Mmmm dinner and a movie night

Last night was an Mmmm night in three ways. We had an awesome dinner, Baby B went to sleep without any crying, and we watched an awesome movie.

For dinner we had Mediterranean Halibut, couscous, and steamed broccoli (except I used salmon instead of halibut). I've made this fish recipe before and its Mmmm deliciousness gets me every time. The tangy-ness of the feta, the capers, and the olives is perfectly balanced by the sweetness of the tomatoes and whatever kind of fish you use just soaks up the flavor and is the perfect base for the tomato mixture. It makes me want to kiss my fingers the way the Italians do.

Mediterranean Halibut - from Colorado Collage by the Junior League of Denver

Ingredients
4 Italian plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 Tbs chopped kalamata olives
1/4 c. drained capers
1 tsp minced garlic
3 Tbs olive oil, divided
3 Tbs fresh lemon juice, divided
1/4 c. dry white wine
1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese, divided
2 Tbs minced shallots
2 Tbs chopped fresh basil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 6-8 oz. halibut fillets

(Note: as I said, I used salmon, because my grocery store has a wimpy fish selection. Really any thicker, solid piece of fish would work.)

In glass bowl, combine tomatoes, olives, capers, garlic, 2 Tbs of the olive oil, 1 1/2 Tbs of the lemon juice, wine, 1/4 cup of the feta, shallots, basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Let stand at room temperature.

Preheat over to 425 degrees. Brush bottom of shallow baking pan with remaining 1 Tbs olive oil. Season both sides of fish with salt and pepper to taste. Place in prepared baking pan. Squeeze remaining 1 1/2 Tbs lemon juice over the fish and top with tomato mixture. Sprinkle remaining feta on top. Bake until just cooked through, about 15 minutes. Mmmmm!!

The movie we watched was The Conspirators. It tells the story of Mary Surratt, a Southern woman who ran the boarding house where the plot to assassinate President Lincoln was planned. Any student in any public school in America learns about the assassination of President Lincoln, but when do we ever hear about what happened after? Although the Civil War was "over" at that point, there were still Confederate troops holding out and the leaders in Washington felt a desperate need to demonstrate to the country that any rebels who continued to attack the Union would be defeated. The movie was extremely well made (Robert Redford was the director) and well acted. It's not a happy or light movie but definitely worth watching.

Silly side note: I also have to give kudos to Hubby T for identifying two actors in the movie who previously starred in Mama P shows (Rory from Gilmore Girls and Jesse from Glee). He even identified them before I did! Way to go sweetie:)