Valentine's Weekend Paint & Chew 2020
For the last few years, celebrity Chef Dana Herbert has been hosting an annual Valentine’s Weekend Paint & Chew dinner event along with owner of Picasso Play Dates, Tiffany Bradford! This dinner is held at The Dorrance Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises, it’s a wonderful space with a beautiful state of the art commercial kitchen! Dinner includes 5 courses which features chocolate in each course. It also involves painting, it’s BYOB and you get to sit back and watch Chef Dana cook live up close and personal! These events are always incredibly enjoyable. It’s something great to experience with your spouse, significant other, parents, girlfriends, just about anyone!
As dinner began, we enjoyed fun cocktail pouches provided by Drinks by JuJu. There were two options, Strawberry Henny and Strawberry Ciroc. I chose Ciroc and I was very happy with my decision! It was very yummy and she did not skimp on the alcohol! For the first course, we were presented with a Cream Cheese Puff Pastry, aka “The Bourgeois Hot Pocket”! It’s stuffed with a cream cheese filling, topped with an arugula salad, blistered tomatoes, candied nuts and drizzled with a dark chocolate vinaigrette. I had this dish before and it’s always been a hit! The second course was a lovely salad made with a white chocolate mimosa vinaigrette, chai spiced apples, candied pumpkin seeds and cranberries! My favorite part of this salad was the dressing! I wish I could’ve taken some home with me in a mini bottle!
Next was a palette cleanser for the 3rd course. It was a lemon sorbet with fresh blackberries, blueberries and a sweet white sparkling wine. This was very refreshing. The berries and bubbles were a tasty touch to the sorbet. The 4th course came in two options. If you eat meat, you were served a Corn Pops Crusted Chicken entree over penne pasta with a white chocolate alfredo sauce, shrimp, onions, carrots, celery, brussel sprouts, spinach, parsley and shaved parmesan cheese. If you did not eat meat, you were served a version of this dish with seared cod fish and shrimp. Both were excellent! The fish was cooked perfectly, it was also a generous portion. The chicken was very interesting, in a good way! I would’ve never thought to use Corn Pops to coat chicken. I must say this was a GREAT idea! It gave the chicken a nice crust with a touch of sweetness to it. For the last and 5th course, we were served a Chocolate Creme Brûlée with black cherries and lady finger. All I can say is this was a beautiful ending to such a wonderful and filling dinner! The creme brûlée was rich, creamy and delicious. I finished every bit of it!
I want to send a huge thank you to Chef Dana, Tiffany Bradford and Drinks by JuJu for a wonderful experience and delicious dinner! I’m a huge fan of these intimate events. I really enjoying painting, it’s so relaxing and I’m always surprised that I actually make something so pretty by the time it’s over! Make sure to following Chef Dana on instagram at @DessertsbyDana , Tiffany Bradford at @artbytiffany_picassoplaydates and Drinks by JuJu at @Drinks_byJu . You can also check out Chef Dana at www.DessertsByDana.com
