Heights Cuisine is now..Heights Events?!!

A couple weeks ago, I catered a wedding for a very great client of mine.  Actually was it a birthday?  It's hard to tell..  Ok so the story goes, a beautiful young woman was having a very important birthday that she wanted to celebrate with all of her loved ones and friends, at the same time, she wanted to surprise all these loved ones and friends with a short and sweet wedding ceremony to her longtime boyfriend.  Romantic and awesome, right?

Three weeks before the date of, the client decided that she no longer loved her event planner.  Long story short, I took up the mantle of event planner and thus is born Heights Events!

Below are some pictures of the catering.  To follow will be pictures of what the space looked like after I had my way with it.  Enjoy!


This is how we do...brunch

There was a 10 year period of my life; somewhere between my late 20s and early 30s, when I enjoyed brunch immensely.  After a hard night of partying Saturday, nothing pleased me more than waiting for hours for a table at the favorite brunch spot of the neighborhood (or of the moment), and eating mediocre but sometimes good food.

Sometime after working my first brunch shift at the now defunct Campanile on La Brea, I realized brunch was a reviling ritual.  For the brunchers,  in can mean long waits, mediocre food, ill tempered staff,  and for those that cook and serve brunch, it means getting up at an ungodly hour to cook food half asleep for ungrateful, overly garrulous patrons after having worked Saturday service, voted mostly likely to test the mettle of any restaurant cook (or server).

In my old age, brunch should be civilized, meaning not much work for anyone.  I'm not saying put no effort into it (as the overall event does reflect on you as the host).  But maybe spread the work amongst your people; ie a potluck.  If everyone is able, then the food and company should shine.

Here's how we do it, properly and awesomely.

Vegan dish of the day, bonus round

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These little beauties are a shout out to my good friend Colleen Hennessey and her lovely and talented partner Adele Horne.  They served these hippy-dippy (this is not pejorative, I went to Berkeley!) vegan brownie bites to me after a day of toiling in the fields at Taking the Reins.  Taking the Reins is an organization that teaches local girls who come from less fortunate circumstances animal husbandry and horticulture in a great positive atmosphere next to the LA river.

These delicious beauties are made with dates, walnuts, Vahlrona cocoa powder, vanilla, and a touch honey.

Fennel confit with tangerine

This lovely fennel is first seared in olive oil to give a little color then braised in white wine and a rich veggie stock.  After cooling, chopped fennel fronds, tangerine zest, and peeled tangerines are added. 

Even though this was made for a vegan client, it would make an incredible side dish for pork or a lamb roast!  Thinking ahead also to Thanksgiving...  Might have to reprise this one!

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Pretty food for one of my vegan clients.

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Sometimes I'm at a loss as to what to make for my vegan client.  There are a lot of restrictions, but from constraints often come delicious results.  This salad is composed of Israeli couscous roasted cauliflowers and heirloom carrots, some scallions, dried cranberries, pistachios, and basil pesto.  Give it a try!  And I will never use profanity to describe my food!  f***in Brussels sprouts anyone?

Roasted tahitian squash soup with lemon ricotta dumpling, fried sage and new oil

Here I am plating squash soup for a client.  The squash is first roasted in the oven, then the soup is made the standard way with chicken stock, white wine, and leeks simmered in butter.  The dumpling feels like a matzo ball, but it's cheesy and lemony because of all the lemon zest we put in.  Then we finished the plates with fried sage leaves and fresh olive oil.  Hello Autumn!