A Last-Minute Summer Steak Dinner Party & What I Cooked These Past Two Weeks

How to host an impromptu dinner, Italian chopped salad, crispy chicken Caesar wrap, the best ever cherry pie, coconut coffee, giant garlic bread pizza

Hi everyone,

Hope you’re having a great week! Doug and I had the most wonderful time in Puglia and Mykonos. We ate so many delicious things, and I can’t wait to tell you more about the trip in my next newsletter.

Right before we flew to Europe, we hosted a small dinner party at our house in LA. Our friend Adam was in town, so we got together with our friends Brad and Andrew for the weekend. On Friday, we watched one of the World Cup games at a bar, then headed back to the house to relax. At the last minute, we decided to grill steaks for dinner.

Summer dinner party crew 🥰!

Adam showed us the secret ingredient he uses to season steak, which we all loved, and I whipped up some garlic bread to throw on the grill. The whole meal, including three sides, came together with less than an hour of prep. Usually when I’m hosting, I spend most of the day grocery shopping and cooking, so it was nice to do something a little more spontaneous and low-key.

Below, I’m sharing our full menu, along with our favorite cut of steak and my method for making garlic bread on the grill. Everything turned out so well, and it was a great reminder that some of the best dinner parties come together on the fly.

First, here’s a recipe for a crispy chicken Caesar wrap my mom and I recently made. We reimagined the classic by spreading the chicken directly onto the tortilla, coating it in panko, and cooking it until golden brown and crispy. It pairs so well with the bright, creamy Caesar salad. We hope you give it a try!

As always, my cookbook Maxi’s Kitchen is now available for purchase at your local bookstore or online:

Thank you so much for your support 🤍

What I Cooked These Past Two Weeks↓

Crispy chicken Caesar wrap

We reimagined the chicken Caesar wrap by spreading ground chicken onto a tortilla, coating it in panko, and cooking it until crispy. It’s delicious paired with the creamy Caesar salad.

Crispy Chicken Caesar Wrap

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You can download the PDF recipe above and watch the video here :)

A Last-Minute Summer Steak Grilling Party

Such an easy, delicious meal!

Once we’d settled on the menu, Doug and Andrew headed to our local butcher, McCall’s, to pick up steaks and a few missing ingredients. I decided to make my Parmesan roasted potato halves, which I shared on Instagram a few months ago. They’re so easy: just cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and roast them cut side down on a parchment-lined sheet pan for about 45 minutes. Then sprinkle grated Parmesan directly onto the parchment paper where the potatoes were roasting and place them back on, cut side down. The cheese crisps up against the pan and potatoes, creating the most incredible cheesy crust. I serve them with garlic-chive butter and sour cream, which paired perfectly with the steak.

Once the potatoes were in the oven, Adam fired up the grill and took charge of the steaks. He usually buys filet mignon, but McCall’s only had skirt steak and New York strip. First he seasoned them generously with salt and pepper, then brushed on some honey to help caramelize the outside and add just a little sweetness. They turned out fantastic. Once we sat down to eat, we asked everyone to pick their favorite cut, and most of us chose the skirt steak. I feel like it’s such an underrated cut. It has so much flavor and is especially great on the grill. (If you don’t have a grill, it also cooks beautifully on the stovetop. Two of my favorite skirt-steak recipes from the cookbook are the Asian Marinated Skirt Steak on page 30 and the Steak Chimichurri Bowls on page 105.)