'Tis the season for parties--pool, cocktail, beach, barbecue, cookout, clambake--and the last place you want to be is behind the bar serving up every which cocktail every which way. Kara Newman, spirits editor at Wine Enthusiast Magazine and author of "Cocktails for a Crowd" comes to your rescue with recipes for bottles, pitchers, and flagons of the most enticing cocktails that even your most jaded hipster friends won't be able to resist. Leave us a message: https://leit.es/chat. Follow @amytraverso and @davidleite.

The hot weather blazed in this week. And to celebrate summer and our First Annual Sweat Fest, Joanne Chang, chef and owner of Flour Bakery in Boston, MA, shares her mom's hot and sour soup. Firefighter and paramedic Nicole Harrison extolls the benefits and responsibilties of cooking in a firehouse. And David and The One go another round of city vs. country in Green Acres. Leave us a message: https://leit.es/chat. Follow @amytraverso and @davidleite.

Food blogger, percussionist, and inimitable host Molly Yeh instructs David and Renee in how to host a salon. Along the way she divulges her most bawdy moments from recent salons, her secret recipe for dumplings inspired by an ale house, and the rules for salons, including the right mix of people to invite. Leave us a message: https://leit.es/chat. Follow @amytraverso and @davidleite.

Homesick Texan Lisa Fain on the right way to make chicken-fried steak. Reader Beth Kujawski calls in about brownies. And Mamma Leite talks about David's favorite recipe, carne assada. Leave us a message: https://leit.es/chat. Follow @amytraverso and @davidleite.

Mark Scarbrough and Bruce Weinstein on cooking with liquor. Author Jess Thomson reveals her worst kitchen disaster. And David and The One on the merits of city vs. country living. Leave us a message: https://leit.es/chat. Follow @amytraverso and @davidleite.