Menu Monday

There was a lot of good food enjoyed this week.  All recipes get my very enthusiastic stamp of approval.

Monday night we headed to Alamo Drafthouse for dinner and a movie {BRAVE}.  The movie and the meal were both kind of BLAH, but I will never get over the novelty of being able to order beer, wine, and cocktails in the middle of a movie.  It's fabulous.

Open-Faced Tomato, Mozzarella, and Basil Sandwich {Barefoot Contessa}

Well, mine wasn't nearly as pretty as Ina's, but this sandwich + a big bowl of fresh watermelon made for the perfect "ZOMG it's a billion degrees outside" dinner.  I was only able to eat about 2 slices of the sandwich, mainly because I had already stuffed my face with watermelon.  But I stuck the leftovers under the broiler for a quick lunch the next day and it was just as tasty.

BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad {Iowa Girl Eats}

  It was incredible.  My BBQ-sauce-loving husband couldn't get enough of it, and my skinny-jeans minded self loved that this clocked in at right around 500 calories for an extremely filling, one-dish dinner.  Just please promise me you'll make this.

Gwyneth Paltrow's Grilled Halibut with Mango-Avocado Salsa {Bon Appetit June 2011}

Seriously good eating.  I made mahi mahi instead of halibut because our grocery store was out of halibut.  I added half of a finely diced jalapeno to the salsa because why not? And I have a major phobia of grilling fish {terrified it will stick to the grill pan}, so I just pan-sauteed the fish in a wee bit of olive oil.  The leftover salsa was excellent with tortilla chips.

Brunch!

M surprised me by coming home for the weekend {he was supposed to be away on business} so we celebrated by hosting my in-laws for brunch.  There were blueberry muffins, cheddar dill biscuits, maple-roasted bacon, bellinis, bloody Marys, and fresh fruit salad, which isn't pictured because I forgot about it until after my little photo op.  Everything was every bit as delicious as it looks.  I love brunch.

Bon appetit!