Mintbooks - Wedding favors

Oh hello there, my blog-lovin' friends! It's been a wee while since I've posted but there's very good reason... in April I got engaged and then on September 22nd we just got hitched! So I've been in wedding la-la land for ages, it seems like, but I'm back and ready to craft! And post more!

The good news is that with the wedding came a lot of new crafts... many of which I've been eager to share with you on my blog! So stay tuned for more posts!

Today's post is all about a very special project that was one of the first we created for our wedding. Mint Matchbooks or Mintbooks, as I like to call them. We made these way back in May and kept them right up until our wedding at the end of September. They were a huge hit at the reception. We also created some mini cake stands (which will be featured in another blog post coming up soon) that were part of the table decorations. We had these mintbooks on the stands at each table as an extra favor for each of our guests.

I'm now offering these mintbooks for special order in my Etsy shop! Customers can customize their mintbooks with their own names (and wedding date if they like!). Simply visit my shop listing and contact me if you'd like your own order (or leave a comment here).

Wedding crafting may have become an addiction for me...

Recipe Tutorial: Super Simple Pimiento Cheese

Let's chat a second about cheese. It is a delicious creation which, I can only assume, was sent down straight from the heavens. Add in some pimientos and now we're talking about a delight sent down from a heaven full of rock stars. You know, the ones that you wish you could party with. Well, that's how I felt the first time I had pimiento cheese.

I was living in the sunny south in Charleston, South Carolina. I remember going to a little cafe in some small town in the "upstate" and seeing grilled pimento cheese sandwich on the menu. Well, now they had my attention. I ordered it wondering what it would be like and when it arrived I realized that I had made one of the best discoveries of my lifetime. Classically served between two slices of white bread, grilled to perfection, and a sweet tea on the side: Rock Star Heaven.

So I began asking local friends for recipes and did some of my own tweaking and came up with this super simple recipe that anyone can make. Have at it! Try it on a sandwich, with crackers, pretzels, or on top of a burger. And I'll tell ya, this recipe is highly adored by my favorite blogger at 145 Crazy Road!

Ingredients:

2 cups of shredded Sharp Cheddar

4oz jar of Sliced Pimientos

1/4 cup Mayonnaise

Salt & Pepper to taste

Tools:

Small Food Processor

Spatula

Let's talk EASY recipe: Put all of the ingredients into the food process (include the liquid from the pimiento jar) and whip it up until the ingredients are all blended together well. Place in the refrigerator overnight and it will thicken up when it sets.

And there you are! An easy and delicious item that can be used for lunch sandwiches, potluck dip, burger toppings, and so much more. Some other variations include adding garlic, pickles, and other ingredients. I find that this recipe is super simple and always a huge hit! Enjoy!

About the author: Joy Ribisi traded in her sunny summer-all-the-time-beach-cruiser-flip-flopping-Southern-living ways for the quiet farm life of New-England-log-splitting-snow-shoveling-earth-digging-lake-swimming life in Central Maine, some things never change. Like enjoying comfort foods.