Easy Cannabis-Infused Valentine’s Day Menu 2020

Homemade gifts are always much more thoughtful and creative than grabbing something off the shelf. Even if you aren’t a DIY queen or master chef, whipping up a romantic dinner for that special person in your life is a treat that both people will enjoy. It’ll be even more memorable with a little Mary Jane. If you’re one of the many people wondering “what should I do on Valentines night”, we’ve got you covered with this easy cannabis-infused two course menu that will get you baked. Don’t settle for a store-bought gift or your typical box of edibles, make it an extra special night to remember with these heartfelt recipes.

How to make edibles at home

An essential part of making your own pot edibles is first creating some type of marijuana infused in a fat. This can be anything from butter to olive oil or even coconut oil. For this recipe we’re using cannabutter, which is convenient since it can be easily used in any recipe that calls for normal butter. Luckily, you can make large batches ahead of time and keep it in the fridge or freezer so you’ll have the butter already prepared for whenever you’re ready to get cooking.

We first wrote about how to make cannabutter for our gooey holiday weed brownie recipe, but we’ll recount the steps here. This recipe is for a normal to mild concentration (not extremely potent), which is perfect since this cannabis Valentine’s Day menu has two weed filled courses. Feel free to swap out the cannabutter for normal butter in either of the recipes or those already accustomed to edibles can up the ante by doubling or even tripling the amount of bud in this recipe for a higher potency.

Cannabutter

Ingredients

1 ounce ground cannabis flower

2 cups (1 lb) salted butter

Directions

1. Melt salted butter in a saucepan on low heat.
2. Add cannabis and simmer on low for at least 45 minutes (the longer the better) while stirring continuously. Never leave the cannabutter unattended or it will burn! The butter should have a green tinge.
3. Remove from heat and strain with a strainer or cheesecloth into a glass jar with a lid. It will keep in the fridge for 30 days or in the freezer for up to six months.

How to figure out the right dose

No one wants to be the person who got knocked out for the night from pot edibles, but this is a very common occurrence and maybe it has already happened to you in the past. With edibles, it’s extremely difficult to gauge exactly how much THC is being consumed since there are so many factors involved. Even the dosage in commercially produced edibles aren’t always consistent. When making marijuana edibles at home, you know the strength and quantity of the bud you’re using, however it’s impossible to know exactly how concentrated the end product will be. It’s always best to experiment with new edible recipes by giving the cannabutter a taste test for strength in advance. If this isn’t an option, just start out slow by eating a normal serving of the delicious lemon pasta first and wait around an hour to see how you feel before digging into (or skipping) dessert. Just keep in mind that the effects of edibles are very different from smoking and don’t kick in for at least 45 minutes to an hour.

Before your Valentine’s Day meal, start by finding out each guest’s tolerance level. Is everybody a regular marijuana smoker or will there be newbies to the 420 life? Have they tried edibles in the past? What was their experience like? These are all great questions to ask before planning your Valentine’s Day menu. Remember, if anyone gets too high, it isn’t life threatening and they can just sleep it off.

Valentine’s Day Main Course

Zesty Lemon Pasta

Ingredients

1 lemon

½ cup lemon juice

Lemon zest

12 oz. bag spaghetti or fettuccine

¾ cup heavy cream

5 tablespoons cannabutter

¾ cup grated Parmesan

⅓ cup chopped basil

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Boil the pasta in salted water until very al dente (the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce). While the pasta cooks, add the heavy cream and lemon zest to a saucepan and simmer.
2. Turn the sauce down to low and slowly add cannabutter while whisking until the sauce emulsifies. Remove from heat. Add ½ cup pasta water to the lemon cream sauce and reserve some extra water for later incase the sauce needs to be lightened up.
3. Right before al dente, use tongs to transfer the pasta to the saucepan and simmer on low. Toss pasta while slowly adding the cheese, basil, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. 
4. Simmer on low for 2-3 minutes, adding more pasta water if the sauce is too thick.

Valentine’s Day Dessert Recipe

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bonbons

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1 1/3 cups crushed graham crackers

1 cup softened cannabutter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

12 oz. bittersweet chocolate

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions

1. Combine the peanut butter, graham crackers, cannabutter, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a large bowl.
2. Form into quarter-sized balls and place on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Pop them in the freezer until solid.
3. Melt the chocolate in the microwave for one minute, stopping to stir every 20 seconds.
4. Using a toothpick, coat each peanut butter ball in chocolate and sprinkle with chopped nuts.
5. Place the balls back onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet and put it in the refrigerator to set for 10-15 minutes. Let the bonbons come to room temperature before eating.

If you want to heat things up even after you take off your apron (and potentially more), be sure to surprise your Valentine with a special gift from our Valentine’s Day collection!