Summer is Coming..

'Sup guys! So around June me and my brother are pulling off a 10 course tasting menu all about Summer for my parents' and my older brother as a little treat for them and as a big challenge for us and our tiny little kitchen.

It'll be be based off summer produce, flavours, ambience, smell, sounds, sights and all you can think of when the word Summer comes to mind.

That being said, I've been questioning a bunch of people as to what Summer makes them think of: what feelings it evokes, what aromas come to your nose, what you're used to eating and everything you can think can be represented on a plate, as wild as it may be.

You guys are a great audience and I'd like to pose that same question to you:
What do you associate Summer to?

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Comments

fisher23

The smells of BBQ, flowers and fresh cut grass. The sound of song birds. And the taste of: corn on the cob, watermelon and heirloom tomatoes. That's summer to me.

tangma27

It's prob different depending on where you live. BUT for me its like.. fruit, the ocean, grilled meats, sun. Popsicles.

Brandon_Byrd_40557

Just a tip: Dandelion greens taste like a freshly mowed lawn smells. I've been waiting for better tomatoes to come in so I can make a dandelion pesto and serve it over some slices of heirloom and burrata.

FrankM_3301

This is very much dependent on where you are...but here in the NE USA, I am thinking perfect tomatoes, sweet corn and watermelon. Maybe John Fisher lives near me...just glanced down and saw his response. For me...BBQ goes year round. I also love squash blossoms, and aim to have them in the garden most of the summer...perfect peaches? Clambake at the shore? Crab boil in the Chesapeake?

mike.minasian

Has to be BBQ of some sort. I get really nostalgic for the smell of a gas grill (even though it is inferior to charcoal / wood). Corn, tri tip, watermelon, etc.

fisher23

North West, but yes that's the taste of summer for me too.

Rob_Ransome_176184

Check out this excerpt from Heston

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqN-yYH9Yuo

Brandon_Byrd_40557

You could also go the full Alinea "farting pillow" route and put freshly cut grass in a vaporizer. This dish looks super summery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4c1dLJKZ0k

Brandon_Byrd_40557

A lot of this has been said already, but as far as summertime nostalgia goes, my mind goes to:

Grilled hamburgers and hot dogs

Crappy domestic beer

Watermelon

Peak tomatoes

Sweet corn

Peppers of all kinds

Squash (though it's hard to make this delicious on its own)

Pulled pork BBQ (I'm from the south)

Meat on a stick

Meat in tube form

Lemonade

Frozen desserts

Tequila

Mangoes

Peanuts (baseball games?)

Carnival/festival food (elephant ears, funnel cakes, corndogs, freshly fried potato chips [preferably in the long, curly shape])

Afonso_Tito_de_Morais_164825

It's amazing the amount of people at school that mentioned the smell of fresh cut grass! I want to incorporate a few smell-related surprises along the way for sure!

Afonso_Tito_de_Morais_164825

Thanks for the input y'all!

Francois_346702

Hola Alfonso,

Fresh cut grass is definitely a summer feeling I have in my memories as well. You can have it in a dish if you use dandolions, although they are more spring than summer type. I guess you could have it if you work some carrot greens into an emulsion.

To me, summer is just lots of different fragrances in the air, and things that you can pick up in your garden or in the wilderness (OK barbecue too, but probably less present than for our US friends). I don't know where you live (close to nature or not), but the most amazing dish to do to incorporate many of those flavors is the "Gargouillou", a dish created by Michel Bras, who created this dish precisely because he wanted to reproduce the feelings he had when walking outside as a kid in the garden of his parents and into the wild. If you can forage some flowers, herbs etc, and complete with your groceries, you can reach a very surprising dish. I had the occasion to eat it, and believe me, each bite is a surprise !

Here is a video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWqVRCNfEV8

I have a pdf of the season by season ingredients for the Garbouillou. Send me a private email and I can send it to you. The secret is to have at least 20-30 ingredients, including emulsions, cooked and raw, seeds, etc.

Now here in South of France, summer is all about ripe tomatoes and zucchini flowers. Those flowers have an amazing taste and go very well in pasta, risotto, fresh soups, with seafood as well.

Another funny and high "wow" factor dish is a salad as a form of a fake soil. Check this out, for example: https://fr.pinterest.com/pin/3377768447469419/

Hope this helps,

Afonso_Tito_de_Morais_164825

Thanks for the input Francois! As much as I'd like to get 20 ingredients on one course, atm that's impractical since my kitchen is super tiny, aswell as my fridge, stove rtc ahah i'm sticking to 6 elements per course maximum, to make sure I can execute them. As for the aroma stuff, I got a pretty good idea for one moment: heating up sand, mussel shells and seaweed in a fondue type of container until it gets fairly hot, get it to the table and pour ice water inside, releasing steam and filling the room with the smell of the beach. Hopefully it works as expected, I'll give it a try soon!

SummerGirl_1016012

Are you hot now? Got a lot of fruit?

Then you definitely need to go here.

Best Summer Recipe

You will surely pick up a dish suitable for summer weather.

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