E: Special Dinner & Granola Filed under ( Breakfast, Restaurant Review )

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):

 

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):

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:

 

Josh got a filet:

 

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

 

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

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

 

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.

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.

 

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?