Last week I returned to Hipcooks Portland on NE Failing and Williams for a class called “A Cocktail Party”. This is my second class with Hipcooks (after my cheese class with Cheyenne) but I had such a good time I wanted to try another one. The purpose of the cocktail party class is to learn how to make lots of things for a cocktail party. This turned out to be nine hors’dourves taught by a chef, and six drinks taught by a bartender. This class fills up pretty quickly and I kept forgetting to sign up online as soon as the new classes are posted (one month or so in advance). But recently I finally got into one. It was on Friday evenings starting at 6:30 (it looks like the next classes starting in April start at 7), which means you just have time after work to grab a quick happy hour bite to eat at Tasty N Sons before coming to class.

The hors’ dourves and drinks were divided basically into 3 parts. First we started a few appetizers, then we learned about a couple cocktails at the big communal table where 4 bar stations were laid out and we would nibble on some of the appetizers we just finished prepping while learning drinks. Then, back to the kitchen part for making a few more appetizers, back to the bar station for two more cocktails and eating the fruits of our appetizer labor…  and then the final few canapes and we sat down to learn our last couple of drinks and finish with a sweet bite.

Each time, as we were working on the drinks, some of the appetizers would come out of the oven or be finished in prep by the chef and assistant so we could snack while tasting the beverages so we only had to worry about the creation and not watching any ovens or finishing enough for the group. We were able to get the hands on instruction and then just move on. This was a great way to break up the class so you didn’t get overwhelmed by the number of things the class offered to teach you or bogged down making enough for a dozen people of every single recipe so efficient in using the learning time as well.

Here’s the list of what was on the class menu, including when we broke out for mixology:

1. Spicy candied nuts
2. Warm crab dip
3. Crisp potato cakes with goat cheese and thyme
4. Cups with caviar, crème fraîche and chive
5. The Perfect Martini
6. Vanilla Martini
7. Endives stuffed with gorgonzola and roast pear
8. Warm goat cheese prosciutto-wrapped dates
9. Mojitos
10. Caiprinhas
11. Leek and goat cheese tartlettes
12. Tuna tartar on cucumber strips with wasabi roe
13. Dark chocolate hearts with raspberry cream
14. Ginger Lemon Drops
15. Amaretto sour with cracked pepper

We started the class with items that we would not enjoy until a later appetizer, but needed time in the oven. So, we rolled out the dough, cut with  glass,  and put in the muffin tins so they could be returned to the fridge/freezer to form into tartlettes  before filling. And, we started the pears so they could caramelized in the oven. Then we went right into the four appetizers that we would be having with our first pair of drinks we would learn.

First step of making Candied Almonds, Cashews and Pecans: nuts and butter with heat to melt the butter… The spicy candied nuts was a simple recipe, but the highlight is that we all were being taught and practiced how to flip food in the pan. Since these were nuts and not an omelet or something more invested before the flip, it was something pretty safe and any nuts that got lost onto the counter, since we had just wiped down the counter, could return back to the nut family in the pan. The finished product, after adding rosemary and brown sugar and Tabasco, were returned to the fridge briefly to harden but could still be eaten while a bit warm and were finger licking salty spicy sweet. Perfect for when you are making a perfect martini with just vodka/gin and dry vermouth.

Next up was Warm Crab Dip served with my favorite kind of crackers, Triscuits. This was super easy to make, and you can prep this earlier, keep it in the fridge, and just put it in the oven so it will be hot when guests need to snack. The second photo shows a closer look at the top which has paprika and parsley sprinkled for color, and the creamy crab underneath which is almost equal parts crab and cream cheese and bit of mayo.

The third was the Crisp Potato Cakes with Goat Cheese and Thyme. This one was a bit more of a cheater, since the potatoes that we were layering with the cheese and thyme were already prepped for us with a mandolin.

The fourth canape we made was Caviar Cups with Crème Fraiche and Chive. The key here was learning where to get very affordable caviar… would you believe Ikea? And we talked about how buying premade pastry shells is so worth it in saving the mess and time to make them from scratch, and having at least one squeeze bottle (which we would see used a few different ways in the recipes that night) can also make your life so much easier. Sorry for the blurriness of these caviar cups with creme fraiche and chive. I took all the pics during class with my camera phone instead of my camera since we were standing at the counter in a hands on class, and it had to fit in my pocket. I particularly like how the caviar cup looks so expensive and fancy, but takes minutes to make and only 4 ingredients.

In our first round of bartending, we learned about how to properly shake cocktails, how to twirl lemon peel after we have wiped the rim of the glass with the lemon oils from the peel, and practiced with and without a pourer how to to count out a 2 oz pour instead of measuring with a shot glass.

Next round of appetizers. The pears came out of the oven smelling wonderful and all caramelized, so we each got to stuff one endive with the gorgonzola and roast pear and gush about what a wonderful finger food vehicle endives are and color they bring to the table (red and green leaves). In disappointing news, we were supposed to make Warm Goat Cheese & Nut-Stuffed, Prosciutto-Wrapped Dates, but when they opened the prosciutto package that they had just bought the day before, there was a little mold on it so they didn’t want to serve it to us, understandably. We each still got to stuff a date, but no meat wrapping. Then we were sent back to the bartending area to learn to make Mojitos and Caipirinhas, which are more time consuming since now we had to start dealing with squeezing juices (no mixes here!) and muddling.

Third round of appetizer making. In preparing Tuna Tartar on Cucumber Strips with Wasabi Roe, we were impressed with how easy something that looks so fancy can be.

This last hors’dourves was the favorite of almost everyone. This was one we had done a little bit of prep in round 1, but I put all the photos together here. In the first round, we had prepared the little tartlettes. Now we sauteed leeks in butter and white wine to the tartlets. The cooking leeks make the room smell incredible… better than any air freshener in welcoming guests to a home. Only fill the tartlets halfway because when spooning the leek mixture in because next… we added eggs and cream into a squeeze bottle and shook vigourously, and then squeezed the mixture (minimizing things to clean up!) into the tarts. And then… top with got cheese. Delicious.

We finished off with Dark Chocolate Hearts with Raspberry cream, again making use of having a squeeze bottle in the kitchen. At this point, everyone was getting more tired, and we were content with the chef instructor showing us by doing it himself, and then returning to focus on drinks.

This last lesson from the bartender was for the Lemon Drop, including the sugar rim. My favorite was the last drink though, Amaretto Sour, using all fresh squeezed juices from the fruit, and then talking about the use of egg whites. I’ve had egg whites before in libations in Chicago and in Portland from Clyde Common and The Secret Society, so I already love the frothy light foam touch it adds- more than any sugared rim could do. However, I also learned that I really like Disaronno- and don’t think I would have a Amaretto Sour that uses this with a mix because I don’t want the sourness to ruin it, making it to just balance the sweet is what I’m looking for.

Just like the cheese class, we didn’t need to worry about writing anything down- everything was emailed the next morning. A lot of it was just by watching and listening and putting in a little practice, just like if you were learning a well loved recipe from a family member. I thought the email I got from the cheese class, which has more details about where to buy ingredients and Plan B when things might not quite turn out perfectly, was more thorough and thoughtful then the one for this cocktail class. Although it wasn’t in the email, he did verbally cover tips on ways to flavor to your taste and balance as you taste, where to get some of the ingredients, things to look for when examining the ingredients to purchase, and what could be done and in the fridge the day before and what ones are sorta fun to do as guests are arriving and they can give you a hand! Just like in the cheese class, we all got a chance to have hands on experience, taste stuff in progress and eye what it looks like until its ready

Because of the breaks between the prep food/prep drink stations, we also got to do a bit more informal socializing and get tastes of everything more often throughout the class time. Bouncing between two people also gives the other a break to “recharge” during the 3-3 1/2 hour class so they was a lot of positive energy and keeping us pumped as the night continued (after all, I did work all day on Friday too!). This class turned out to be all ladies although the instructors were male, and the assistant female, so guys certainly are not unwelcome- and could have had some flirting time with the single ladies. Still, I suppose that’s pretty apropros based on who usually preps hors’dourves for a party- most men would lay out nuts and chips and salsa and some beer and call it a day without too much worry for the mixed drinks, even though it would impress any female guest. I would definitely recommend taking this class with girlfriends, or as two ladies did in my class, with their mom! This would also make a fun gift to a foodie.

I’m keeping my eye out for the dim sum class and cajun classes that matches up to my schedule, so don’t be surprised if you see another Hipcooks class blog entry later this year. I also keep looking at Caprial and John’s (I’ve only attended a supper club so far) but menus and dates haven’t matched up yet, but it has been highly recommended by friends if you are looking for another alternative in the same price range. Caprial and John’s are only in the evenings, but allow you to bring your own beverages (such as wine and beer). I like HipCooks slant in pairing and incorporating learning about beverages in the class but they don’t allow you to BYOB. The fact that they have classes on Sat and Sun during the day just fits better schedule-wise than mostly T-Th evenings at least for me, and they have a large number of classes to choose from. Did you also notice how many things they cover in the class? I also know about In Good Taste but they are almost twice the cost per class.

Wherever you may look and/or decide, cooking classes is a fun way to go out and enjoy food which doesn’t involve just eating and blowing your calories per day, or cooking so much that you are then stuck eating the 6 portions for the next few days, or having to wait for guests coming over to learn and try a recipe while panicking that it might not turn out and then what… From my experience with Hipcooks Portland, everyone has been engaging and laid back like a friend you know, but also an expert at their recipes like they make it home off the cuff all the time and know lil tips and tricks and variations from all that experience. You are both learning and relaxed and having fun all at the same time in a no pressure environment. Having hands-on step by step experience is particularly important to me as the visual is more important than the recipe’s measurements (I dislike cookbooks that don’t have lots of pictures), and Hipcooks definitely gives you that.