Before "girl dinner," there was this...

An annoying name for an old phenomenon.

One steaming summer, my grandmother served me fruit salad for dinner, with a scoop of sherbet, “for protein.” I sat in the dining room of her sweltering brick Philadelphia row house, cooled only by a fan, delighted. As a child, this meal was even better than breakfast for dinner.

If we had Tik Tok at the time, someone might have felt the need to share their fruit plate topped with sherbet and call it #girldinner, a new (annoying) name for an old phenomena — sometimes we don’t feel like cooking so we assemble dinner from odds, ends, and ice cream. No need to give it an infantilizing name, imho.

Now, I know “girl dinner” is supposed to be for when you eat solo. It’s extolled as a form of self care — look, you’re eating alone tonight, so you can just graze.

But what if you’re supposed to prepare a meal for others and you’re too busy, stressed, or hot to cook? I hereby give you permission to put together snacks for dinner for others as well.

In fact, I encourage it. Especially this time of year.

Summer food is wonderful. But if I’m honest, it’s also a little boring. Nature provides us with so many beautiful ingredients that as cooks, we mostly need to get out of the way.

The best meals in summer are usually built by skilled shopping (or gardening). If you’re feeling especially ambitious, you can rub something and grill it and maybe make a little sauce.

But where I live, it’s been hot. Not pleasantly warm, with a cool breeze, but sticky. Swampy. Soupy. Steaming. Sweltering. Choose your ‘s’ word for 85°F+ with 80% humidity.

With Mission: Dinner, I usually send you a new recipe each week. This week, after my vacation, I’m still getting back into the groove of things, so I don’t have one.

Don’t worry: I’m not taking off the whole summer. I have a few recipes in the works in various stages of doneness, but none are ready or worthy for your weeknight table.

Instead, I thought I’d share a few delicious and memorable summer assemblages I’ve put together in the past that might inspire your own. Some of them involved very light cooking, but rest assured that a plate of fruit (and vegetables, if you like) is a perfectly acceptable dinner.

Sherbet “for protein” is optional. Just don’t call it #girldinner.

There is actually a recipe for this whipped ricotta with tomatoes in my cookbook, Modern Potluck. But you really don’t need one.

To make: Beat some whole-milk ricotta with olive oil (use a whisk or hand mixer), then fold in some herbs. Spread on a platter and make a well. Stir some chopped tomatoes with more olive oil and herbs and arrange on top of the ricotta. Serve with bread or toasts, with the idea that you will spoon the ricotta and tomatoes on some bread and turn this platter into a big mess.

I assembled this meal in Paris last year. It includes a pre-made, heat-and-eat tortilla espagnole (an egg-based dish with potatoes and onions; I wish I could find these in the U.S.!), sliced melon, lightly dressed lettuce, and ham.

Could you wrap the ham around the melon? Yes. Could you tear the ham and chop the melon to add to the lettuce for a salad. Sure. With these kinds of dinners, no need to take those extra steps. Just put things out and let everyone make their dinner dreams come true.

Yes, you can steam clams in garlic and white wine. Or tomato sauce. Or lemongrass and ginger with coconut milk. Or many other delicious aromatic-and-liquid combinations. But you don’t need to. The beauty of clams is that they come pre-seasoned, so you can simply steam them in some water and still have something delicious. Slice up some tomatoes and cucumber, tear a few herbs from the garden. Done.

Sure, you can stuff zucchini flowers. Or batter and fry them. But that all takes effort. You can also simply enjoy on a warm egg sandwich, where they’ll wilt the moment they touch the egg.

“Blistered peas” look like they require a fancy technique, when really, they were the result of an accident. I went to steam the peas in a little liquid and oil and then forgot about them, so they became browned in spots. They were fun to eat on a snacking board, with prosciutto, mortadella, mozzarella, wilted broccolini, and strawberries. Of course, you could swap out the vegetables here for whatever you have on hand.

What are some of your favorite summer assemblages or no-cook dinners?