Seattle…Food, Fun, and Krusteaz

A week or two ago, I jetted off to Seattle, Washington, courtesy of Krusteaz, for the IFBC Conference.

Seattle is very far away.

Airplanes get up early in the morning for flights to Seattle.  But, let me be clear…it is a city worth getting out of bed for.

Clean and proper, hip, laid back, and delicious.  These are all words that describe The Emerald City.  I am rather smitten with her.

After checking in to the very centrally located Westin, Seattle, we set off in search for some food, as it was lunch time.  We ended up just down the street at Serious Pie, a cool wood-fired pizza joint where the pies are, in fact, serious.  We followed that up with a piece of pie from the next-door Dahlia Bakery.

This pie?

Changed my life, kids.  No joke – best pie ever.  it is Coconut Cream Pie – a flavor I am not even fond of.  And to prove how taken I was with this dessert?  I BOUGHT the cookbook.  I don’t buy cookbooks anymore…but this one, I HAD to have.

And so I have it.  Expect a version of that very pie to show up here someday soon.  it has to happen.

Later that evening I joined up with the rest of the Krusteaz Bakers Dozen for a nice Italian dinner – but bed was calling.  What a long day!

The next day we headed to the Krusteaz Headquarters, where I fell in love with the brand.  Family owned, it was very homey and SO friendly.  Everyone we met adored the company and their jobs, and most all had been there for a LONG time.  That says a lot when your average employee has been there for 13 years, right?

The Bakers Dozen was escorted to the test kitchens for a little baking time…we teamed into pairs up to create new and different yummies out of the Krusteaz mixes.  It was like Chopped!  I was teamed up with Jen from The Hostess With The Mostess (yeah…THAT genius blogger!) and together we created a Chocolate Cherry Chip with Peppermint that was crazy delicious!  Jen, being the over achiever that she is created the packaging – using straws and egg crates, she turned our round cookies into ACTUAL cherries – so adorable, right?

The rest of the ambassadors created some amazing concoctions as well – and after a nice lunch, we packed up some of each treat in a cookie exchange and headed back for the conference.

The next two days were full of lectures, seminars, and a Krusteaz Baking Session, as well as lots of foods to sample and sponsors to meet.  But it wasn’t all work – I managed to slip away for some Seattle shopping and dining on my own and with blogger friends!

One trip took us to Pike’s Market, which included an incredible meal at a gastropub called Whiskey Tavern.  Another took us to The Four Seasons, where we dined at my favorite Seattle restaurant, Art.  From there we strolled to the Ferris Wheel, where we soared high above the city on a wonderfully clear night.  Perfection!

I can’t say enough great things about Seattle, or about Krusteaz, and I mean that sincerely.  I am thrilled to be working with the brand for the next few months, and only hope they love me as much as I love them!  So – stay tuned, I will have lots of recipes and news for you involving their mixes!

I’ll leave you with another strange pic from Seattle…the GUM WALL.  Yuck, but, kind of pretty, no?

Disclaimer:  As mentioned, I am an ambassador for Krusteaz.  As part of my ambassadorship, I was invited to Seattle for IFBC.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.