Body By Duke's
an incomplete list of summer things
There are some things that feel as though they’re of a season despite the fact that they’re not, strictly speaking, seasonal. It’s not that I only enjoy these things in their time, but I enjoy them much more when the vibes happen to align.
Feels Like Summer
Pickles
Canned cocktails
Peach (obviously the fruit, but more generally, the color)
The Grateful Dead
Dr. Brown’s Cream Soda
Coconut-scented things
Mayonnaise
Duffman
Bruce Springsteen
Bucket hats
I was thinking about this list yesterday as I pulled weeds in my garden while Hazel squealed through the sprinkler. The list started with just two items—The Grateful Dead and mayonnaise (both unfairly and oft maligned). For the Dead, I think it’s about the idea of summer tours and where I was in my life when I really started listening to them (Charlotte, NC, summer of 2005) that pegs to summer for me. But mayonnaise? I suppose it’s because of mayo’s starring role in summer-adjacent foods like BLTs, deviled eggs, and pimento cheese. Yeah, we still need mayo in the middle of winter, but less so.
Over the past few years, the very lovely folks at Duke’s Mayonnaise have asked me to develop about a dozen recipes for them (a dream assignment, truly), and while I’m proud of all of them, the ones I created for summer eating are my most beloved. What can I say, I’m a summer! We’re talking tomatoes in tonnato, grilled bbq corn ribs (which is actually NOT a mayo recipe but still on-brand), and put-it-on-everything ranch (sub scallions for ramps; it’s low key better imo). Here are some links to a few of my cookout-friendly, mayo-centric summer faves…
