Saturday, November 20, 2010

E: Special Dinner & Granola

It is going to be a BEAUTIFUL weekend here in SC and I am super excited about it. Josh and I kicked off the weekend last night with a fancy, schmancy dinner at Grill 225. Josh has been ridiculously busy with work and we decided a special treat was in order. Grill 225 is one of our favorite restaurants in Charleston.

We started with bread (they bring a few different selections and I always go for the tomato/cheese):

  grill225 001

For a salad, I got the Yonges Island Green Salad which comes with the most amazing and light ginger soy vinaigrette (dear Grill 225, please send me a bottle of this dressing):

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Josh got the chopped Caesar (un-pictured). For dinner, I got the Linguine with roasted garlic, fresh basil and olive oil. It is a side to “share” and is massive. Between Josh and I, we still left about half the bowl:

 grill225 003

Josh got a filet:

 grill225 004

..and we each had a little sautéed spinach (which we also only ate about half of!)

 grill225 005

Josh will finish off the pasta and spinach tomorrow, I’m sure of it! A picture of us in our gangster style booth:

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Grill 225 on Urbanspoon

Last night, I also got started on the prep for the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter(ICBINB):

nola 002 

brunch that Mandi and I are throwing on Sunday. Our menu includes:

  • Egg sandwiches on homemade English muffin bread
  • Breakfast potatoes
  • Mini Parfaits (of course)

The granola will be used in the parfaits (duhhh ;)). I usually use canola or vegetable oil when I make my granola, so I was excited to see how using ICBINB would switch things up. As I always note, Sarah is the granola goddess and I base all of my recipes around hers.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons ICBINB, melted
  • 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
  • 2 cups old fashion oats
  • 1 1/2 cups coconut
  • 1 cup mixed seeds and nuts (I used flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pepitas and chopped walnuts)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F

In a large bowl, mix together ICBINB and honey/maple syrup. Add all other ingredients and mix WELL, making sure everything is coated.

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Place on a baking sheet and bake for 55-60 minutes. Let granola cool for ~5 minutes, remove to another container and allow it to completely cool (i.e. harden) before putting the lid on.

  nola 006

I was really happy with the results! The granola was nice and crunchy (but not hard) and it didn’t seem to stick as much to my baking sheet. Wonderful!

We are off to my parents house for more brunch action. Other than that? What are you up to?

23 comments:

Lauren said...

SOunds like a fantastic date night. Toly and I will have our date night tonight and I can not WAIT!!!

Have a wonderful weekend love!

Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg said...

I loooooove Grill 225!!! Such a great restaurant!

Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean said...

You guys are so cute!! Hope the brunch goes well. Sounds like tons of fun!

Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean said...

ps...i'm making granola today too!!

Corey @ the runner's cookie said...

Yay for dinner dates! That's awesome that you guys are doing another party...Of course you would serve parfaits :)
I wish I was throwing a brunch party instead of doing a whole lot of work this weekend!

CaSaundraLeigh said...

Oo looks like a fancy restaurant--that's always fun! And I use ICBINB quite a bit actually, except I use the FF version.

Julie said...

too many posts! haha i can't keep up!

i'm loving your sexsi date night. what is it about giant booths that make dinner dates so much fun? i feel like because it makes it feel even more private haha

for the record i think youuuu're the nola goddess!

okay and what do you need me to bring to the icbinb brunch this weekend? i didn't see coffee on the list so i'll get on that ;)

Megan D said...

What a nice dinner! And I love any granola with coconut in it :)

Tracey said...

I want that pasta and steak right now. I don't even car that it's breakfast and I haven't even had my coffee. Looks SO good!

marla {family fresh cooking} said...

Lucky you with that "fancy, schmancy dinner" The hubs and I are soooo due for one of those :) Looks like fun!

Nutmeg Nanny said...

Wow look at that delicious meal! The filet looks amazing...yum!

Simply Life said...

oh I could see why that would be a favorite restaurant! Looks great!

Pound said...

cute pic at dinner! all the food looked delish! wish lived a tad closer and could crash your brunch party tomorrow!

teresa said...

sounds like a wonderful dinner, how fun. and the granola looks awesome, enjoy your brunch!

Anonymous said...

I love date nights! Yours looks so fancy! :)

BroccoliHut said...

Ooh! Coconut is one of my favorite things to add to granola, so I am def adding this recipe to my "must make" list!

Tina Marie Frawley said...

Jay and I have wondered about 225...now it's on the list! (If I can convince him to eat anywhere except Liberty Tap Room since your suggestion!) I can't believe I missed you and Mandi all week! :( The schedule there changes about every day! Have a great Thanksgiving!

RhodeyGirl said...

What a lovely dinner! Sounds like a great date together!!

Judy said...

Thanks for heads up about Grill 225. Next time we are in Charleston, we will try it. That is if we can tear ourselves away from the Noisy Oyster.

Katie said...

What a fun dinner out! I love date nights.

Good luck with your party today! Sounds fun, and I can't wait to hear about it. We're having a little party tonight, too!

Stephanie said...

Looks like a great date night out! Love the big booths - definitely gangsta ;)

Krista said...

You always make the best granola! And a nice meal out sounds like just the ticket... :)

Krista (kristastes) said...

I like this granola recipe because it has only a few ingredients...I never try the ones with 15 different ingredients because I'm always too lazy to grab those last 2 random ones haha.