Dinner

Chocolate— Head to Toe

And….I’m pooped–yet again! Being on your feet for 6 hours at a time will def. do that do ya πŸ˜‰

I spent the majority of this afternoon rolling the truffles I had made the base for yesterday. As a result I was completely covered with chocolate by the end of the afternoon. Seriously. Everyone that saw me burst out laughing. I don’t even think you could tell my chef’s coat was white because it was so brown with cocoa powder and globs of melted chocolate!! I rolled the white chocolate champagne truffles in melted chocolate then pistachios, then rolled the dark chocolate grand marnier truffles in melted chocolate and cocoa powder. I think I must have made about 500 of them! I also made up and baked the sweet potato focaccia and challah loaves, both which smelled out of this world! On top of my cashew cookie larabar snack I ate around 3:00, I also had a wedge of the sweet potato focaccia. Couldn’t help myself—it was SO good! I snagged a large slice to take home with me as well as an entire challah loaf for Ryan (he loves challah because he makes really good peanut butter toast in the morning!). We brushed the challah loaf with hot honey as soon as it came out of the oven to get an unmistakable shine as well as sweet flavor. Wayyyy too many egg yolks in the challah for me (I didn’t try it–I only tried the foccacia, which is made with no butter, only extra virgin olive oil), but Ryan will enjoy it! πŸ™‚

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Honey-sweet challah braids. It was a relaxed day in the kitchen, really only Adam and I were there, so he got a chance to show me some cool stuff—like a 5 strand Challah braid! We only did the 3 strand ones in school so it was cool that I learned how to do this! Β 

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White chocolate champagne truffles rolled in pistachios πŸ™‚Β 

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Dark chocolate grand marnier truffle

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Sweet potato foccacia topped with caramelized red onions and rosemaryΒ 

Since I sort of snacked my way through the afternoon (plus a few chocolate chips here and there), I wasn’t incredibly famished when I left the kitchen around 6:15. I decided to get one of my favorite things though for dinner—sushi! Growing up in such a small (and I mean SMALL) town like Vero Beach, sushi was the one thing we had. My girlfriends and I would literally go out for sushi every single weekend. I had my 17th birthday dinner at my favorite sushi bar! Sushi and Thai food were the two things I ate most of growing up, and they are still my two favorite cuisines without a doubt! So, tonight I got take-out from a small sushi bar here to bring back to my suite and have on the patio while the sun set (picturesque, I know). Since I wasn’t too hungry, I only ordered one roll: a vegetable roll with asparagus, avocado, caramelized onion and cucumber, along with a seaweed salad and a cup of miso soup. The meal turned out perfect—with a glass of red wine to accompany it outside on my patio. It was light, healthy and just what I needed!

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I’m going to relax again tonight…it’s my last night of “me-time” because tomorrow I’m headed back to Tampa in the afternoon. I’m going to work in the kitchen tomorrow from 9:30 to noon then head home because its sort of a lengthy 2 1/2 hour drive.

Enjoy your Sunday night everyone!

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  • LT
    March 30, 2008 at 11:52 pm

    Everything is beautiful!! I’m pretty jealous – I reeeally want to go to culinary school and ummm NOT use my Finance degree!

  • L.P
    March 31, 2008 at 12:09 am

    Where are all these delicious resturants in Vero Beach…I recently got a house in Vero and would love to try them. The food looks so yummy!

  • jenna
    March 31, 2008 at 12:25 am

    L.P~ Are you friends with a member of Quail Valley? If you, make them take you to the river club on A1A and eat desserts to your heart’s delight!

  • Katherine
    March 31, 2008 at 1:08 am

    Those truffles look fabulous! What an awesome experience to have during your spring break. The truffles definatley kill the Carob-Oat-Banana-Berry-Apple muffins I made this afternoon (although I think you should try the recipe – I listed it on my blog).

    Have a great night – I am sure you will with that relaxing glass of red.

  • bikergurl
    March 31, 2008 at 1:17 am

    Oh my gosh, those truffles look to die for! The bread does too – I love bread!

  • Anne P
    March 31, 2008 at 2:05 am

    jenna, just thought i’d share i made the pineapple-quinoa-cashew stir fry tonight out of veganomicon since it looked so tasty when you made it! it came out great πŸ™‚ and it was a massive amount so i’m excited to have quick dinners and lunches on hand from it all week!! anyway, i was proud of myself for cooking something more involved than usual πŸ™‚ have a nice night!

  • Romina
    March 31, 2008 at 2:57 am

    Haha, covered in chocolate… that must have been so much fun! Sounds like you were busy, and looks like it too. Everything looks amazing as usual.

  • Betsy
    March 31, 2008 at 3:13 am

    i think that is a very good reason to get so messy!! they sure look like they were worth it.

    soooooooooooo jealous of your deck and view and above 35 degree weather! I think I’m done with the Northeast.

  • Courtney F
    March 31, 2008 at 3:27 am

    Dinner, a glass of wine, and watching the sun set…that sounds like the PERFECT way to end a long hard day!

  • Katherine
    March 31, 2008 at 3:39 am

    This is why I refuse to wear a chef’s coat while making chocolate – after a half hour, I look like I’ve been through a war! BTW for a fabulous truffle, replace about 1/4 of the cream with dark rum, add some toasted coconut, and then roll in toasted coconut once you’re finished. That’s very close to the recipe I use for my packaged truffles, and all of my customers love them. Also, have you tried tempering the chocolate before rolling the truffles in cocoa/nuts? It’s a lot of work, but worth it for the texture difference.

  • Jill
    March 31, 2008 at 3:53 am

    *drool* I’m not a big sweet person, but those truffles look just right for me – rich and AWESOME! And the dinner sounds lovely, I love sushi, miso, and seaweed salad. Have to say though, squid salad was my favorite before my days of veggieness!

  • steff
    March 31, 2008 at 4:00 am

    Oh. my. goodness. Those Chocolate Truffles look amazing! Glad you were able to learn the 5 braid technique! Your sushi looked lovely as well!

  • Kelly T.
    March 31, 2008 at 4:45 am

    Did they think it was weird you were taking pictures of the food in the middle of a professional kitchen? I wouldn’t have told them about the blog, i just would have kept repeating how i couldn;t believe what a good job I did.

  • Lizzy
    March 31, 2008 at 9:31 am

    The foccacia looks fantastic! Mhhhh, that totally reminds me of my Barcelona vacation. I lived on foccacia, grilled veggies and honey melon for two weeks =p

    The truffles look so pretty!
    Have a great time at home!

  • VeggieGirl
    March 31, 2008 at 11:16 am

    Haha, no doubt that you’re exhausted – your days ARE busy (but still quite fun and exciting!!

    I LOVE making truffles – especially ones full of carob and/or nut-butters ;0) Yours are fabulous; and the flavor-combinations are so enticing!

    I’m sure that Ryan fully appreciated the challah loaf that you baked – nothing beats freshly baked bread!!

    Hope you fully enjoyed your last night of “me-time”!! :0)

  • Jenna 2
    March 31, 2008 at 12:35 pm

    πŸ™‚ omg! i’m so jealous!! it sounds like you learned so much!!! how fun!!! i hope you had a great time!! which by the sounds of it you did! how long does Adam, the pastry chef, usually work?

  • jenna
    March 31, 2008 at 12:52 pm

    Jenna 2,

    Adam just had his first day off the other day in 6 WEEKS! He usually works 16 hour days…….that’s the restaurant/hospitality business for ya! wow!

  • Jenna 2
    March 31, 2008 at 1:25 pm

    omg!!! are you serious?!? that is insane!! hopefully he LOVES what he does!!! πŸ™‚ have a great last day

  • Vegan_Noodle
    March 31, 2008 at 6:20 pm

    Truffles look amazing!! So does everything else, but I”m completely enamored with the truffles right now. Ummm, did you add actual champagne to the truffles? They sound sooooo good.

  • happy herbivore
    April 2, 2008 at 6:39 am

    you took my favorite “bread” and mixed it with my favorite potato ever (and my latest addiction)?

    ugh. i DO love you mostest.

    & everything else looks good too!

    http://happyherbivore.blogspot.com