These festive wheels of steak, Boursin cheese, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes look fancy, but they're quite easy to make. For a party, arrange them on a platter atop a bed of spinach.

Makes 4 servings

ACTIVE TIME: 40 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 40 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Moderate

2/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
2 cups boiling water
1 pound flank steak, trimmed of fat
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons light herbed cheese spread, such as Boursin (see Variation)
1 cup baby spinach
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat grill to high.
2. Place sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl; pour boiling water over them and let steep until softened, about 10 minutes. Drain and chop.
3. Meanwhile, place steak between 2 large pieces of plastic wrap. Pound each side of the steak thoroughly with the pointed side of a meat mallet until the steak is an even 1/4-inch thickness.
4. Rub garlic all over one side of the steak. Spread cheese lengthwise in a 3-inch-wide strip down the middle of the steak. Top with the sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. Starting at one edge of a long side, roll the steak up tightly, tucking in the filling as you go.
5. Carefully rub salt and pepper all over the outside of the steak roll. Turn the roll so the overlapping edge is on top. Push 8 skewers, evenly spaced, through the roll, close to the overlapping edge to hold the roll together. Slice the roll into 8 equal portions, roughly 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick, with a skewer in each. Lay the slices on their sides and push the skewer through so it sticks out about 1 inch.
6. Oil the grill rack (see Tip). Grill the pinwheels 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Use a spatula when turning them to prevent too much filling from falling out. (Don't worry if the ends of the skewers burn. They will still hold the pinwheels together.) Remove the skewers; let the pinwheels rest for 5 minutes before serving.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 226 calories; 9 g fat (4 g sat, 3 g mono); 46 mg cholesterol; 7 g carbohydrate; 27 g protein; 2 g fiber; 332 mg sodium; 278 mg potassium.

Nutrition bonus: Zinc (27% daily value), Iron (15% dv).

1 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 3 1/2 lean meat

TIP: Blue cheese variation: Substitute 1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers or 1/2 cup chopped artichoke hearts for the sun-dried tomatoes (skip Step 2). Mash 1/2 cup blue cheese with 2 tablespoons milk until smooth and substitute for the Boursin in Step 4.

Meat-Buying Tips:
Make sure that packaged meat isn't past its "sell-by" date and that there's not much moisture in the packaging.
Touch it if possible—it should be firm and not soft.
Look for bright red (not gray) meat. Vacuum-packed meat will be darker looking and should turn red as soon as it's exposed to air.

To oil a grill rack: Oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack. (Do not use cooking spray on a hot grill.)

MAKE AHEAD TIP: Prepare the steak roll (Steps 2-4). Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 6 hours. When ready to grill, proceed with Steps 5 and 6.

This recipe was very good, however I would use metal skewers next time, the wood ones burnt to a crisp. I would probably prepare the steak in advance next time, but once it was all pounded out it went together pretty quickly.

Angela, Westland, MI

I soak my wood skewers in water first so they don't burn as much. Don't put the spread all the way to the edge of the meat as it gets messier and harder to roll and turn on the grill. You can have the meat dept "pound" the steack for you.

Anonymous, Nashville, TN

rather than skewers, we tied and grilled the entire steak and then cut it - you don't lose everything, less messy & don't have to worry about hot/burned skewers.

Melanie, Mountain View, Ca

My family enjoyed this recipe. I broiled it, because we were out of gas for the grill and it worked just fine. I used metal skewers and flipped them halfway through the cooking time. Very yummy!

Karen, VA

We LOVE these. The only thing I would do differently next time is to marinade the meat before rolling the pinwheels - it will give them an added burst of flavor.

Joy, Puget Sound, WA

I made this as a whole roll and tied it and grilled it. Also added marinated artichokes. Yummy. Would use a little less sundried tomatoes. How do you pound flank steak to 1/4 inch? I tried but made little difference!

Sharon, MN

They were fairly easy to make and tasted great! I added fresh peppers which made it taste better and look more colorful.

Sue, Grosse Pointe, MI