Grilled Lamb and Peaches with Peach and Green Bean Succotash

You might consider a hearty red meat like lamb a more winter-appropriate food, not on your summer cookout menu. Or you might associate it with restaurants rather than your home-cooking menu, any time of the year. But I think it’s a secret weapon to creating a fun outdoor feast that tastes like it came from a gourmet gastropub.

Spanish Rice with Pinto Beans & Sweet Pepper Salsa

I couldn’t decide whether to cook the crisp cubanelle peppers I’d gotten from the market or chop them up to serve somehow raw. So I went with the best of both worlds, softening the pale-green pieces along with onions, garlic and fresh tomato for a Spanish rice infused with chicken stock, and mixed the remainder with fresh lime juice, onion and mint leaves for a refreshing topping. Yeah, I’ve had a serious craving for Mexican food lately.