A 6-Course Meal with the Grinch at Hidden Dinner

The Grinch was not HAPPY at our Hidden Dinner! He wanted to spoil our dinner before it even started, but fortunately he had a change of heart!!! <3  =)
@Essex Skyline (Santa Ana, CA)

Sweet Mud: Warm chef's hot cocoa 
This was AWESOME!!! The hot coco was smooth and creamy. The marshmallow was light and fluffy and sweeeetttt!! 

Who Pudding: Wine & mixed berry gelee w/ sweet cream 

I'm not going to lie....I felt a little warm/flushed after eating this. 
Yes, I know....cheap date! I hear it all the time! =_=

Bad Banana & Garlic: Chestnut & pear cream soup w/ banana & garlic banana pudding  

The soup was sweet, creamy, and savory! The bread pudding isn't your typical dessert bread pudding-- it was thicker, with tons of textures (from fresh garlic). I couldn't finish it because I didn't want to spoil the rest of my dinner, but I definitely would have been satisfied with this alone! :)

Spiked 'Nog: Fresh eggnog w/ spirits made for adults! ^_~ 
I couldn't stomach pure eggnog but the chef was kind enough to whip up a vegan/dairy-free eggnog for me, which meant my friend got an extra "spiked" eggnog and extra red/sleepy! hehehe... 
Super delicious!

Roast Beast w/ Who Hash: Roasted quail, wild rice stuffing, potato lentil hash, cherry pomegranate reduction
The chef wanted to create a "mini turkey" on the plate with stuffings and what I thought was cranberry sauce until now(but it was actually cherry pomegranate)! I was fooled! =P 
Eating the quail requires only your hands-- so no forks or knives needed.... otherwise you'd end up not eating at all! You'd just miss out! ;)

Sticky Pudding: Sticky toffee pudding w/ candied bacon and cranberry sorbet
The chef's "healthy" version of the dessert served with sorbet instead of creamy vanilla ice-cream.  I guess the candied bacon balances out the healthy factor of this dessert! Just saying.....=P  The toffee pudding was definitely delicious but slightly too sweet for my taste. The sorbet was tangy and very refreshing! 
I like! =D

Here is another look of deliciousness! :) 

Guess what's inside???
Chocolate Truffle!!! Yummm!!! =)

Hidden Dinner was definitely a new experience for me! It's a small dinner get-together with a theme (this month: How The Grinch Stole Hidden Dinner). There were about 20 people there. Some were like my friend and I, newcomers and of course the veterans. It's a great event to meet new people like ourselves (i.e. foodies) but then there were also curious minds, I guess.... also like us...loL!

The food was delicious, the decor was theme oriented, the environment was fun and casual! Overall, it was a great experience and I would highly recommend it! Let me know if you've been to one or planning on attending future dinners (there's one every month)! :)

XOXO,

Kathy