9.30.2011

weekly pinspiration

i was a little slack on bringing pins to life this week, mostly because i was busy creating a pin of my own. but i did manage to bring one lil' recipe into the real world.

from my eat me! board (that's an alice in wonderland reference, FYI, and nothing more) i wanted to try ye old jalepeno popper grilled cheese.


it did NOT disappoint...unlike my photography and the lighting in our cave/house.

now, i actually have never had the jalapeno poppers that this grilled cheese is an homage to, but i love a straight up grilly chee-cheese and i LOVE jalapenos (these are seeded and cored and broiled with skin removed, so there is almost no heat...just flava-flav, dont be scared!). despite not really getting the reference, this sucker was YUMZ. the cream cheese and the sour dough were awesome little allstar accompaniments to the roasted peppers. this was fast and delicious. total bar food without leaving your home.

one thing the guy didnt include in the recipe was the best way to layer the ingredients. granted, it doesnt really matter a lick as far as taste goes, but since we are working with shredded cheese, crushed chips and pieces of pepper that can scatter or fall out in the cooking process, i think it would have been helpful (especially since i got it wrong and didn't think of a better way until afterward). here's my recommendation:

top bread
cream cheese
tortilla chips
peppers
shredded cheese
bottom bread

the cream cheese is the mortar that holds the chippy crumbs in place and this way the shredded cheese is closest to the bottom of the pan and therefore the heat when you first plop it in. this will melt it faster/first and turn the cheese into the glue to hold the peppers in place for when you flip. after both sides have cooked, flip it back to the cheese side-down before you pull it off just to make the cheese extra freshly melted. glue and mortar sammie: scrumptious!



up next is actually not me taking the pinspiration, but someone else. 3 beloved someone elses. and my pin!

backstory: lena and danielle are two of my best friends and they are my kids' godmothers. neither of them have ever sewn before. our other friend elizabeth is living with lena right now and is getting married in january. her fiance is super artsy and handy and designy boo-boo. he is actually sewing their wedding invites. so he had borrowed a friend's sewing machine and set up shop in lena's dining room.

i published yesterday's tutorial and lena went crazy rabid and NEEDED a scarf or six. so she and elizabeth (also a sewing virgin) decided to make my scarf their first ever sewing project. i was so nervous because if my tutorial was awful, then these uber-novices would be marooned out on suck-island all because of me.

imagine my delight when they whipped up their scarves in no time (i only got one distress text involving a seam ripper). they called up danielle, who wanted in on the action and came over with an old dress of hers to use as her fabric and SHE made one too.

i could not have received a better stamp of approval than 3 WAY stylish chicks A: wanting to do my tutorial and then B: executing it perfectly with no experience (granted, they are highly intelligent). i told y'all sewing is easy. and lena was so pleased with how accomplished and competent she felt making a totally useful garment all by herself. it really is the best feeling.

so if you've ever doubted yourself, DONT. anyone can sew! inspiration! rainbows! exclamation!

probably a great idea to take your eyes off of the needle moving rapidly an inch from your fingers.


scarf #1: this fabric was too thick for them to braid so they just modified it and skipped that step to make a simple tub scarf. hello!? first-timers adapting patterns...love it! and love the striped knit


dan gets in on the action. not sure if she is saluting and whistling here or wiping the sweat away. luckily she is staying hydrated with her water nearby.

ag! love it. love the plaid and cream. love her. pretty sure lena forced her to pose with the measuring tape.


navy and ivory and lena: perf. (i spy judah!)

elizabeth is a teacher extraordinaire and went to bed before she could model her scarf but rest assured, it is flawless. these chicks were not coerced, blackmailed or paid in any way by me to try the tutorial. they just saw the prize and grabbed it. they have the hearts of true pinners. what's going to be funny is when all 4 of us show up somewhere with our scarves on.

surely this tutorial will lift me to greatness:

even the angels want one. (and let me save you time: 6. there are 6 chins on my face in this photo).

peace to the out, my homies. tomorrow (10/1) is mine and jesse's 5 year anniversary and we will be spending it...drumroll...APART! all day apart. ugh. but it's by necessity, and we will be truly celebrating next weekend. and then my 29th birthday is sunday, 10/2. nobody gets into october without going through me first! believe dat.

11 comments:

  1. There was something very satisfying in seeing the ingredients stacked on top of each other in their own little text sandwich. I felt a strong urge to bite the screen.

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  2. Haha! I literally almost spit all of my great value brand spearmint starlight mint that I was chewing all over my computer screen when I saw that picture! Oh man....I think we would be good friends, because I too have the awesome ability of taking the worst pictures known to man without even trying one iota. Oh, and can't wait to tray out the scarf and sandwhich! Thanks for the recent tutorials!!

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  3. Oh, and that sandwhich would be KILLER with some bacon stuffed in there somewhere!

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  4. Haha! Laughing out loud at the six count!

    Go Lena! You're a sewing goddess, just like that!

    Also, my favorite part of the post? That you had PUYD up on your laptop at the sewing party just in case anyone wanted to catch up on life at the Dukes home. Treasure.

    (I know... it was more likely for the tutorial... but still funny!)

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  5. Jalapeno poppers are DA BOMB and I'm saddened that you haven't actually had them. I routinely crave them, pregnant or no. BUT. This recipe sounds delicious and probably doesn't give one the incredibly concentrated gas like one (ahem) can get from the poppers themselves. Plus cream cheese? Yes. Just yes.

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  6. loving the navy + ivory combo!
    can't wait to try your tutorial myself. : )

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  7. Seeing this picture inspired me to make a cheesy spinach and bacon sandwich for lunch!!! Yummmm! thanks!!

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  8. Hello,
    I work at Manor College and run a fashion club - we were looking to make this braided scarf for a DIY night, but I am unsure how to actually make it - think you could email me with some help. My email is kpeiffer@manor.edu - thank you!

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  9. Hello,
    I work at Manor College and run a fashion club. We are looking into making these scarves (school colors) for a DIY night that we are hosting. Could you email me with the details about how you actually made this scarf? And also, what type of scarves did you purchase?

    Thank you - my email is kpeiffer@manor.edu

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  10. Hello,
    I work at Manor College and run a fashion club - we were looking to make this braided scarf for a DIY night, but I am unsure how to actually make it - think you could email me with some help. My email is kpeiffer@manor.edu - thank you!

    ReplyDelete