High On The Vine Napa - The details...

Nestled in the rolling green hills of Napa Valley is a lovely home owned by two of my favorite customers from my days bartending in Brooklyn. These two have made quite the inviting and stylish home in Wine Country. 

Between the two roaring fireplaces there is a long wooden dining table, a walk in wine closet and a kitchen stocked with every kitchen gadget imaginable, this was the stage for High On The Vine.

This cozy home was the perfect setting for this chilly, January evening. Guests were met with a glass of sparkling rosè, and it wasn't long before my guests had rose in their cheeks.

My server for the evening, Maureen, Moe to friends, welcomed each guest with a smile and a glass of bubbles. Moe and I met on my first chef gig out of culinary school. 20 years of friendship later and now we were across the country from where we first met, and she was welcoming my guests like they were old friends of hers too.

My photographer was Alex Knowbody, a family man and excellent event and product photographer from San Jose. He took all of the beautiful photos that you see here. His enthusiasm and kindness was just what my guests needed to feel comfortable in front of the camera. To see more of his work go to www.Alexknowbody.com/blogg/

There is something in the air in Napa, it feels like you have been transported to the hillside of some farm town in Europe, but then you drive 5 minutes away and see the specialty Target, Whole Foods and all of the creature comforts of suburbia. I can see why it is a dream for any chef or wine maker. The people there are so excited about food and the wine enthusiasm is everywhere!

And this group was no exception. 

Once everyone arrived, we started our dining adventure with a toast and a toke. 

This helps level the playing field, and puts us all on the same page.

We toasted our flutes filled with a sparkling rose, a Chandon Sparkling Reserve Pinot Noir Rose, to start our dining adventure.

Chandon makes Sparkling wines that are the bubbles version of "Affordable Luxury",this winery was the first to take French ethic and technique and brings it to California's Napa Valley.

Hosting and individually dosing each dish. I started the dinner with a joint and a toast, a phenotype of Mendocino Purp, a locally hybridized strain that has a very distinct grape flavor paired beautifully with the sweet and floral Sparkling Rosé.
I individually dose each dish with 5mgs of THC or less to insure the comfort of each guest.

The first course of this culinary adventure was a simple soup.

A lemon, artichoke heart and Leek bisque topped with herbed Olive oil that includes 5mgs of THC, as well as 15mgs of Select CBD Lemon Ginger CBD Drops

The cracked pepper, lemon and fresh green flavors of this bisque all paired so well together and with the Lemon Haze joint that accompanied this dish. 

The peppery beta caryophyllene and Limonene notes of this locally grown happy and hazey strain played perfectly with the flavors of this fresh and rich soup.

Plates and flutes were cleared and then we moved on to our 2nd course, a purse made of nutty and crispy whole wheat phyllo dough that was brushed with 4 mgs of THC infused vegan butter, and filled with spicy Soyrizo surrounding a sweet Amarena cherry. The rich, sweet and spicy filling and the paper thin, crispy phyllo covered all of the flavors and textures you want when you get a little THC in your system. Crunchy. Salty. Sweet.

The Amarena cherry was a pleasant surprise to even the cherry haters of the group, and gave a perfect texture and sweetness paired so perfectly with the sweet floral and white pepper notes of our second wine.

2013 El Corazon Anderson Valley Gewurztraminer from Mendocino County. A full bodied, spicy and fruity Anderson Valley 2015 Corazon Gewurztraminer was perfectly paired with the peppery beta caryophyllene and Limonene terpene notes of the indoor grown Super lemon Haze that we passed around the table.
This pairing, along side the rich,spicy and fruity 2nd course, made a bouquet for the sense of my guests.

Then we adjourned for a brief intermission. 

Guests got to mingle under the stars, strings of cafe lights on a beautiful patio. The intermission is to give pause for digestion, reset the dining area and give guests a moment to use the restroom, check their phone and stretch their legs.

Upon return guests were met with a wide mouthed Burgandy glass that held Elyse Wineries C'est si Bon - medium bodied and well balanced, and soft tannins. This low acidity wine is a blend of varietals that are found in the south of France and in the Sierra foothills.
Notes of herbes de provence, clove, berry, earth and spice, this paired so well with acidity and herbs in our main course.

Layers of hand made Vegan pasta and fresh sauce with an Oyster Mushroom "parmesan" and pan fried baby wild mushrooms. The crispy mushrooms were first marinated over night in cashew milk which added depth and texture. Those were  then topped with Follow your Heart Parmesan and served on a stack of fluffy and creamy handmade pasta that had been layered with an organic vine tomato sauce that was dosed with 4 mgs of decarboxylated Super Lemon Haze and 10mgs of CBD Olive oil.

This dish felt both light and decadent at the same time!

The basil, oregano and  herbaceous notes paired perfectly with our next wine that has notes of "herbes de provence and berry", and a low acidity that carries the fresh tomato flavor of the sauce.

We finished the meal with a Charcoal, Banana and Almond nice cream that had a beautiful grey color, topped with 3 mgs THC that was hidden in a single source dark chocalate magic shell. All of that sat atop a rich, chocolate banana cake that had been dosed with 15 mgs of @select_CBD  Lavendar drops. (Served with warmers of extra chocolate on the side!)

The charcoal in this grey dessert was to absorb the toxins from the alcohol and make for no wine hangover and comfortable digestion. 

I consider my guest not only for the time we spend during my event, but also the next day. Checking in with them to see how they are feeling and giving after care. This is an important element because I want the experience with Cannabis that my guests have should make them feel cared for.

Because this meal was plat based my guests digested it a bit faster, which helps insure no residual Cannabis sluggishness the next day.

I myself am not vegan, actually, I was very excited to make a medicated cheese plate from the Napa valley...but the requests that I got to make another dinner focused on vegan food was overwhelming! I love making vegan food, especially when it comes to dosing the food with cannabis. Plants go with plants, and a vegan meal usually means quicker absorption. I can not serve dosed meals with some plates vegan and some with animal fats, everyone would have very different experiences, and I like a more controlled experience.

In an attempt to favor all foods and types of guests I am going to make all of the dinners that I am the chef and dosant for vegan, unless otherwise requested, and my brunches will be vegetarian. (And of course I am open to making any and all types of foods for private catering!).

This has more to do with absorption of Cannabinoids than dietary choices.

But be sure you know....my vegan dishes can please even the most selective Carnivore.

Come to one of my dinners and see for yourself!

 

1st Course

"The Green Bowl"
A green bisque made of roasted artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, leeks, fresh lemon and peppercorn

2nd Course

"The Fat Sack"
A bag made with crispy, flaky and nutty, whole wheat phyllo dough with a filling comprised of fresh cilantro, parsley, cinnamon and rich and spicy soyrizo all surrounding a sweet and surprising Amarena Cherry

3rd Course

"Let's Get Fried"

Oyster Mushroom Parmesan, served with pan fried baby wild mushrooms on a bed that is layer after layer of fluffy handmade pasta and a sauce made of roasted vine grown tomato, basil and decarboxylated Lemon Kush.

4th Course

"Smoking Banana Peels"
A rich, chocolate banana cake infused with Select CBD Lavendar drops, & topped with Grey Charcoal Banana Nice Cream topped with single source dark chocolate THC magic shell

Check out what we were listening to during the dinner.... These are strain playlists that I made to accompany the high that comes with some of my favorite strains!

https://open.spotify.com/user/livviesmalls/playlist/6Vx4nXTNTc0EFMHsS9trOR?si=n3-xZzIoSv2o8d_gIqsm3g

https://open.spotify.com/user/livviesmalls/playlist/6u2QRNYGX28Hp3KwwaN3MY?si=KJ1PpGm4SYah97M5SqLAcg

High In The Sky - The Menu

Now lets talk about the food and drinks of "High In The Sky"...

 If you take your eyes off of the beautiful sunset and surroundings for one second you can probably see me making cocktails in the background of this picture. The drink that I'm making was to start our culinary Adventure by activating the endocannabinoid system. My intention with this cocktail, (That I called The Stoned Hemingway) was to get a nice dose of THC-A and CBD into the guest's system. I muddled mint leaves and cannabis fan leaves in with grapefruit juice, orange bitters, a little bit of vodka and a CBD simple syrup and soda water to make this drink. Everyone got one of these cocktails to start the meal, and to lay down the cannabanoid groundwork for everyone to have a good time. The Grapefruit and Mint flavors of the cocktail were to pair with the flavors of our Spearmint and GrapefruitSelect CBDpens so when you took a puff and sip, all of the flavors would co-mingle in harmony.

When it came to the food of High In The Sky I went with a vegan menu, and I wanted to give a nod to breakfast in every course, since my previous event was High Noon Brunch, this past April.  

So we started off with a First Course of a savory Root Vegetable "Pop Tart" that was filled with a maple, pecan chutney and delicata squash, I served that side by side with a roasted butternut squash soup that was topped with an olive oil that I had infused with sage and Cannabis (5 mgs of CO2 derived THC Distillate provided by the amazing people at Select Oil). 

Each plate was individually Dosed  after it was cooked. This was to ensure that none of the cannabinoids got cooked off so that I could account for all of them. This made for a more precise dose in every dish.  

This along with the @select_CBD pens that were on each place setting, made for a very balanced start for each guest at our little Cannabis adventure.
I wanted this event to be vegan so that everyone digested their dose a bit quicker and to showcase some of my favorite vegan recipes. 

One of the experimental measures that I took to make sure that everyone who attended this dinner was within the same age range. A lot of the studies that I read and lectures that I have audited have suggested that age range has more to do with absorption than weight or height. This also helped to almost guarantee that people would have commonalities to strike up conversation at each table.

The 2nd Course was beautiful and simple. Grilled, marinated asparagus with a vegan hollandaise sauce, topped with a micro green salad that was tossed in an Lemon and RSO vinaigrette. I compared the lemon notes in this vinaigrette to the terpene "limonene". This course had 4mgs of THC and 3mgs of CBD.

For the Hollondaise sauce I used Hot For Food's hollandaise sauce recipe and it was so perfect!

This recipe incorporated lots of lemon and nutritional yeast to give it a nice creamy but also acidic flavor which really tasted incredible with the grilled, marinated asparagus.

(Check out Hot For Food on Youtube for amazing vegan recipes and meal ideas!)

We then took a 20 minute "Intermission"so that guests could enjoy the incredible view from the Downtown Los Angeles rooftop with a Mango cocktail that was infused with 5 mgs of THC in a vanilla bean tincture made from THC Distillate.
Most cannabis users have dealt with anxiety or restless legs, so the intermission is a nice break for guests to stand up, stretch their legs, check their phone and not feel like they are just stuck in their seat.

The myrcene compounds found in mango can increase, strengthen and even lengthen the euphoric feeling of marijuana. So giving the guests a mango cocktail during this break was to increase the amount of terpenes that they were ingesting.

 Marijuana contains more than 100 terpene molecules that are responsible for affecting THC in the brain and giving highs their ebbs and flows. But marijuana contains the myrcene terpene more than any other kind. So, the mango juice, and cannabis in this cocktail worked together to carry over the high of each guest.

When guests returned to their tables we went right in to the Main Course, a 3 day Vegan Bolognese sauce made with heirloom tomatoes, soy and seitan, that was topped with grilled "Grits" or polenta and a creamy cashew mozzarella. This dish was dosed with about 5 mgs of decarbed flower under the vegan Mozzarella (made with Miyoko's Kitchen), the herbaceous flavor of the flower played really well with the fresh Oregano and Basil in the dish.

The point of this was to show guests that you do not HAVE to infuse flower into fat directly to absorb it.

Next I bridge the gap between the Main course and the dessert course with a seasonal cocktail that I call "Nug Nog", which consisted of 1 shot of home made Kalua that was infused with a cbd tincture, Soy Egg Nog, and some chocolate almond milk.

This drink was actually a shout out to one of my guests who asked me to make a vegan eggnog recipe for her on my instagram last year around the same time.

We finished out our meal with a layered dessert that consisted of a layer of Egg Nog cashew cheesecake, a layer of Chocolate and Coffee aquafaba creme and topped with a crunchy Speculoos crumble that consisted of 5 mgs of THC that was infused in vegan butter.
This was my first time working with Aquafaba and seeing the water from a can of beans whip up EXACTLY like egg whites made me feel more like a scientists than even converting percentages into milligrams could!

So the entire meal was around 30 mgs of THC and a LOT of CBD in layers so for guests the experience was more like wading into water more than waves crashing over you. 

I covered a lot of ground with this dinner, I got to speak with so many people about cannabis science, theories,  and food. 

So for me it was basically a dream date with a lot of amazing *cannabis enthusiasts. (Weed nerds**) 

I can not wait to show you guys what I have planned for Napa in January...

Stay tuned! 

All professional photos taken at High In The Sky were taken by Forest Casey. 

High In The Sky Dinner - Los Angeles, CA. 11/12/17

A little over a month ago I left a very toxic work environment in Cannabis, one where I was harassed by almost every man I worked with. I walked right out the door because management refused to give me and the women that I worked with a safe place to work. I went to the management to complain about harrassment and point out the need for an HR department. Their response was a demotion and asking me to take an unpaid leave of absence. Deciding that I can not make lateral moves, I left and started Cannabis Consulting and Educating full time.  I have been a chef for over 20 yrs, event planner for 10 and a Cannabis educator for almost 3 yrs. I had the experience, and I knew that I had a lot to share with the world, this was just catapulting me into doing that.

This past weekend I flew from Portland to LA to put on an Underground, Pop Up, Cannabis Dinner Party.

This is my life now.

I flew in with some clothes and notebooks, went directly in a Lyft to my partnering brand, Select Oil's office to pick up supplies, then I went shopping at the holy trinity ...Target, Ikea, Marshalls.

I didn't see the space even in pictures until the day before my event, so this felt like a blind date. I was trying to prepare for everything!  

I took a bunch of bags and some crazy ideas and turned them into a chic pop up restaurant. Honestly, I still can't believe I pulled it off.

The friends that I was staying with definitely thought I was a crazy bag lady for 3 days, they just saw me coming in and out of their garage  with bag after bag  and then furiously cooking in their kitchen.  

I knew that there were only two electrical outlets on the roof, so I would have to make heaters... Thank God for Pinterest!  I Ikea hacked some  space heaters, and they WORKED!! 

I hand selected each dish and piece of glassware for each course, and a variety of cozy elements to make an exposed roof top feel warm and intimate. 

I cooked a delicious 4 course vegan meal, infused the courses with Cannabis, made a kitchen happen (in a few places that it probably shouldn't have) all in the name of making this dream a reality. 

I was up at 6am every day designing details for my guests. From making sure that the arrival time was right at sunset so that guests what greeted by the warm pink glow of  the Los Angeles Sunset as soon as they stepped out onto that roof to how quickly they would digest their first cannabeverage.

When it came to working out the details of the guest list, out of the requests for tickets that I recieved I selected a group of people from varied back grounds, but all were within the same age range. This was a little bit of an experiment for me, because in the research that I have done, absorption has more to do with age range than weight or height. I wanted to make sure that everyone at this dinner would have a similar rate of absorption so they would all be on the same "ride" so to speak.

I went with a vegan menu was to speed up the rate of absorption. I also chose a Vegan menu because I would be catering this dinner at a remote location, so this would help to eliminate risk of foodborne illness. I also have so many wonderful vegan recipes that I really wanted to showcase.

It took A LOT of help and support from my friends, and community and a lot of risks and hard work on my part but I did it. High In The Sky was something that i HAD to do, not just out of necessity,  but  because I know that I have a lot of talent to share. With California being on the verge of recreational legality I knew that this was the place to go to share this information. The details of this event have been stuck in my head for so long now, like a song.... I just had to get it out!

I'm so glad that it finally became a reality on Sunday.