Roses and samoa bars

Another season of the (highly unsuccessful) show the Bachelorette premiered this week, and that means our gang is back together for some entertaining Monday nights! We kicked it off with homemade Samoa bars, a cousin to the delicious Girl Scout cookie of the same name. These bars have a couple of different steps before the finished product, but it's all worth it when you get to lick the bowl at each stage - first there's caramel-coconut goodness to snack on, then a finale of melted chocolate you might as well finish off too. I dipped the bottom of the bars in semi-sweet chocolate, then drizzled milk chocolate on top. The taste of these bars were right on for Samoas, but the texture is pretty different due to the thick, shortbread crust. But that's to be expected because this recipe isn't trying to replicate the actual cookie - that recipe is here if you want to try it.

Grilled romaine salad

Ok, yum. When you're firing up your grill this summer for steak and burgers, why not throw a salad on there too? This recipe for grilled romaine salad is fantastic! The flavor of the salad is transformed when you grill it - the citrus caesar vinaigrette in fabulous also. Don't forget to shave some fresh parmigiano-reggiano on top! We plan to eat this at least once a week.

Chicken parmesan meatballs

There was a cold and rainy night last week, so we wanted comfort food for dinner - Rachael Ray's chicken parmesan meatballs to the rescue! They were rich in flavor, thanks to the spinach, parmesan cheese, and homemade tomato sauce. Definitely a keeper!

Peruvian-style steak

We made Peruvian-style steak from the June/July issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray for dinner one night at the beach. This recipe only has a few ingredients, but cooking everything on the grill really brings out great flavors. I especially loved the grilled tomatoes and onions - delicious! The potatoes were a bit bland (even after I seasoned them with salt and pepper, which the recipe didn't call for), so we topped ours with guacamole. An entire meal cooked on the grill!

Steak a la Chorrillana
Serves 6

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 baking potatoes, sliced lengthwise, 1/4 inch thick
1 1/2 Spanish onions, sliced lengthwise
1 tomato, cut into 8 wedges (we used 3 because my family loves tomatoes, and I couldn't fathom all of us sharing just one!)
3 lbs flatiron steak, halved crosswise
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
Lime wedges, for serving

1. Preheat a grill to medium. Brush the olive oil on the potatoes, onions and tomato. Arrange the vegetables on greased cooking grates and grill, covered, until the potatoes are crisp and golden underneath, about 5 minutes. Move the tomatoes to a cooler spot on the grill; turn the potatoes and onions and grill until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, season the steaks with salt and pepper, arrange on the cooking grates and grill, turning once, until grill marks appear, about 7 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes before thinly slicing.
3. Transfer the vegetables to a work surface; tent the potatoes with foil. Coarsely chop the onions and tomatoes and transfer to a bowl; stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Serve the steaks with the tomato-onion mixture, potatoes and lime wedges.

Grilled pork tenderloin and creamed corn

All my cooking magazines are featuring grilled recipes this month, so we fired ours up. We made pork tenderloin with Bobby Flay's Spanish spice rub and Rachael Ray's grilled creamed corn, and both were delicious! The cream cheese in the corn dish made it rich and creamy - yum!

For the Spanish spice rub:
* 3 tablespoons Spanish paprika
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 2 teaspoons dry mustard
* 2 teaspoons ground fennel seeds
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Grilled creamed corn
Serves 6

8 ears corn, husked
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/4 cups milk
3 tbsp cream cheese
Salt and pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper

1. Preheat a grill to medium-high. Arrange the corn on the grate and grill, turning occasionally, until the kernels are golden-brown and softened, 8-10 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove the corn kernels from the cobs; discard the cobs. (You should have about 5 cups of kernels). Lower the grill temperature to medium.
2. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over the grate. Add the butter to melt, then whisk in the flour until combined and foaming, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk and cream cheese and cook, whisking constantly, until smooth and thick, 2-3 minutes. Stir in the corn kernels; season with salt, black pepper and cayenne, and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.

Moroccan chicken skewers

Ok, yum. These Moroccan chicken skewers were FANTASTIC, and that's quite a complement considering all the trouble I went to searching for mint! I guess a lot of mint juleps were consumed on Derby weekend because i went to 7 (SEVEN!) stores before I finally found a lone package of mint at the Heights Kroger. This recipe needed to be something spectacular to overcome that, and it certainly was. The recipe is from a new show on the Food Network called Spice and Easy - the host owns a spice shop, so dried spices are the focus of her show. This recipe is super simple and very fast - perfect for a weeknight meal. I served ours with cous cous. Really, you have to try this one!!

Black bean dip, mac and cheese, and Snickerdoodle pie

Last night was the inaugural party on our new and improved screened-in porch. We served black bean dip for a starter, Adirondacker burgers (a repeat) and the Pioneer Woman's macaroni and cheese for the main dish, and Snickerdoodle pie for dessert! Everything was delicious, and the thunderstorms didn't ruin our good time!