Networking 101: Making Friends at Seattle’s Northwest Event Show

Last Tuesday, Parties That Cook took advantage of an opportunity to meet key players in the event planning industry. We sent our very own Director of Marketing, Crissy, up to Seattle for the Northwest Event Show. Though only our first trip, this meeting and event planners’ show has been around for over a decade! A great resource for event planners, and an even better chance for exhibitors to get exposure, we were excited to go –or at least be well represented!

Crissy’s first challenge: design the 8’ x 8’ Parties That Cook booth in an attention-grabbing yet attractive way. I would say MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! This tall, dark and handsome mannequin not only left the event with a fan base that would make Old Navy’s mannequins jealous, but kept our team company through the six-hour event.

Despite there being over 250 exhibitors present, we ran into a few of the venues we partner with! It was great to see representatives from Efeste Winery and 415 Westlake. John Chen, CEO of Playtime, Inc. was also there. John is our go-to guy for all things geoteaming, and has been a great partner in putting on our new Cooking with Cache Challenge! This new addition to our event types is a friendly cooking competition taken to the extreme –highly recommended for those looking for a unique kitchen adventure.

All in all, the Northwest Event Show was a success! We are so glad to have met new contacts with companies like Microsoft, Bing, Amazon, Boeing, and REI among others. All of us at Parties That Cook look forward to working with or perhaps partnering with our new acquaintances and the great team building companies we met last week.

It’s Prime Time for Butternut Squash and Bacon Galletes!

Now that we’ve all had a full month to recover from nightmares of Lady Gaga’s meat dress, it’s time to get back to the goods. Not to worry, we won’t jump head first into a meaty meal –though if you fancy that idea, check out these ten ways to show your love of bacon. This recipe for Butternut Squash and Bacon Galettes will ease you back into the swing of the carnivore (or omnivore) lifestyle with just the right amount of BACON… for now.

Nothing says “Holidays” better than a Butternut Squash recipe. Really! Butternut Squash is a close relative to the beloved pumpkin -like a cousin, or maybe even fraternal twin? It’s also a staple in those Thanksgiving food horns we colored every year in middle school. Sticking with the Holiday foods theme, this recipe can also be made with Sweet Potato! Check out the original Sweet Potato version of this recipe here.

Butternut Squash and Bacon Galettes
For other great Holiday appetizer ideas, visit our Appetizer Recipe Library!

Ingredients
Galettes:
6 slices bacon
1 small butternut squash yielding 1 1/4 cup of cooked pulp
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon sage leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon rosemary needles, chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
Canola oil

Garnish:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
Baby sage leaves

Methods/Steps
Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cook Bacon: Put bacon on a cooling rack over a sheet pan. Transfer to the oven and cook until crisp, about 12 minutes. Let cool on the cooling rack.  Once cool, chop  into small 1/4” bits and transfer to a small bowl .  Set aside.

Cook Butternut Squash: Cut the butternut squash in half, scoop out the seeds and roast squash on a lightly oiled sheet pan, flesh face down, until a knife inserted into the thickest part encounters no resistance, about 1 hour.  Cool squash slightly and scoop flesh from shell. Measure out 1 cup of pulp.   Set the rest aside for another use.

Make Batter: In a medium bowl, mix together flour and baking powder; set aside.  Place the cooked butternut squash in the jar of a blender.  Add the cream, milk, melted butter, sage, rosemary and salt; blend for 20 seconds.  Add eggs, and process a few seconds more until fully combined.  Pour butternut squash mixture into flour mixture; fold to mix. Add lemon juice and half of the chopped bacon, reserve the rest of the bacon for garnish. Stir just to combine.  Do not over mix or the galettes will be tough.

Cook Galettes: Pour a Tablespoon of canola oil into a non-stick pan. Spread around the pan with a paper towel.  Working in batches, drop a heaping Tablespoon of batter into the pan, being careful not to overcrowd.  Cook until the underside is golden, about 2 minutes.  Turn pancakes over and cook until the other side is golden and the pancake is cooked through, about two minutes more.  Transfer to a cooling rack over a sheet pan.  Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more canola oil as needed between batches.

Garnish: Combine the sour cream and salt.

Serve: Put the pancakes on a serving platter. Top each pancake with a tiny dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with a little bit of the reserved bacon. Add a baby sage leaf and serve immediately.

Makes 24 delicious galletes.