Shakespeare Blanket, Part 1

Every summer we go up in Griffith Park to see Independent Shakespeare Company's productions. We look forward to it every year! After seeing this years production of The Twelfth Night, I got an idea. What if I make afghan blocks for every play? So I started with Richard III, the first play I saw them perform.

So far I've made 8 blocks, and I've now posted the patterns to Etsy and Ravelry! Each block can either be made in 11 inch by 13 inch blocks, or a small blanket of 33 inches square. Ideally, I'm going to make each play and sew them together.

Oh! Also, I've still got a game going on in my Instagram. First place has been won, but second and third are still up for grabs. Go comment on the photo of my afghan blocks!










Pub Trivia Treats

My husband Mike and I love playing pub trivia. It's basically competitive nerdiness. The problem is our work schedules make staying out late on a weeknight really rough. We were super happy to find out that there's a pub trivia midday on a Saturday! And it's at a lovely brewery in DTLA! We don't win gift certificates, but the beers are great and quiz-master, Joe, is VERY entertaining. 

There is a taco truck, which is perfectly fine, but we got bored with the food kind of quickly. The upside is you can bring your own food into the brewery. Our team name is Sir Digby Chicken Caesar, which is based on an old Mitchell & Webb sketch where one character screams "I smell sausage rolls!" so I thought it was apropos to bring my own homemade sausage rolls. 

Sausage rolls and a White Nite golden stout
This recipe is SUPER easy. And I say that as a truly amateur baker. Seriously, I don't even own a rolling pin. I rolled out the pastry with a plastic drinking cup covered in flour.

Ingredients: 

1 package of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry (I don't think the brand matters, but this is the only one they have at Ralph's). Defrost it in the fridge so it's still a bit cold.

1 package of Jimmy Dean Sage Breakfast Sausage (so this I think the brand matters. It's 1 pound of breakfast sausage, but it's higher quality than the store brand and the sage DEFINTELY makes it tastier. If you don't want to get the sage one, just don't get the spicy stuff)

1 egg

A bit of flour, just to dust your surfaces

1. Preheat the oven for 400 degrees F. Grease two cookie sheets. 

2. Unfold the puff pastry, and cut into 12 or 24 even pieces (the ones in the picture are cut into 24, so they're perfect for sharing, but I usually only cut them into 12). On a floured surface, roll the pastry just a few times. Don't over-roll it, just one or two rolls on each piece.

3. Put an equal amount of sausage on each pastry. Make sure to leave at least a quarter inch around each side of the pastry.

4. Whisk the egg with a splash of water. Brush the egg on the edges of the pastries. Fold the pastry around the sausage, so the pastry is pinched closed around all sides. 

5. Take a knife and cut one or two slits on the top of each pastry. Use the remaining egg to brush the tops.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Once the pastry is golden brown, they should be ready, but I like to cook them slightly longer so the pastry gets crispy. Just make sure the sausage is fully cooked.

That's it! Super easy, right?

Oh, and these sausage rolls might be lucky. We won trivia that week! Woo hoo!