Lorie Hutson

Terry Hackler is brewing porter. As we talk, he’s got one eye on the wort draining from the bottom of the stainless steel mashtun and into a small metal container. When it’s full, he closes a valve and flips a switch that pumps the runoff into the brew kettle and onto the next step of the brewing process.

If cooking with local, seasonal ingredients during the winter seems impossible, the folks at Quillisascut Farm School for the Domestic Arts would like to help. The farm and school in Rice, Wash., is offering a new “winter pantry” retreat that will teach students about the challenges of cooking with seasonal produce from the area during the dark and cold season. The overnight class starts at 2 p.m. on Feb. 11 and students leave after brunch the next morning.

Scout up breakfast, lunch or dinner at the new joint on the corner of First and Monroe. Simply named Scout, the new bar and restaurant at 1101 W. First Ave. has taken over the space once home to Far West Billiards. Although remodeled, Scout has a worn and well-loved appearance that suggests it could have been there far longer.

The crew at Santé Restaurant and Charcuterie is still turning out a limited menu despite a small fire that damaged much of the kitchen equipment. General manager Kate Hansen said the grease fire last week, along with sprinklers and other fire suppression efforts, ruined equipment in the restaurant’s kitchen. Insurers estimate the damage, including lost profits, at $35,000.

From towering tree houses to giant red barns, the gingerbread structures at the annual Christ Kitchen Gingerbread Build-off are always a surprise. And the decorations? You simply have to see them. Local chefs and architects pair up to build gingerbread houses for the competition and then decorate them while the public watches. This year, they’ll be decking the halls of the structures 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday in the Hall of Doges at the Davenport Hotel, 10 S. Post St.

Chef Amadeus, winner of the Food Network’s Extreme Chef competition, will teach a class at The Kitchen Engine at 6 p.m. on Dec. 6. Amadeus will be making Shrimp and Grits, Curry Butternut Squash with Diced Chicken, and Sweet Potato Rolls with Praline Sauce. The celebrity chef also is known for a blend of salt-free seasonings he created called “Southern Passion.” They will be available at the class.

Here’s some old-school help for those inevitable cooking and baking questions that come up during Thanksgiving dinner preparations. Butterball and several other companies still host hotlines where cooks can call in for live help. If you’d rather look online for answers to common questions, the websites are listed, too.

With all the mashed potatoes flying, the big bird to carve and gravy to finish, it’s a wonder anything is still hot when it hits the table for the Thanksgiving feast. Pulling off this meal takes serious organization and timing. Oven space is at a premium. There will be more pans to juggle than there are burners.

Reader Jennifer Linville wrote a note recently asking for the recipe for Silver Grill Apple Pie, a family favorite she clipped from the paper a dozen years ago. “I somehow misplaced it and have lamented that fact ever since. It was for Silver Grill Apple Pie from Silver Grill at the Ridpath Hotel. It was unusual as the apples were first baked in the crust and then a syrup made from boiling down the apple cores and peels, honey, water, etc., was then poured through a hole in the top crust of the finished pie. … I’ve missed it greatly, and with the holidays coming up, my whole extended family is clamoring for it.”

In the years that I have served as the editor of the Food section, I have searched for countless Dorothy Dean recipes and leaflets for readers. I have come into the office before looming holidays to dig out the recipes for readers desperate to keep their holiday traditions intact. And I have searched in vain for recipes based on just an ingredient or two and a vague recollection of those beloved dishes.

Bargain prices, natural and organic offerings, unusual food finds and fun have earned Trader Joe’s some seriously loyal customers. Some scoffed when we suggested in a note to readers last month that fans of the California-based chain were trekking to the other side of state and beyond to stock up on their favorite Trader Joe’s staples. But more than two dozen sent notes with the details of their cross-state runs, the extra bags they stow on trips to see family in a Trader Joe’s ZIP code and the other shenanigans the beloved store has inspired.

Tickets are on sale for the annual Cork and Keg Festival. The Washington Restaurant Association hosts the annual wine and beer tasting, featuring more than 100 wines and 30 handcrafted beers. It will be held Nov. 12 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Mirabeau Park Hotel, 1100 N. Sullivan Road.

Arbor Crest Wine Cellars is launching a new premium wine label. Winery manager Jim van Löben Sels says he and his wife, winemaker Kristina Mielke-van Löben Sels, will revive a family brand name first used by his great-uncle in 1969. Van Löben Sels Cellars began as a winemaking partnership in California, where van Loben Sels’ great-uncle was a vineyard manager. Five years later, the partnership dissolved.

We whet readers’ appetites with a picture of an Apple Pie Cake on the cover of last Wednesday’s Food section, but then left them hanging. The recipe was left out of the story due to a snafu with the wire service that shares stories for publication. Unfortunately, we didn’t catch it before the section was published.