Yogurt

Leaving the skins on the peaches for the purée makes for a beautifully pink swirl in this refreshing summer dessert.

Yogurt gets used two ways in this simple dinner party–worthy dish: first it provides a tenderizing marinade for the chicken, then more yogurt is mixed with the pan juices to create a rich sauce for serving.

This pretty green soup is creamy, cool, and refreshing. Top each bowl with a flavorful mix of parsley, mint, olive oil, and lemon zest.

If you've got both a camp stove and a grill, you're golden: Prep the salsa over the live fire, and make perfect eggs on the propane stove.

The usual slaw suspects get a modern upgrade thanks to a salty-cheesy walnut pesto.

Serve this ultra-creamy tahini sauce with grilled meats or roasted vegetables, or use it as a base for a silky avocado dip or an herby salad dressing.

Grilled fennel, tomatoes, and scallions, plus cumin-rubbed grilled steak, turn this quinoa salad into a one-dish dinner you'll want to keep serving all summer long.

Ask your butcher for a whole leg, which will include part of the sirloin.

These pancakes are lighter than those in your standard stack: slender and slightly crisp on the outside, light and lacy with assertive raspberry flavor. The raspberries are blended into the milk before being added to the batter—a solution to having pockmarks of berry flavor only here and there. You'll want a mile-high pile.

Kids and grown-ups alike will love this upgrade on classic fish sticks. And with a cornmeal coating, they're naturally gluten-free. The creamy dipping sauce doubles as a dressing for the salad, so you don't have to mix up two different sauces to get dinner on the table.

Squeezing the liquid out of the zucchini is the secret to crisp fritters. (The potato helps, too.)

Rose water infuses this tender cake with an intoxicating aroma perfectly matched by sweet-tart spring rhubarb.

You don't need an ice-cream maker to serve cool, creamy scoops. All you need is a bowl to make semifreddo happen.

This moist, simple cake has a tender golden crumb and a subtle citrus flavor. I love a thin slice—okay, a thick slice—in the middle of the afternoon with coffee, but it's also well matched with summer berries and stone fruits. My husband enjoys it for breakfast. Accompany the cake and fruit with a dollop of the Yogurt Cream, if you like. In winter, pair the cake with a citrus compote or poached quince. This recipe is adapted from one given to me by Bill Corbett, executive pastry chef for the Absinthe Group in San Francisco, who uses yogurt frequently in his desserts. The cake stays moist for a week if stored in a lidded plastic cake container.

All the flavors of guacamole meet up in this creamy soup, with yogurt adding body and refreshment. Serve with pita or tortilla chips. For lunch, add a salad of frisée, jicama, and oranges. For dinner, serve in small portions and follow with grilled ribs, grilled salmon, or just about anything grilled.

Pasilla chile oil wakes up lamb meatballs and cucumber while plenty of yogurt keeps the heat in check.

Sauté ground lamb with cooked lentils and plenty of spice for a lightning-fast weeknight dinner—then pile extras into a rice bowl or pita pocket for lunch the next day.