Look, I like burgers and such as much as most cookout aficionados, but when I really want are sides. Lots of them, with plenty of variety: crunchy veggie salads, creamy dips, filling beany dishes, carb-load potato or pasta salads, and the colorful fruit fresh thing or two. I want to mound them up in piles so big, my paper plate buckles. It’s a time-honored tradition of Memorial Day as much as breaking out the bug repellant or flip flops.
These sides are all keepers. Lots of them also play nice with making in advance, allowing you to bring on those lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer in an appropriately chill fashion.