This time of year, our Kitchn inbox starts filling with desperate pleas for vacation meal ideas. The gatherings are big and small — a beach house family reunion, a group of ten friends renting a cabin, two families with kids sharing a lake-side apartment for the week — but the need for crowd-pleasing dinners made with minimal fuss after a day of vacation fun is the same. Without further ado, here are our top ten meals that fit the bill!

If you asked me ten years ago after feasting at a trattoria in Florence on fiocchetti alle pere con salsa di taleggio e asparagi that one day I would be able to replicate the experience, I would have laughed in your face. Back then the only thing I knew how to make was frozen pizza. But time has a way of changing us, and that trip to Florence changed me too. Here I am ten years later, recreating that meal of a lifetime. 

I've been lucky, these past few years, to travel frequently and visit some wonderful places. This week, I'm in Paris! Would you like a peek into the apartment we rented? Yes — an apartment. Have you also discovered this lovely way to travel? Here's why I usually prefer to stay in an apartment, instead of a hotel. 

This is a salad to put in your back pocket and come back to all summer long. It goes from weekend picnic to make-ahead weekday lunch in the snap of a finger, and it's full of satisfying nibbly, crunchy, chewy bits. The grapes are my favorite part — an unexpected burst of sweet in the middle of a bite. A tangy mustard vinaigrette adds the finishing touch and brings it all together.

Alix and Nick are not afraid of bright colors. Their Jamestown, Rhode Island kitchen is a mix of high-gloss, high-impact red and turquoise cabinets — a style they've coined "Scandan-Asian," and a dramatic one at that!

Q:

Sent by April

While planning for my recent summer cabin experience, there was one tool I made sure to pack: an oven thermometer. In fact, I rarely leave home without it when I know I'll be using the oven in an unfamiliar kitchen. 

Full-bodied, medium-bodied or light-bodied are terms you heard bandied around to describe a wine. What do these descriptors mean? What determines the body of a wine?

These are terms used to describe the general weight, 'fullness' or overall feel of a wine in your mouth. Full-bodied wines are big and powerful. In contrast, light-bodied wines are more delicate and lean. Medium-bodied wines fall somewhere in between. There is no legal definition of where the cut-offs occur and many wines fall into the medium-to-high or light-to-medium body categories.

We're into wedding season now, which means bridal showers, honeymoon send-offs, and housewarming parties. A set of these hand-painted ceramic measuring cups or spoons from Chicago-based 7 Doors Studio would make sweet one-of-a-kind gift, particularly for animal lovers!