The Art of Hospitality

This year, I really wanted to create the ultimate gift box to bring home for the Holidays (or any occasion). This one has all of our greatest hits and some new additions from legendary purveyors. It’s a conversation starter — people are going to oooh and ahhh about this Cheese, Salami, and Apéro. You’ll have our Olive Oil from 150-year-old trees (to use for dipping warm bread), along with our famous Smoked Morita Chili Crisp grown and harvested in the highlands of Mexico. We have included a jar of my precious Honey harvested from my Garden. There are seasonal Fruits and Crackers made by the most famous baker in California, Oat Bakery, who have been making bread for us all year. The new star addition is Finocchiona from Journeyman Meat Co. in Sonoma. I swear, I have never tasted a Salame this good. It pairs well with two incredible Cheeses from Stepladder Creamery.

Inside This Set:

Heritage Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Olive Oil is the backbone of everything we cook during the Holidays. And Philip Asquith — a fourth-generation olive farmer — grows them exclusively for us. His Olive Oil is the stuff of legend.

The trees are over 150 years old and can’t be harvested with machines because the fruit will bruise. This makes the harvest slower but intentional, and the Olive Oil has a lot of complexity and nuance. During harvest, the Olives are picked by hand and pressed immediately. The result is this fresh, vibrant, green, and peppery oil. However, this current harvest is very special. We had abundant Winter rain, mild Spring winds, and warm Summer sunshine. This unique weather pattern produced a lush crop of Olives resulting in an extremely powerful Olive Oil, antioxidant-rich and packed with polyphenols.

Smoked Morita Chili Crisp
Made with Chipotles from the Aquino Family high in the Veracruz Mountains of Mexico. This is my go-to for everything. I put it on my avocado toast, dip it on cheese, and use it when I’m cooking — it’s probably the most used item in my kitchen. The hand-harvested Chipotle is smoked for 48 hours in earth ovens buried beside the mountain streams, then bathed in our Heritage Extra Virgin Olive Oil and dusted with Himalayan Salt. Just one dip will relight the hearth in your belly.

Wildflower Honey
This sweet, decadent Wildflower Honey is the result of the entire ecosystem at play. Our Winter harvest has given us 1000 jars of this antioxidant-rich, highly special elixir — containing all the powerful plant compounds. Bees forage on wild Sage, Rosemary, Lavender, Australian Wattle, and Eucalyptus, giving this Honey a unique fragrance and a deep, buttery, deliciously nuanced taste. It’s 100% raw & unfiltered.

Apple and Persimmon Fruit Snack
When Fall approaches and the deep gold of Persimmons appears, we celebrate the transition of the seasons. Apples and Persimmons are some of our favorite Fall fruits, and we love having them together for a sweet-tart, juicy companion to the other foods in this set. A sweet and welcome palate-cleanser.

Journeyman Classic Finocchiona
One of the most classic Salami representations with Wild Fennel, Black Pepper, and Sonoma Chardonnay. Silky, savory, and satisfying with notes of Anise and White Wine. This Salami is a representation of centuries of Italian tradition carried on by the Seghesio Family in Sonoma County, who have tended to their land for over 125 years.

Stepladder Creamery Ragged Point
This bloomy rind Triple Creme from the cows of Big Sur is perfection. Silky, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness, with a rich, buttery taste, this cheese gives in any preparation. From milking to production and aging, all of Stepladder’s cheeses are produced inside their hundred-year-old barn in Cambria, California.

Stepladder Creamery Paso Vino
This Spanish-style Cow’s milk cheese is soaked in a bath of aromatic, full-bodied Syrah. Tangy with the perfect amount of saltiness, the aging gives it a distinct nutty flavor. Made from cows grazing along the Central Coast in lush pastures, you can taste why source matters.

Oat Bakery Superseed Crackers
Hearty, delicious, and perfectly crisp, these gluten-free crackers come loaded with Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Flax Seeds, Organic Oatmeal, and Psyllium Husk. Oat Bakery in Santa Barbara has garnered a cult following for their commitment to baking bread using whole grains and local produce from the farmers market. Their bread is all organic and handmade in small batches, and we have had the luxury of working with them all year as our bread provider for our Friday Farm Box Deliveries.

Old Dog Ranch Candied Walnuts