Tag cooking class

What’s Brewing in Seattle

0 comments By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in News & Events Tagged with Ballard, beer pairing, beer tasting, Brews & Bites, cooking class, happy hour, Hilliard's Beer, Hilliard's Seattle, tap room, taproom November 27th, 2012 @ 5:28 pm

For this insightful post, we’re bringing in our expert on the ground in Seattle, Carolyn Peters! She’s done her research, sipping, swirling, sniffing, but hopefully not spilling, these fine beverages – all to bring YOU the truth..

Sure, there’s coffee brewing in Seattle, but there’s also some great craft beer brewing. Let’s take a look at a relatively new brewery that’s off to a great start.

Just off the beaten path in Seattle’s hip neighborhood of Ballard, you’ll find Hilliard’s Beer serving some of the area’s best craft brews. Walking into Hilliard’s is a bit like coming home. You’re first welcomed by the sweet aroma of beer-making (a light yeasty smell). You then notice the tall windows and updated white interior bringing a much needed brightness in Seattle’s winter. These sensations are quickly followed by friendly greetings from the knowledgeable staff who are happy to provide tastings and let you know all about their beers. Hilliard’s delicious selection includes amber, IPA, stout, pilsner, Belgian ales and more. Hilliard’s beers are featured on the shelves at Trader Joe’s in Ballard, and served at the highly-acclaimed restaurant, The Walrus & TheCarpenter.

Hilliard’s also boasts a bright and airy taproom set inside their warehouse – once a car dealership! – where you and your friends can enjoy your beers while taking in the action of forklifts moving pallets and pondering the mysteries of large stainless steel tanks (hint: they contain beer in its early stages). The taproom is a great place to lounge, mingle, listen to live music on Thursday nights, or just kick off your evening at their happy hour. Still, I think my favorite component is the wall of Hilliard’s beer cans (filled with beer, of course) ready to be discovered, just past the taproom. Quite an impressive and stylish retro design!

Outside food is welcome, so bring your favorite bite, arrange to have a food cart pull up right outside, or join Parties That Cook chefs for a Brews & Bites cooking party! We’ll be hosting fun interactive cooking classes in Seattle where gourmet food is paired with a few of Hilliard’s beers. There will even be a tasting session during the class! Come learn how Hilliard’s brews their beers, brush up on some new cooking techniques, and fill your belly with delicious food and drink. Interested? Details to come!

Parties That Cook Connects with the Land at Cooking Farm to Table

0 comments By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in Entertaining, News & Events Tagged with bay area cooking classes, Canvas Ranch, cooking class, cooking farm-to-table, corporate team building, corporate team building activity, farm-to-table dining, hands-on cooking August 19th, 2011 @ 4:41 pm

Last Saturday was Parties That Cook’s first-ever Cooking Farm to Table Class. It was such a fun event that we are now even more excited for the possibilities of future Cooking Farm to Table team building events than we already were! (Who knew that was possible??)

The folks at Canvas Ranch were great. Farmer Deborah gave an in-depth tour of the farm grounds, including the chicken coop where the free-range chickens dwell and the pasture where guests mingled with cashmere goats! Talk about getting “hands-on”, guests were then able to pick the veggies to be used in the evening’s meal. After whipping up a delicious menu that included Crostini of Goat Cheese and Tomato Jam, Balsamic Marinated Skirt Steak (or Portobello) with Herbed Breadcrumbs, Summer Squash Gratin with Salsa Verde and Gruyere, Strawberry Potpies with Buttermilk Whipped Cream, and more, guests enjoyed the “fruits of their labor” from the best seats in the house (below). What a great view!

Amongst the crowd were a couple of PTC MVPs, including Director of Event and Office Operations, Rosie, and our Warehouse Manager, Melissa. We even invited our newest Event Planner, Christina, who was eager to see what Parties That Cook events are all about! We were so glad to hear such positive feedback from her, “I had such a blast yesterday — a perfect summer afternoon surrounded by new friends and delicious food at Canvas Ranch.” The rest of us in the office were quite jealous of their weekend farm adventure – you might just see some other PTC faces at the next Cooking Farm-to-Table Class on September 17th! Keep on the look out for a SEATTLE Cooking Farm to Table Class currently in the works!