when you roll out of bed at 2 pm. Watch out: You'll now be making French toast every weekend. Get the recipe on Food52.

Nothing says summer more than watermelon and lemonade, so why not combine the two? This watermelon lemonade is like your favorite childhood slurpee, but with the added bonus of gin. It's the ultimate no-worries drink for soaking in the sun on the porch or by the pool. Get the recipe on Food52.