Crescent Fresh Party

March 3, 2009 2:28 PM

I want to have a Sock Puppet Party and a Grilled Cheese Party that will have people tripping out, throwing up, and talking about it for years to come. I need all your tips on how to throw the sickest shindigs of all time.

Sock puppets and grilled cheese? What do those have to do with each other?

Actually, they're two separate parties. The Grilled Cheese Party is this Saturday, and I'm looking for last minute suggestions to perfect the planning I've already begun. After the clean-up, I will being planning for The Sock Puppet Party, which will likely take place a month from now. I want ideas for it now because it's likely going to require a lot of shopping and planning, and because I'm really excited about it.

THE GRILLED CHEESE PARTY: We're going to have a line of borrowed George Foreman grills and panini presses hot and ready to go, a fridge full of beer, and ingredients ready for assembly.

Here's the cheeses: Cheddar, Colby, classic Kraft Singles, Brie, Dill Jack, Chicken Soup Cheese, Salami Cheese, Monterey Jack, probably some I've forgotten. Any recommendations?

The breads: baguette, sliced white, italian, rustic multi-grain. Any suggestions?

The add-ons: tomatos, bacon, pickles, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms. I would like more ideas, but please, no meat. We've already got bacon, and I want this to focus on the grilled cheese instead of denigrating into a panini party.

We're going to be drinking Kennebunkport wheat beer on it's sole virtue of being 33 cents a bottle, but I'd like to pick up a low-mid range wine because, you know, wine and cheese. I have no idea what type of wine to get, though. Red, right?

I'm thinking of setting up a "photobooth" with a white backdrop and some spray-painted grilled cheese posters where my friends can pose with their grilled cheese sandwiches, but I'm stuck on how to make this more brill with little time and money. I did make matching handmade grilled cheese sandwich t-shirts for myself and the birthday boy, however.


THE SOCK PUPPET PARTY: Inspired by Sifl & Olly. We're going to have a table set up where people can create their own sock puppet, and the rule is, you may not drink unless you have a sock puppet on your hand. I want it to be a whole party of people mingling with a beer in one hand and a sock over the other, switching back and forth between their normal voices and goofy voices, having whole conversations between their hands.

I suspect this is going to be more of a crazy party than the Grilly Chee. We're going to have a DJ playing and people dancing. We'll have more time to get flyers out, so more people will come. And, not to make this question all "should have been asked anonymously," but we're thinking of inviting our friends Lucy and Molly, and hence would like the whole thing to be as much of a trip as possible.

DECOR/AMBIANCE: We're going to have Sifl & Olly playing the whole time, of course, though it might be drowned out by the DJ. I'm making myself a CRESCENT FRESH t-shirt. I have a weird memory that some (Cartoon Network?) cartoon used to be interrupted by sock-puppet shorts called Puppet Pals or something like that; can anyone ID this and locate some internet-accessible recordings? Any other sock puppet shows? I'm thinking of having posterboard sock puppet drawings peeking over the couches and countertops, like there's some huge human hunkered back there. I want more ideas; I want the whole house to be some crazy mind-blowing PeeWee's Playhouse.

THE PUPPETS: Ok, so, what do you make sock puppets out of? Where do you buy cheap, bulk socks, preferably in multiple colors? Where are the best places to get the taxidermy-esque eyes they use in Sifl and Olly? What draws best and dries fastest on fabric (I'm thinking fabric paint markers)? Pleae suggest all manner of odds and ends; I'm probably going to have a shopping spree in Hobby Lobby / Joann's Fabrics and I want to have some guidance. If you have any tips on how to make, say, a tiny top hat, or other props, please hook it up. There is no way for me to have too many suggestions here.

THE GLUE: How do we affix items to the socks? Every fabric glue I have ever used takes forever to dry and sucks; we need something quick enough that people will be able to wear their puppets immediately. I'm thinking hot glue is the best bet; how safe is it? I figure if a child can use it, a drunk person can, right? I might not be the best judge of this; I've been known to use my extremely sharp and extremely hot stencil hot knife (think a soldering iron with an X-acto blade on it) while in a not-altogether-sober state.

EXTRA BACKROUND: These will be house parties. Yeah, you can come, if you live in Columbus and mefimail me. The crowd is twenty-somethings, not chachi, not frat-like. Lots of art school kids. If you wanted to get a lot of really dirty looks, you could describe us as scene kids and/or hipsters. There are funds available, though not unlimited, and with our powers combined we can pull off pretty much anything arts&crafts wise. This is not my first time taking a themed party's theme way, way too far.

posted by Juliet Banana to food & drink (70 comments total)

The add-ons: tomatos, bacon, pickles, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms. I would like more ideas, but please, no meat. We've already got bacon, and I want this to focus on the grilled cheese instead of denigrating into a panini party.

Grilled cheese with avocado is heaven. Guacamole will do, too.
posted by necessitas at 2:33 PM on March 3 [2 favorites has favorites]

How about some cooked macaroni, so you can make some grilled mac & cheese sammiches?
posted by gnutron at 2:37 PM on March 3

"The breads: baguette, sliced white, italian, rustic multi-grain. Any suggestions?"

What the hell? No sliced sourdough? No sourdough rye? You know, the best two breads that grilled cheese sandwiches can be made from? Are you out of your freakin' mind?

"Here's the cheeses: ..."

What the hell? No mozzarella?

"The add-ons: ..."

What the hell? No basil leaves?

You also don't mention having softened butter and a means to spread it. Buttering the exterior of the grilled cheese sandwich is absolutely critical to getting a worthwhile result. Some people prefer salted butter. Others prefer unsalted. Best to have both, if you're going to the trouble of having options everywhere else.

Also: that much hot cheese and bread is going to have your party guests absolutely begging for a fruit plate. Make sure you've got something on hand.

Also also: A grilled cheese sandwich party is the most awesome party idea I've heard of in years.
posted by majick at 2:37 PM on March 3 [9 favorites has favorites]

Have you thought about a sweet grilled cheese? This weekend I had some marscapone cheese (mixed with a little powdered sugar) between two slices of french toast and drizzled with a melba sauce -- delightful.
posted by sararah at 2:39 PM on March 3

Gruyere & emmental cheeses. It's a fondue grilled cheese - hells yes. Take a shot of kirsch and you're in the Alps.
posted by GuyZero at 2:41 PM on March 3

Olives.

Hot sauce.
posted by collocation at 2:42 PM on March 3

Missing cheese: sliced havarti

Missing add-ons: avocado, definitely; what about roasted peppers as well? (And personally, I will put steamed asparagus on just about anything, but that's just my particular food obsession.)

Missing bread: rye
posted by scody at 2:45 PM on March 3

You also don't mention having softened butter and a means to spread it. Buttering the exterior of the grilled cheese sandwich is absolutely critical to getting a worthwhile result. Some people prefer salted butter. Others prefer unsalted. Best to have both, if you're going to the trouble of having options everywhere else.

Oops! I'm whipping up real dairy butter and having plain, chile&lime, and herb. Again, other suggestions are welcome...
posted by Juliet Banana at 2:46 PM on March 3

Bread: Challah makes fantastic grilled cheese
Cheese: Munster is a yummy cheese for grilled cheese (especially on challah)
Question: What on earth is chicken soup cheese?
posted by necessitas at 2:48 PM on March 3

MUENSTER!!!!!!
posted by tristeza at 2:49 PM on March 3

I asked a grilled cheese question about two years ago in case you want some fantastic grilled cheese variations.
posted by AloneOssifer at 2:49 PM on March 3

Ditto avocado (seriously yum), ditto sourdough, ditto butter.
And I think I'd like a nice dry white with grilled cheese.

For the sock puppets, hot glue is probably the fastest and easiest way to go, but I'm not too sure I'd want to use a hot glue gun while drunk - I'm pretty certain I'd burn myself. That might just be me though. For the eyes, some craft shops sell dollmaking supplies - I'd check there (Michael's maybe?)
posted by iona at 2:51 PM on March 3

Mustards are key. Maybe mayo. Do any of your friends not eat dairy cheese? Consider some soy (or similar, I don't know) cheese-placements.

And I'm going to publicly declare my love of sandwiches grilled in bacon drippings. If you have reserved bacon fat from the bacon, offer it up to your sandwich-making friends.

I wish I could come.
posted by knile at 2:51 PM on March 3

Felt in multiple colors, pompoms and pipecleaners are the kindercraft trifecta. They're even all in the same aisle at Michaels. If you wanted to multiply the drunken mayhem exponentially you could get RIT dye involved to color cheapo white tubesox. Ahead of time maybe, a bunch of colors? Paint might be a messy pain in the ass. Takes as long to dry as glue. Markers might be better. They don't have to be fabric markers, cos you don't expect to launder these guys do you? The huge rainbow sets are neato but they seem to run out fast. Sharpies come in multicolor sets now, and saturate well. Might work best.

Oh, googly eyes!! Old buttons. Garishly colored feathers. Old gloves, cos if you're hot gluing stuff to a sock stretched over your bare hand, it burns AND sticks to you. It's like crafty napalm! Oh, and have lots of scissors and glueguns or people will get impatient.

As for sammiches: artichoke hearts. Sun dried tomatoes. Pesto. NUTELLA. Thinly sliced tart apples.
posted by Lou Stuells at 2:52 PM on March 3 [1 favorite has favorites]

Not a grilled cheese idea, but a dessert idea: peanut butter, nutella and banana on challah grilled. The peanut butter and nutella get all melty and it's just so good.
posted by zorrine at 2:57 PM on March 3 [2 favorites has favorites]

Am I the only one who dips grilled cheese sandwiches in ketchup? My boyfriend finds this disgusting, but he dips his in tomato soup.
posted by rhapsodie at 2:58 PM on March 3

Or! What about brie with a sweet cranberry sauce? Something akin to baked brie.
posted by rhapsodie at 3:02 PM on March 3 [1 favorite has favorites]

Some people like to cook their grill cheese in mayo instead of butter. I know it's absolutely fucking disgusting but some people swear by it, so I'd offer it as a potential option.
posted by vuron at 3:08 PM on March 3 [1 favorite has favorites]

I was lucky enough to attend a sock puppet making session with (then co-worker) Karen Prell, a.k.a. Red Fraggle. She had held many puppet making sessions in the past and had an established routine:

She had a big bag of fuzzy socks of all colors like these, a bunch of pipe cleaners of all colors, little white foam balls and little sticky-backed felt cirlces. Choose a sock, choose a pipecleaner, jam it through the sock, stick white foam balls on the ends and stick felt circles on the balls for pupils. Done. Some people made pipe-cleaner arms. My fuzzy little alien still sits on my desk and brings back great memories of the day I got to make a Muppet with a Muppeteer.
posted by ElmerFishpaw at 3:09 PM on March 3 [7 favorites has favorites]

I have never heard of a grilled macaroni & cheese sandwich before, except the one time I made one.

Adding egg & stuff makes a very different and awesome sandwich. Here's a survey I did.

My favorite cheese-grilling bread is English muffin bread, which I slice real thick (15mm?). If you use thick bread you have to cover it so that the cheese melts. How I do it

I'd like to improve on your selection of cheeses. You omit all the great melting cheeses: Fontina, Ementaler, Jarlsberg, Mozzarella. Though Jack melts very well it have a lot of flavor; I'd favor colbyjack (which also kind of artificially bumps up the cheese count on any one sandwich so a "four cheese grilled cheese" can still be thin enough to melt) over separate Colby and jack.

Also important is the ability to slice the cheese thin. I strongly recommend a cheese plane over a wire cutter or a knife, for this reason.

I like adding grated Parmesan in my sandwiches. If you do that melt that side first so that it doesn't all fall out when you flip it.

And you probably already know this, but if you want tomato in your sandwich, cook the sandwich without it, and add it afterwards.
posted by aubilenon at 3:14 PM on March 3 [1 favorite has favorites]

I love cooking my grilled cheese and then spreading the still warm and gooey sides to insert a layer of sour cream and onion potato chips.
posted by davey_darling at 3:17 PM on March 3 [1 favorite has favorites]

Have people bring their own socks. BYOS. I know I'm not lacking for extra socks.
posted by chairface at 3:18 PM on March 3

I know you said you already have cheddar, but consider picking up some serious aged cheddar (aged 3 years or more) if you can find it and don't already have it. The flavor is so intense, it blows ordinary cheddar out of the water. I once made a grilled cheese sandwich from a 7-year aged cheddar, and ended up eating it in very small bites just because the flavor was that wonderful and intense.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 3:25 PM on March 3

No grilled cheese sandwich is complete without a bit of chipotle. Honestly.
posted by elmono at 3:26 PM on March 3

At my cheese party, only one sort of cheddar would be a faux pas, but where you are, it might be okay. Also yeah I like mayo on pan-grilled sandwiches, though I don't know how that would be in your setup. Have you clicked arounf the Grilled Cheese Invitational website for ideas?
posted by jessamyn at 3:31 PM on March 3

One more sandwich suggestion: cut all the bread in half. Where's the fun in having a huge array of sandwich options if you can only eat one or two sandwiches?

That said, it might be tricky grilling sandwiches cut any smaller than that unless you have some specialized hardware.
posted by darksasami at 3:35 PM on March 3

Cheesewise - provolone, by god. And gouda.
Addons - roasted red pepper, sun dried tomato, black olive paste.

Also, sandwiches grilled in bacon drippings? OHGODYES.
posted by elizardbits at 3:39 PM on March 3 [1 favorite has favorites]

Grilled Cheese: Swiss and Mango Salsa. Trust me.
posted by 31d1 at 3:41 PM on March 3

I would second BYOS. Easier all around. And hey, if someone forgets to bring a sock, surely somewhere else will have an extra mate for them.
posted by Windigo at 3:42 PM on March 3

I hope you will have a big tureen of tomato soup for dipping.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 3:49 PM on March 3 [1 favorite has favorites]

A good layer of tomato puree is awesome in a grilled cheese sandwich.
posted by latentflip at 3:50 PM on March 3

What in god's name is chicken soup cheese?
posted by serazin at 3:51 PM on March 3 [2 favorites has favorites]

Feta is amazing in a grilled sandwich. It goes all honey like and sweet when it melts, totally different texture than a soft cheese like mozzarella or chedder. More likely to run out the side in a stream of liquid so don't add too much. Tastes great with sundried tomatoes and thin sliced roast beef, although I understand why you want to limit the types of meat.
posted by shelleycat at 3:55 PM on March 3

Yeah, my wife would walk the fuck out of a Grilled Cheese Party if there wasn't tomato soup available.
posted by Rock Steady at 4:00 PM on March 3

being a registered sock puppet, i only have one suggestion to yr sock puppet party: nametags with the names of the sockpuppets. make every one use 'em, and those who forget have to drink. or maybe put the kitty into the bong.
posted by lester's sock puppet at 4:12 PM on March 3

KETCHUP!!!

Sweet mango chutney, not the spicy Indian kind (the Trader Jo's kind is awesome.)

Sourdough. Pickles.

You can sometimes get monster bags of NEW socks at a Goodwill. You can also get huge packs of felt cut-outs at Michael's or Walmart. Crazy glue might work, but hot glue definitely will.
posted by barnone at 4:27 PM on March 3

I think hot glue would be safe if you used a low-temp glue gun. They're cheap, too.

Fabric markers would be a good bet, but Sharpies might work just as well and be cheaper.

These parties both sound totally awesome.
posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 4:28 PM on March 3 [1 favorite has favorites]

goat cheese! (ideal with tomatoes, basil leaves, salt & pepper, and maybe a dash of parmesan)

also, does tuna count as meat? because tuna melts are amazing, and definitely more on the grilled cheese end of the spectrum, in my book.

you might also want to have some olive oil on hand for those who prefer it to butter. even better, hot pepper infused olive oil.
posted by dizziest at 4:42 PM on March 3

You could have some cupcakes with googly eyes for the sock-puppet party!

And here's a set of 156 googly eyes in various sizes.

If you're willing to invest some time into sock decorations, you can buy bulk sheets of felt, make a few stencils of things (noses, lips, moustaches, eyebrows, warts, sideburns, whatever) and have a pile of them. People can cut out their own body parts too. You can also cut out magazines or catalogues for things to stick on (hats, sunglasses, earrings, purses, bandanas). Or print out a bunch on plastic for people to cut out and glue on. A few strings of beads, pipecleaners, and maybe even glitter pens will round out the offerings.

If you go to the dollar store or Target, in the kids gift/party aisle (not so much the toy aisle) you'll find whole sets of stuff for goodie bags. I'm thinking miniature cereal boxes, doughnuts, little plastic guns, mini yo-yos -- all awesome accessories for your sock-puppets!
posted by barnone at 4:48 PM on March 3

I made quite a few sock puppets in middle school for various projects. You can definitely find googly eyes at Michael's and other craft stores. More realistic eyes for stuffed animals you may be able to find too, I know I've seen them in a store somewhere. You could probably find better prices online since you'll buy in bulk. I also think buttons would be awesome for eyes, but that's probably because I just saw Coraline.

Felt is another must have item, you can buy it by the yard or in squares (think 12"x12"). You can also find stiffened felt (don't think that's the technical term) which would be good for making accessories like top hats. Buy some value sized bags of pom poms and feathers and pipe cleaners. Maybe get some random fabric remnants if people don't want naked sock puppets.

Some place like Wal-Mart is probably the best bet for buying white tube socks for cheap. Maybe a dollar store?

Definitely glue guns. Yeah, they're hot, but not that hot. Just make sure that the surface you're using them on is well-covered or you'll end up with bits of hot glue everywhere and little burn marks on your kitchen table. But have plenty. And plenty of scissors.

I also like the nametag idea.

The Wikipedia sock puppet entry has some information about famous sock puppets. Lambchop (and friends) is a sock puppet as is the Pets.com dog. And apparently some wrestler uses a sock puppet.

Everyone else has covered the grilled cheese party, but I'll suggest using Miracle Whip on a standard American or cheddar cheese on white bread sandwich. A little declasse, but quite good.
posted by wsquared at 4:57 PM on March 3 [1 favorite has favorites]

Rye bread. You MUST have rye bread. The best grilled cheese I've ever had was rye and sharp cheddar....pardon my drool.
posted by wuzandfuzz at 5:05 PM on March 3

plain cream cheese with a layer of chutney

flavored cream cheese (I like onion & herb) and cheddar cheese
posted by belladonna at 5:12 PM on March 3

Gotta have some kind of rye bread. Brioche seems like it could make a special grilled cheese, given the right cheese (brie, maybe? Fontina?). A colby-jack with a little homemade salsa and/or guacamole could work.
Boucheron is a very nice, accessible goat cheese. My wife makes a tart with boucheron, currant, swiss chard, pine nuts, and a balsamic reduction that seems like it would translate beautifully into a grilled cheese.
Good luck; It sounds like you throw a hell of a party!
posted by willpie at 5:24 PM on March 3

as for grilled cheese add-ons: ketchup (apparently this is quite tasty, but sounds gross to me), mayo, sliced fresh tomatoes.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 5:32 PM on March 3

Noone's mentioned garlic?! Garlic Grilled Cheese is awesome - think Garlic Bread w/cheese kinda in reverse.

And you can fancy it up a little by using garlic and basil sauteed in melted butter (as your add-on or dip), toasted baguette for bread, and mozzarella cheese for the filling. We call it Monster Bread, but it would make an awesome sandwich as well.

GREAT idea - have fun!
posted by ourroute at 5:43 PM on March 3

Um, one consideration for your sock puppet party: palm sweat. I discovered the hard way that cheap cotton socks from K-Mart get really, really gross when used as sock puppets for an extended period of time in any situation that makes people the slightest bit nervous or just over-warm. Unfortunately, Smartwool socks are way too expensive to buy in bulk for a sock puppet party, so I'm not sure what the solution is here, but it's something to consider. Maybe put a couple containers of talc out with the puppet-making supplies and encourage people to dust their hands before donning the sock puppets?
posted by Orinda at 6:07 PM on March 3 [1 favorite has favorites]

grilled cheese - mayo, jalapeno slices (or jalapeno cheese). Fruit is a good idea, as well as plain green salad, very lightly dressed. And big bowls of lactaid.

sock puppets - hot glue, but keep somebody sober enough to supervise. The glue gun nozzle gets hot. Put an add on craigslist free and freecycle for single socks. Send me your address; I have a stack of them. You also want buttons, bits of fabric, safety pins, and bits of ribbon, lace, etc. Markers, puffy fabric paint. Again, craigslist free and freecycle.
posted by theora55 at 6:21 PM on March 3

You NEED apples. Sliced thinly. Cheddar + apple + buttered sourdough or white bread = perfection.

Pears are good too, but apples are tops, imo.

Carrot and celery sticks on the side might be good, they're a little old-school, they match nice, and people might want some vegetables to cut through all that lovely dairy.
posted by min at 6:25 PM on March 3

Ranch dressing, you SNOBS!!! American on sourdough needs to be dipped in ranch. Ow my arteries.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 6:26 PM on March 3

what i learned from AloneOssifer's thread: jam. a bit of strawberry or raspberry jam with your cheddar makes for a surprising and delicious sandwich.
posted by beandip at 6:48 PM on March 3

Oh, I wanna come to your parties!

For the puppets, at most craft stores you can find adhesive felt (peel & stick!) that you could pre-cut into various shapes. Also, what about Glue Dots for quick-sticking various and sundry things onto puppets?
posted by ebee at 7:03 PM on March 3 [1 favorite has favorites]

I have no further grilled cheese suggestions. I am gathering inspiration from this thread.

Anyway, I'm a big time S & O fan.

I want more ideas; I want the whole house to be some crazy mind-blowing PeeWee's Playhouse

Amy Sedaris always sets up a table of her old stuff for sale (for a dollar or something) at parties. Why not make it the Precious Roy table? "This is Precious Roy! Buy my old crap! Suckers!"

"Rock Facts Rock Facts" trivia. Winners get Sifl, Olly, Chester replicas, or t-shirts or something.

I also like the idea of making sock puppets that look like famous people. Prizes for guessing correctly.

Also, serve cereal. It's Chester's favorite.
posted by Isingthebodyelectric at 7:17 PM on March 3 [2 favorites has favorites]

Not so much a grilled cheese, but I love fried blue cheese toast:
mix Good blue cheese dressing, mozzarella cheese and a little butter in a sauce pan until melty.
Then dip a piece of bread in it to coat both sides.
Then fry that sonnabitch up in a hot skillet until the cheese is a little crispy.
mmm.

Allmost as good as a salad sandwich (bread, lettuce, blue cheese dressing)
posted by JonnyRotten at 8:01 PM on March 3

THE BEST parties I have had always ended up with most of the participants going "what the fuck happened that night?". Slowly but surely, through everyone's help...the entire party is kinda recreated...but there is always some kind of mystery like: "Yeah, but who disassembled the cabinets?"

They ALL have some kind of punch. Bowl, garbage can (new, of course...and lined with some kind of thick thick bag with LOTS of ice), cooler, vat, whatever...You need a huge ass punch that has some kind of alcohol that is easily masked by some sort of strong flavored drink. I've actually never used guava...but I found it can be the ticket.

Good job on the kinda nice beer. Its always good when you have beer drinking contests.

In college, I lived next to these really bastard people who NEVER invited me to their parties although I invited them to all of mine (and they always came). They had this "peanut butter" party. I was never invited. The aftermath was this:

Vomit everywhere outside their apartment. Stairs, door (including the outside of my door), and I could see that someone actually puked on their windows from the inside, creating some kind of mauve Scooby-doo-esque monster on their window. What was the secret to those parties?
Costumes. They always had a theme, and I guess it worked.

You know what you should have...an "afterpants party". You know when you get home sometime, and you just want to take off your pants for the rest of the day. Thats "afterpants". Have an afterpants party. That will loosen people up.

Good luck. Awesome question.
posted by hal_c_on at 8:17 PM on March 3

Why am I the only one who didn't comment about cheeses (which I love), and socks (which are "ok")? GET EVERYONE ASS DRUNK!
posted by hal_c_on at 8:20 PM on March 3

Havarti cheese is quite tasty when melted. Or not melted.
posted by Silvertree at 6:31 AM on March 4

Never in my life have I wanted so very badly to live in Columbus.

I have nothing to add to the grilled cheese question except for the fact that perfectly pan-frying them with a little butter is SO much better than a Foreman grill.

As for the sock puppet, I'd personally be finding a way to attach little arms to mine, and in one of his hands would be a miniature drink, and on the other, a miniature sock puppet.

My sock-puppet would be ripped-roaring drunk, sarcastic and foul-mouthed, always shoving his sock-puppet in the face of the other sock puppets and slurring insults at them about the fabric they were made from, the dirty feet they've been with, etc..

I'd say have fun but you probably already are just thinking about these parties.
posted by allkindsoftime at 7:28 AM on March 4 [1 favorite has favorites]

Glue gun is not unsafe as long as people can't drink until they have finished their sock puppet. Someone will have to remember to put it away before people get drunk, tho.
posted by Gor-ella at 7:53 AM on March 4

I want to come to a grilled cheese party!

How about some grilled halloumi with pita bread? Mmmm. Halloumi.
posted by Ziggy500 at 8:25 AM on March 4

This is a long-ass thread. Has anyone mentioned pepper-jack cheese? Or jalapenos and fresh tomatoes to add to the grilled sammies? Cause in Texas, that's how we do.
posted by toastedbeagle at 11:17 AM on March 4

Oh man. Taleggio is AWESOME for grilled cheese sandwiches. Good, rich, soft and GOOEY. Try it with some pickled onions. I know you're not looking for meat, but add a little red-wine-braised short ribs and you're in heaven.

Here's another great grilled cheese idea, this one from Judy Rodgers' Zuni Cafe cookbook: Use Fontina cheese and brush the bread with olive oil infused with chopped up sage leaves. Delicious.
posted by AceRock at 5:32 PM on March 4

Man, you freaks love Grilled Cheese sandwiches.

The weird selection of cheeses I have up there (I have no idea what Chicken Soup Cheese is either; we're going to label it "French Stock Cheese" so it actually gets eaten) is because I got sent a cheese sampler care package. I had enough cheese to account for 9% of my body weight, hence, GRILLED CHEESE PARTY.

Anyway, here's what I've got on my shopping list for the party tonight, in addition to a few things I already mentioned. If you mentioned one of these things, feel free to mark yourself "best answer" in your head and make yourself a congratulatory grilly chee.

PRODUCE:
avocado
tomato
onion
mushroom
basil
lime (for chili lime butter)
apple

CHEESE:

Cheese is expensive so I apologize that I have likely offended sensibilities by not buying the whole damn deli counter.
Kraft Singles
Brie
Muenster
Prove or Mozz, whatever is on sale
Havarti

BREAD:

baguette
white
italian
multigrain
rye
sourdough

CONDIMENTS:

a pound of butter
ranch
ketchup
hot sauce
tomato soup (I can't believe I hadn't thought of this)

To everyone who think this is a good idea, have your own! Everyone who we hand a flyer to gets all excited and their eyes light up. I am itching to get way fucked up tonight, and I am pretty sure a hefty chunk of the C-Bus scene is as well.

Double special extra triple rainbow thanks to everyone who answered the sock puppet party question! Ideas like glue dots and bring your own mismatched socks and little felt mustaches are brill, and I would have never thought of them myself, and I really needed your help, and you are welcome to puke in my front yard any time.
posted by Juliet Banana at 9:34 AM on March 7 [2 favorites has favorites]

Inspired by this thread, plans are in the works for our own grilled cheese party this weekend. Have fun!
posted by Rock Steady at 10:02 AM on March 7

One last update, I promise; photos of The Grilled Cheese Party are up, with a heavily annotated photo of the spread showing which suggestions made it in and which didn't. If you have your own grilled cheese party, good luck topping this one, because it was wicked wizard, kids. Thanks again for your help.
posted by Juliet Banana at 7:36 AM on March 9

Wait! There was no picture of the mysterious, potentially nauseating, and most certainly confusing "Chicken Soup Cheese!" This information MUST be revealed to the internet.

Congratulations on an awesome sandwich party.
posted by majick at 11:49 AM on March 9 [1 favorite has favorites]

This is an awesome idea - may I borrow it? Oh, and I agree you need sourdough bread.
posted by abdulf at 8:47 PM on March 10

I'm having my own Grilled Cheese party on the 25th. Thanks for the inspiration.
posted by ocherdraco at 10:04 AM on March 16

Our Grilled Cheeser went perfectly (though we could have used more good panini presses) and I got tons of whuffie for "my" awesome party idea, and many of the guests are planing to steal the idea themselves. Meme-dom here we come!
posted by Rock Steady at 10:37 AM on March 16

Sock puppet party: you need marabou feathers. That's what makes muppet hair so fluffy and light. I bet the cheapest way to get this stuff is by way of those small, thin feather boas- buy some in different colours and cut into short pieces (2 inches, 3 inches, etc) so everyone can grab some little pieces. The marabou fluffs around and amplifies the puppets' movements so they look more alive.

You could also have some chopsticks and thin rope. Attach an 8-inch rope at the puppet's "shoulder". Glue a 2-inch felt hand to the end. Glue a chopstick to the hand. Now your puppet has an arm rod, so that you can puppeteer its gestures with the hand that isn't in the puppet's head. Keep in mind that the appendage with the rod does not need to be an arm, if you know what I'm saying. It could also be a foot. Or a tentacle. Or whatever.

These parties sound THE AWESOMEST.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 9:09 AM on June 7

This thread being linked from this thread reminded me that I should probably say that the Sock Puppet Party was hella awesome and already happened.

I am totally bringing my sock puppet to the 10th anniversary meetup. I need to buy it an account.
posted by Juliet Banana at 8:52 AM on June 8