Summer Food and Non-Alcoholic Drink Pairings

Need some ideas for summer food and drink pairings? If you're stumped about which drinks pair well with various meals and main dishes, these suggestions will help.

Iced Tea Pairings

Iced tea goes with just about any item you could think of on the summertime lunch or dinner menu. It's perfect with picnic food, sandwiches, barbecue, fried chicken, broiled fish, breaded fish, and many other meals.

Restaurant-Style Preparation Method for Iced Tea

Put one gigantic industrial-sized tea bag in the coffee maker. Run 4 coffee pots full of hot water through it. Then pour the tea into a large dispenser that has been filled to the top with ice. Pour the tea into tall glasses filled with ice, and serve it with a slice of lemon on the side of the glass. People are free to add sugar, or not, as they prefer.

If you're planning to serve iced tea at a party, that's one method I'd recommend considering.

Otherwise, if you're just making iced tea for a couple of people, try this:

Basic Iced Tea for Two Recipe

2-4 tea bags, depending on how strong you like your tea
4 cups boiling water
2 tall glasses filled with ice cubes, plus additional ice
Optional: As much sugar or honey as necessary to sweeten the tea to you liking
Optional: 2 slices of lemon

Combine the tea and boiling water and allow the tea to steep for at least 5 minutes - longer is better. If desired, sweeten the tea before it cools. Pour the tea over ice, add additional ice if necessary, and serve with lemon.

Lemonade Pairings

Lemonade is a summertime classic. Lemonade pairs wonderfully with broiled fish, with various chicken dishes, and also with many different types of salads.

Avoid pairing lemonade with desserts; no matter how much you sweeten the lemonade, it will end up tasting bitter and unappealing next to, say, a banana split.

Coffee Pairings

Unlike lemonade, coffee is the perfect complement to many different types of desserts. Tiramisu and coffee are an outstanding match for each other. Ice cream and coffee are also wonderful together. Many people enjoy the contrasting hot and cold sensations, and the contrast between bitter or bittersweet coffee and sweet ice cream. Coffee and chocolate are famous for being an outstanding food and drink pairing.

Horchata Pairings

Horchata is a rice drink that goes well with Mexican food. Try it with enchiladas, burritos, tacos, and tamales.

If I'm going to drink horchata, I usually just buy it at the store. However, I just found fellow AC contributor Ricky Franklin's horchata recipe, and it looks like it would be worth trying.

My Favorite Summer Food and Drink Pairings

Food and drink pairings are a personal thing; one person's perfect match is another person's disaster. I'll go out on a limb and share some of my favorite summer food and drink pairings with you. Although some of these pairings are a bit quirky, I really enjoy them. Maybe you will, too.

Homemade macaroni and cheese paired with a cold Oregon chai latte -- my recipe is simple enough; I just mix the chai latte mix with cold milk.

I also enjoy vegetarian pizza paired with Oregon chai latte. Come to think of it, I'm not sure there's any way I wouldn't enjoy an Oregon chai latte; it's delicious with just about anything.

Roasted lamb and a fresh garden salad paired with freshly squeezed carrot juice; this pairing works best if all the ingredients were purchased locally, ideally at the farmer's market the same day they are consumed. For a fantastic roast lamb recipe, try Angie Mohr's recommendations.

Bread and hummus, paired with pomegranate juice

A fresh veggie omelet paired with freshly squeezed tomato juice

Your Favorite Summer Food and Drink Pairings

So, which food and drink pairings are your summertime favorites? You're invited to share them by commenting below.