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.

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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!

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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. 

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Grilling can seem like a lot of hard work if you are not in-the-know. Growing up in the South, I spent most of my youth presuming it was a man's activity — all of those 'secrets' and 'rituals' seemed best left alone by the ladies. And while, yes, when it comes to charcoal grills, smokers, and Big Green Eggs, there can be a certain amount of finesse involved, the actual act of cooking over fire doesn't have to be engulfed in a shroud of mystery. With this fabulous chicken recipe, grilling can be for everyone!

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The moment I stepped into the little neighborhood bakery near the coast of Lebanon, I knew I was someplace special. Furn Al Sabaya ("Bakery of the Ladies") is run by three sisters, Martha, Lorenza and Lucie, who work together behind the counter to sweetly and almost magically churn out an array of unusual breakfast pastries from their fiery oven. The one that captured my heart was a thin egg tart flavored with butter and mint, sort of a cross between a quiche and a pizza. This recipe keeps the buttery goodness of the original, but bakes the egg filling into a flaky, free-form crostata that would make a uniquely tempting addition to a weekend brunch or a special lunch alongside a crunchy green salad.

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I had only been living in the Bay Area for a few weeks — boxes still unpacked, favorite shoes still missing — when I boarded a puddle-jumper plane bound for San Diego to be with an old and dear friend while she got married. She met me at the airport with two other friends, and before heading to the hotel, before diving into pre-wedding prep, and before even catching our breath, we were off to get tacos.

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Here is what's awesome about making your own dumplings at home: they will taste better than anything you buy in the store (promise), you will have a freezer full of ready-made meals for the next several weeks (depending on your rate of dumpling consumption), and you will feel like a rock star when you gaze upon your dumpling bounty. Better yet, gather some friends for a dumpling-making fest and divvy up the profits. Everyone is a rock star! Want in on the action? Here's what to do.

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The first meals alone in a foreign country are always intimidating. When I moved to a small city in central Japan to teach English for two years, onigiri was the first food I clung to. Like a life raft, these seaweed-wrapped rice balls — sort of the sandwiches of Japanese cuisine — kept me afloat in a sea of unfamiliar foods labeled in a language I could just barely read. 

Made with short-grain rice, toasted nori and a small amount of flavorful seafood, meat or pickles, onigiri combine some of the elements of sushi, but in a more homey, comforting form. These are not the elegant creations of highly-trained chefs, but the familiar, filling foods of school lunches and train trips, providing a little taste of home while on the road.

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This might sound shocking, but I have to say it: potstickers might be my favorite food. They are my go-to meal when I'm home alone for dinner and my favorite crowd-pleasing appetizer. I even eat them cold for airplane meals. On top of this, you can fill them with anything under the sun and freeze them for handy weeknight meals. This particular combination of rich shiitake mushrooms, chewy baked tofu, and silky cabbage is like an old and very dear friend, one that I never tire of seeing.

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A forceful kick from behind you sends the chair launching forward. Another blow immediately follows, and somewhere a child starts to scream. You feel the anger swelling inside of you as you start to plot your revenge. The hunger is taking control...

This may sound like the beginning of a horror movie, but in reality it's just another day on a plane. Travel can do a number on anyone's diet: airports are littered with fast food, pubs, and ice cream stores. On the plane it is even worse. Complimentary peanuts are little more than a joke, and $20 "snack packs" featuring processed cheese spread and Oreos are just plain offensive.

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