Romantic Dinner for Two

Wow! It's been a while since I've been here!

James and I have been watching cooking shows and decided that this week while the kids were away we'd have our own little cooking show. We used some recipes we found on food network. Steak, shrimp, corn & potatoes...and well, it was the BEST!

We first visited a little country winery in Maydelle. Now we are not well versed in the world of wines but this was a neat little place. It's kind of in the middle of no where on a dirt road. If it wasn't for the signs we never in a million years would have guessed this to be a winery. So we go in and taste a few wines, mostly fruit wines rather than grape. We decided to go with their Gavyn Blush (which turned out to be more of a red) and the Texas Sunset. The Texas Sunset is made with pear and apricots and has a very light sweet taste.

Okay... on to the food! We got our shopping done then went home and got everything prepped. I have never enjoyed cooking so much! It was really nice to be there working with James without the kids tugging at us the entire time. We do work well together!

If you like lime & cilantro you will LOVE these recipes. They are great for summer when you want that steak but also want a taste that is light, cool, and fresh. There is quite a bit of prepwork involved but it's well worth it for the flavor and the quality time you spend together. I'll list the recipes and their ingredients below but to get the directions, click on the name! If you try these, I'd love to hear what you think about them!

Grilled T-Bones with Chipotle Chili Rub and Cilantro-Lime Compound Butter
2 sticks butter
3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves
1 lime, juiced and zested
2 tablespoons steak seasoning blend for the grill (recommended: Montreal Seasoning by McCormick)
1 tablespoon chipotle (smoky) ground chili powder or dark chili powder
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
4 T-bone steaks, 1 1/2 inch thick

Roasted Corn on the Cob with Cilantro Lime Butter
6 ears of corn
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 lime, zested and juiced
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper


Now this shrimp one, I would have preferred a citrus flavor over the thyme but it was still okay.
Grilled Shrimp with Garlic
3/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
24 large shrimp, shelled and deveined
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Grilled Potatoes
This was James' own creation. We boiled red potatoes until almost done then sliced them and put them on the grill until they were a nice golden brown. While that was going on, he also had several slices of bacon on the grill. Once both were done cooking, he drizzled olive oil and sprinkled the potatoes with salt & pepper. Then he topped with crumbled bacon and a little cheese. It was YUMMY!