Cooking Channel's All-Star Summer Recipes

 

Cooking Channel's stars share their best recipes for brightening up a summer table with savory starters, sides, mains and meal-ending sweets. 

 

Debi + Gabriele's Extra Virgin Grilled Tuscan Chicken

Savor the flavors of Tuscany in your own backyard by grilling chicken with olive oil, lemon and rosemary, and then serving it over a bed of peppery arugula.

Get the Recipe: Grilled Tuscan Chicken

Roger Mooking's Pasta Salad with Green Onion Dressing

Roger Mooking uses simple spices and shredded coconut to reinvent the traditional pasta salad.

Get the Recipe: Pasta Salad with Green Onion Dressing

Chuck Hughes' Super Burgers

Chuck tops his decadent burgers with bacon, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato and homemade ranch dressing.

Get the Recipe: Chuck's Super Burgers

Kelsey Nixon's Sugar Cookie Crust Fruit Pizza

Layer sliced seasonal fruits in concentric circles atop a giant sugar cookie for a sweet take on a pizza pie.

Get the Recipe: Sugar Cookie Crust Fruit Pizza

Nadia G's Crispy Tuna-Cake Sliders with Citrus Slaw

Seasoned with fresh parsley, diced celery, cayenne pepper and garlic, and topped with Nadia G's tangy Dijon mustard-infused slaw, these tuna-cake sliders may be light, but they're also loaded with flavor.

Get the Recipe: Crispy Tuna-Cake Sliders with Citrus Slaw

Michael Symon's Southern Greens

Inspired by his mother-in-law's Southern cooking, Michael Symon prepares a bacon-infused side dish using Swiss chard, kale and mustard greens — perfect for serving with pork or fried chicken.

Get the Recipe: Sherla's Southern Greens

Kelsey Nixon's Slow Cooker Shredded Pork

Low and slow is key for this pull-apart-tender shredded pork. After 10 hours, the meat will be rich with the flavors of the recipe's many spices, like chili powder, coriander and cumin.

Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Shredded Pork

Tyler Florence's Mexican Grilled Corn

Slather freshly grilled corn with a mayo, sour cream and cilantro mixture and top with lime juice, Parmesan and chili powder for a popular summer side inspired by Mexican street food.

Get the Recipe: Mexican Grilled Corn

Ching-He Huang's Golden Gate Chili Ribs

Hoisin and honey give Ching's Asian-inspired ribs a sweet base, while Chinese five-spice powder and Fresno chiles add a spicy kick to each bite.

Get the Recipe: Golden Gate Chili Ribs

Debi + Gabriele's Sangria 

Sangria, Extra Virgin style, includes brandy, vanilla, cloves and cinnamon. Debi and Gabriele recommend Cannonau wine from Sardinia, Italy, but you can use any medium-bodied red wine.

Get the Recipe: Sangria

Alton Brown's Cold-Fashioned Potato Salad

Alton Brown's creamy potato salad benefits from an hour (or more) in the refrigerator, which lets the flavors meld. It's a great make-ahead side dish for your summer get-together.

Get the Recipe: Cold-Fashioned Potato Salad

Bal Arneson's Spiced Indian Grilled Chicken

This chicken is all about the Indian-spiced yogurt marinade. The flavors of fenugreek, garam masala and cardamom permeate the chicken, giving it the familiar aroma of Indian cooking.

Get the Recipe: Spiced Indian Grilled Chicken

Bobby Flay's Patatas Bravas

Spicy patatas bravas is often served as a tapas dish in Spain, but it also makes a perfect side for brunch. Pan-fry the potatoes and top with a roasted tomato and smoked paprika-spiked mayo.

Get the Recipe: Patatas Bravas Home Fries with Roasted Tomato Aioli

Laura Calder's Fresh Blueberry Tart

Fresh blueberries are the star of this summery tart, with a crisp crust and cream cheese-sour cream filling playing the perfect backup.

Get the Recipe: Fresh Blueberry Tart

Aarón Sánchez's Beef Tacos (Tacos de Carne Asada)

Salsa de arbol, made with bright-red, potent chiles de arbol, gives these beef tacos so much kick that they need little more accompaniment than pickled jalapenos and some onions.

Get the Recipe: Beef Tacos: Tacos de Carne Asada

Dave Lieberman's Asian Style Slaw

Coleslaw is a classic dish that bulks up a summer spread, but when mixed with scallion curls and dressed with a variety of Asian sauces, cabbage becomes a savory side that stands on its own.

Get the Recipe: Asian Style Slaw

Ellie Krieger's Lobster Roll

This lightened-up lobster sandwich has all the flavor of the classic shore food without the guilt. 

Get the Recipe: Lobster Roll

Michael Chiarello's Mojitos for a Crowd

Don't want to play bartender all night long? Mix up this party-sized batch to keep guests' glasses full throughout the night.

Get the Recipe: Mojitos

Giada De Laurentiis's Balsamic BBQ Sauce Chicken

Giada's barbecue sauce is enriched with savory balsamic vinegar for a flavor that marries well with any fire-kissed meat.

Get the Recipe: Chicken or Steak with Balsamic BBQ Sauce

Michael Chiarello's Grilled Corn Salsa

Grilling corn on the cob without the husks creates golden, toasted and charred corn — great for salsa.

Get the Recipe: Grilled Corn Salsa

Ingrid Hoffmann's Latin Burgers with Caramelized Onions

Serve up burgers with a spicy Latin flair. Chorizo gets mixed right into the patties, while jalapenos, caramelized onions and sweet red pepper mayo top them off.

Get the Recipe: Latin Burgers with Caramelized Onion and Jalapeno Relish and Red Pepper Mayonnaise

Rachael Ray's Braised Pork Tacos

Slow and gentle cooking transforms pork shoulder into succulent, pull-apart shards of meat. Coupled with smoky chipotle sauce and pickled onions, it forms perfect tacos for your fiesta.

Get the Recipe: Braised Pork Tacos

Chuck Hughes' Tomato Cheese Tart

Chuck's beautiful summer tart is topped with Swiss cheese, thin slices of ruby-red tomatoes and a variety of fresh herbs.

Get the Recipe: Tomato Cheese Tart

Dave Lieberman's Beer Braised BBQ Pork Butt

Pile this sweet, spicy and slightly sour BBQ pork butt high on a roll or eat it straight up with a bit of coleslaw.

Get the Recipe: Beer Braised BBQ Pork Butt

Debi + Gabriele's Caprese di Farro

Debi and Gabriele offer an alternative to the simple, classic tomato, mozzarella and basil salad from Capri. By adding farro and kalamata olives, they give the dish substance and salty flavor.

Get the Recipe: Caprese Di Farro

Ellie Krieger's Lemon Icebox Bars

In less than 30 minutes, prepare these creamy, tangy no-bake lemon bars. Leave them in the freezer to set and voila! A refreshing dessert is at the ready. What's even better? Each of these bars contains only 155 calories and 5 grams of fat.

Get the Recipe: Lemon Icebox Bars

Laura Calder's Shrimp and Zucchini Skewers

With just five ingredients, you'll have a skewered meal in no time.

Get the Recipe: Shrimp and Zucchini Skewers

Nadia G.'s Hawaiian Burger

Nadia G.'s Hawaiian burger starts with the classic accoutrements — bacon, pineapple and mozzarella cheese — but she takes it a notch further with chipotle peppers, hot chile flakes and challah bread.

Get the Recipe: Hawaiian Burger

Michael Symon's Peach and Blue Cheese Salad

Ripe summer peaches shouldn't be limited to dessert! Michael Symon tosses them with blue cheese and peppery arugula for a sweet-and-savory salad.

Get the Recipe: Peach and Blue Cheese Salad