Sew Darn Cute

Cupcake Teapot Cozy Tutorial

Heads up, y'all! If you'd like a tutorial on making the cupcake teapot cozy shown (but unfortunately not demonstrated) on the Felt Club episode of Uncommon Threads that aired on HGTV back in February, you can find it right here. The creator, Shawnee Kornely, started up a blog called Life with Monkey where she gives you the skinny on making this project (along with many others). Be sure to check it out!

We taped a second episode (with my pals Teresa and Wendy), but it looks like it may not be airing for a while...DIY Network (which is where this show normally airs) is still showing 2006 repeats, and the new episodes HGTV has been featuring (apparently as a test/promo kind of thing) are coming along slow as molasses (and I'm not sure how long they will be airing the show at all on HGTV). I've heard that DIY will begin airing the 2007 season proper this Fall, so hopefully that's true and our episode will air on one network or another eventually. I'll keep you posted!

Uncommon Threads

So, the Uncommon Threads episode I was on aired yesterday, and although seeing yourself on TV can be cringeworthy, I think I managed to get through it without completely embarrassing myself. Hopefully viewers felt the same way! I thought our projects ended up looking very cute, although due to time they really have to rush you through the instructions. (To anyone who saw my Sugar Cookie Potholder segment: I would never advocate just snipping off the end of the rickrack and leaving it un-done like that, though that's what they showed me doing. They had filmed me tacking that bit down with thread, to cover the raw edge, but it was edited out, presumably for time.) I know I'm being an OCD craft nerd, pointing out something that probably didn't even occur to anyone watching it, but...well, I'm an OCD craft nerd. What can I say?

Cynthia's Pie Placemat project was so adorable, and easy to make as well. She got to show off the matching table runner at the end of the episode, which was a nice little bonus. She did a great job!

Our pal Shawnee did a swell job too, lending crafty support and ironing help, but as I mentioned before, her project was cut for time. Luckily they did keep in the end bits we filmed, and she was able to show off some of her designs. I received an e-mail this morning from someone who caught the show and wanted directions to the project—but since it wasn't demonstrated on the show, the directions don't appear on the DIY Network website. Rats! If anyone wants to know how to make the Cupcake Teapot Cozies, though, drop me a line (jennyATsewdarncuteDOTcom) and I'll forward your request to hers truly. If you want to know how to make the potholder and placemat projects (as well as the hostess Allison's saucy teacup apron), visit DIY Network here.

There will be one more Felt Club episode airing, with some fantastic baby-themed projects made by my friends Wendy and Teresa. On this episode, my project was cut for time, but I'm still on hand to lend ironing help and whatnot. Hmm...maybe I'll turn my project (a scallop-patterned baby quilt) into a How-To for this blog! Yep. It's a plan. I recently made one for a friend's new baby (Hi Sofia!) so next time I'll make one and take photos every step of the way. At the rate my friends are reproducing, someone else is sure to need a baby quilt soon!

Many thanks to the kind peeps at Uncommon Threads, as well as everybody who tuned in. You rule!

How Not to Make Lasagna

So, Johnny and I had dinner plans last night, with friends we haven't seen in ages. We decided that I would make the main course and bring it over to their place, and they'd make salad and dessert. Easy, right?

I decided to make this amazingly decadent and very involved Vegetarian Lasagna I saw on this food blog a while back. I've made it once before and it's incredibly delicious, but as the author notes...really time consuming! The preparation takes around three long, involved hours.

First, you chop all your veggies up as finely as possible in the Cuisinart...you're basically making a faux-Bolognese sauce, so the texture is akin to minced meat or whatnot. So, you're rinsing and trimming and chopping and pulse-processing away. As you can see, a lot of veggies go into this, so it takes a good while to get through 'em all.

Next, you cook the veggies until softened, then you add some red wine and tomato paste and simmer it until the wine reduces. This takes yet another while. Then you add some crushed tomatoes and chopped fresh herbs and cook that down as well, stirring constantly, until you have a super-thick, nearly dry sauce and forearms the size of Popeye's. The whole thing takes around an hour and smells absolutely wonderful.

After this, you make yet another sauce...a béchamel. I pretty much have the béchamel thing down by now, but it can still take a while to get right. Whisk, whisk, whisk!

So now you've got your two sauces...yum! You grate up a big heap of gouda cheese, then start layering all your amazing ingredients until the pan is bursting with deliciousness: "Fauxlonese" sauce, noodles, more sauce, then mozzarella slices, then baby spinach, then béchamel, then gouda...and so on and so forth 'til you're done. On the tip-top layer, you combine your two sauces and slather it over the noodles, topping with more mozza and parmesan and into the oven it goes. Aaand into the oven mine went, right before I headed out the door to run an important errand. I left Johnny with explicit instructions on when to turn the oven off and take it out, and even set a kitchen timer so it would buzz. I provided aluminum foil in case of too-quick browning and left to go about my business.

But, ummm, this is what I came home to later. The damn thing was still cooking away in a super-hot oven!! Johnny either totally didn't hear the buzzer go off or he completely misunderstood my instructions, because this pathetic lasagna was just ruined. The photo does not even capture the true charcoal-black nature of most of the "crust", which oozed all over the plaze and charred itself onto my pretty sheet pan. Siiiiiigh. Even the bottom was blackened, and we had to trash the glass Pyrex baking pan...and we were left with nothing to bring our friends for dinner. Yikes.

I couldn't even get mad at Johnny about it (though I did get teary when removing it from the oven, just out of sheer frustration), because the poor guy looked so damn miserable and mad at himself for screwing it up that I didn't even have the heart to rant at him. Damn, I hate it when he cock-blocks my ranting and nagging by being genuinely sorry for something! Grrr. Long story short, next time I'm putting him in charge of salad.

PS: Our extremely understanding and sweet friends cooked us pizza instead. Thanks, guys!

The Guava Saga, or: How Participating in the Cupcake Round-Up Challenge Nearly Burned My House Down

Oh Goodness. Last night was a long one for me; I spent several hours working on a hand-sewing project for a friend and watching movies with Johnny. My eyes were bleary and I felt like passing out, when all of a sudden I remembered that the deadline for the Cupcake Round-Up was the next morning. Ah, shoot! So I set aside my sewing supplies for the time being and headed into the kitchen to whip up something fun. I knew I didn't have time to make both of the recipes I'd been mulling over, so I decided to go where my pantry took me.

I knew I wanted to do a filled jumbo cupcake, and I knew I wanted to do something with the tin of guava paste I'd picked up a while back. I settled on making an almond-flavored cupcake, figuring that the creamy nutty flavor would pair well with the sweet, tangy guava. I used what has become my standby cupcake recipe, Tattletail's Vanilla Cupcakes by Amy Sedaris, but instead of 2 teapoons of vanilla I used 1.5 tsp of almond extract and only .5 tsp of vanilla. The almond smell was very strong while baking, but thankfully the flavor was not too overpowering—it was just right.

Now, what to do with the guava paste? Originally I planned on making a guava cream filling for the center of the cakes, with a lighter whipped cream on top, but after experimenting I decided to just use the same mixture for the insides and on top. I wanted the lightness of whipped cream, the sweetness of the guava, but needed something else. Then I remembered the guava tarts I've had from Cuban bakeries, which always contain a layer of cream cheese filling. The slightly sour creaminess mellows out the guava in such a nice way. So, I improvised a blend of all these ingredients, plus a squeeze of lime. It needs no additional sweeteners, since the guava paste already contains sugar. So delicious and easy!

After the cupcakes were cooled, I used chopsticks to poke holes in the middle of each one, then filled them using a pastry bag with a plain round tip. I switched to a star tip and swirled on some more as topping. I was feeling happy to have met the Cupcake Round-Up challenge deadline, and in my relieved (and tired...and cocky) state, I decided to toast some coconut for the tops of the cupcakes. Y'know, just to make them that much cuter/tastier (in retrospect I think some lime zest would be better). I spread some flaked coconut on my toaster oven tray and selected the Lightly Toasted setting. Walked away from the kitchen for literally one minute...and returned to find the toaster oven up in flames! I do mean engulfed. I screamed, "Help, help!" but Johnny was fast asleep by this point and my kitchen was rapidly filing up with smoke. I suddenly remembered you're supposed to put baking soda on an electrical fire, so I threw open the oven door and tossed the entire box onto the flames. What you see here is the aftermath (complete with the dirty dishes sitting on my counter). Siiigh. Time for a new toaster oven...and for a new resolution: Absolutely NO More Baking After Midnight.

The recipes can be found on my Flickr.

Log Bloggin'

Hope you're all having a dreamy Christmas morning. I'm just popping by to share one of my favorite holiday recipes with you: an old-fashioned Icebox Peppermint Yule Log cake! These are super easy to make and and extremely delicious to eat! Whenever I bring this to a party, people line up for seconds and thirds, no joke. Bring one to your next gathering...a New Year's Eve party perhaps? You won't be sorry!

Icebox Peppermint Yule Log Cake

Makes approximately 6 servings.

1 box Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers (9 oz.)
2 3/4 c. heavy cream
Crushed Candy Canes (about 5)
1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1/4 c. cocoa powder

1: Beat 1 1/2c. cream, 1/4 sugar, peppermint and mint extracts unti soft peaks form. Fold in crushed candy canes.

2. Make 6 or so stacks of 6 wafers each, with 1 tbsp. peppermint cream sandwiched between each wafer.  Top 5 stacks with another tbsp. cream, leaving one stack plain (with a wafer on top). If things are sliding around too much, pop the whole shebang in the freezer for a moment, then bring it back out and keep assembling. Hint: I usually assemble my stacks on a foil-wrapped cutting board. It keeps things clean, and makes it easy to pop in and out of the freezer if needed. Work quickly and you won't have much trouble.

3. Turn wafer stacks onto their sides and press them all together, leaving the plain-topped wafer stack at the end. I usually have to assemble the log diagonally on my cutting board, it's pretty long! Pop this bad boy in the freezer for at least 5 hours. Hint: After an hour in the freezer, I usually cover the log with plastic wrap—do it too soon and it's mess city.

4. Beat remaining 1 1/4 c. cream with remaining 1/4 c. sugar and 1/4 c. cocoa until stiff peaks form. (This mixture should be a bit more firm than the filling was.)

5. Trim 2-3" wedges (on the diagonal) from the both ends of the log, set aside. Place the log on a serving plate and slather it with most of the cocoa cream, reserving about 1/2 cup. Press the reserved log wedges into the sides of the log wherever you like, these are the stumpy bumps! Cover stumps with remaining cocoa cream.

6. Drag a fork all over the log to simulate tree bark, then freeze log for at least 3-4 hours. Let it sit at room temp for 15-20 minutes before serving.

You can garnish the log any number of cute ways...spearmint "leaf" candies, powdered sugar "snow", or little faux-mushrooms made with Hershey's Kisses and nonpareil candies. Here in Casa Candyland, we're usually too anxious to eat it to dress it up much...but maybe you have more patience than we do? Be sure to send me a photo if you decide to give it a try.

Enjoy!