Last night I had the opportunity to create my own spread for 13 people. George and Colleen had some friends over for drinks and dinner, and gave me free reign to tear up their (once) beautiful kitchen. Not to worry, the kitchen is making its way back to some sense of order - slowly, but surely.

Here is what was on the menu:

Appetizers

Veggie Spring Rolls with Ponzu Sauce

Endive Boats of Oranges, Goat Cheese, Toasted Walnuts and Balsamic

Crispy Chickpeas

Gazpacho

Dinner

Maple Bourbon Salmon over Sweet Potato Puree and Wild Rice

Sautéed Asparagus and Red Cabbage

Dessert because no dinner party is complete without it

Dark Chocolate Truffles

Figs topped with Cinnamon Mascarpone and Drizzled with Honey

Dark Chocolate Splattered Anise Biscotti

While I was earning my degree in dietetics, I wanted to be a caterer for a quick minute. I also wanted to open up my own restaurant. After 6 years of working in restaurants - hostessing, serving, bar-tending, food prepping - the exhausting schedules and crabby patrons finally confirmed my decision to avoid that career path.

However, working with great people in an often jolly environment temporarily reels me back in to doing such work. As of now, I’ll continue to enjoy cooking for friends and family. I want to keep my passion for cooking lively and self-invigorating. Applying it to the confines of daily work, I believe, will only diminish the love I have for cooking. Chefs are one of a kind - I don’t know how they do it, but I’m sure glad they do.

I plan on continually posting recipes from the menu above. Today, it’s truffles.

Truffles

Makes ~35

2 cups dark chocolate, at least 70% cacao (1 bag of dark chocolate chips)

1/2 can unsweetened coconut milk

1/4 tsp sea salt

Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

- In a double boiler, melt chocolate until smooth and creamy. Add coconut milk and mix well.

- Let cool to room temp, cover and refrigerate overnight.

- Use a spoon to scoop out about a tablespoon of chocolate and use hands to roll in a ball. Do this quickly! Your warm hands will start to melt the chocolate.

- Roll balls in cocoa powder and place on a dish. When finished, place all truffles in refrigerator until ready to eat.

Don’t worry if your truffles aren’t perfectly round. Mine certainly weren’t. Embrace the rustic entity of your handmade truffles.

Truffles and Figs

Oh, and beware: these truffles are decadently rich.