Good Morning.
I am determined to bring back the tradition of tea parties in a lighter, less stuffy version. Here is a menu suggestion for an
occasion to celebrate the eightieth birthday of a woman who jut married someone ten years younger...
or the gentleman who just published his first novel and is comfortable at a tea party.
Set any kind of table with candles and flowers from the supermarket. Throw a sheet on the table if you don't have a big cloth or don't use anything. Arrange the food on plates. Silver trays aren't necessary and require too much fuss. Use whatever plates you have and they don't need to match. People don't match, plates shouldn't match. Use those paper doilies you get at the party store or nothing. Who cares.
Tea is fine but I would, of course, include a CHAMPAGNE PUNCH.
2 cups granulated sugar
4 cups water
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup lime juice
4 1/2 cups orange juice
2 cups grapefruit juice
2 cups Riesling, chilled
1 bottle champagne, chilled
Combine the sugar, 2 cups water, and lemon juice. Boil gently in a saucepan for one minute. Add the rest of the water and cool. Stir in the juices and chill. pour into a punch bowl over lots of ice cubes or an ice ring you made with water and a titch of food coloring, not pink if the novelist is coming. Add the wine and champagne. Use punch cups, drink glasses, or those clear plastic cups in a pinch. The punch is the thing.
I refuse to have the traditional watercress sandwiches at my tea so here are three suggestions that will appeal to everyone, including the writer and the two buds he convinced to attend the party. Tell the chap on the right to remove his hat.
ROAST BEEF AND CUCUMBER
Spread whole wheat bread with horseradish cream, thinly sliced deli roast beef, and cucumber slices. Trim the crusts and cut into quarters. Serve open faced if you wish.
LIVERWURST AND SWISS
Use cocktail party rye bread spread with Dijon mustard, liverwurst, and Swiss cheese. Trim the crusts or not.
SAGE CHEESE WAFERS, not a sandwich but close enough.
1 cup sifted flour
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tbsp. dried sage
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
In a mixing bowl, sift the flour, pepper, and salt together. Stir in the sage and set aside. Cream the butter with an electric mixer, then add the cheese until combined. Add the dry ingredients until well mixed. Scrape the dough onto a lightly
floured surface and roll it in a 2 inch log. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for half an hour in the fridge. Remove and
slice the log into thin wafers. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Watch carefully.
Place them in an airtight container until ready to serve.
CHOCOLATE RUM BALLS
3 1/4 cups crushed vanilla wafers
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, more for dusting
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts
3 tbsp. corn syrup
1/2 cup light rum
In a bowl, stir together the wafers, sugar, cocoa, and nuts. Blend in the syrup and rum. Scoop up some mixture with a melon
baller, then roll around in your hands to make a little ball. Smush them in a plate with confectioners' sugar. Store in an airtight containers for several days before serving. This recipe should make several dozen.
The more these sit around, the better they get. I tried to convey this thought to my late husband in reference to my fine self but he just shook his head. I am, however, reminded of a quote by Robert Farrar Capon, an Episcopal priest in New York:
"Older women are like aging strudels: the crust may not be so lovely,
but the filling has come at last into its own."
Make sure you introduce the novelist and his friends to these two.
Now we have SOUR CREAM SUGAR COOKIES.
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sour cream, not lite
1 tsp. orange extract
3 1/2 cups flour
Dash of salt
Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix the baking soda with the sour cream in a small bowl and add the orange extract. Now add to the creamed mixture, alternately with the flour and salt i.e sour cream
stuff, then flour, sour cream, then flour. Mix well after each addition. Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until a golden brown color. Makes five dozen.
LEMON THINGS
1 package angel food cake mix
1 15 3/4 oz. can lemon pie filling
1 cup shredded coconut
In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pie filling, and coconut until thoroughly blended. Spread this mixture into a greased
13x9 inch baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
Cool in the pan, then ice with your favorite buttercream frosting, in spring colors if you like, grate some lemon peel on top, and cut into squares. Makes about 4 dozen.
Every tea must have lemon. Don't tell anyone how dumb dumb easy these bites really are. You learned how to make them in
Paris and brought home the recipe.
APRICOT BREAD
1 cup dried apricots
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp. butter, softened
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup apricot nectar
2 cups flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Dash salt
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
Soak the dried apricots, covered with water, in a bowl for half an hour and then finely chop. Cream the sugar and butter in a medium mixing bowl, then add the egg, beating until smooth. Stir in the water and nectar. Add a mixture of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and combine well. Stir in the nuts and chopped apricots. Spoon into a greased 5 x 9 loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for an hour or until a wooden tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for several minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into thin slices and in half after that. This will maybe give you two dozen pieces. Multiply the recipe as needed. Provide butter but the bread is fine without it.
I have a fond memory of dried apricots. My parents always supplied me with a box when they took me to a place where I was
supposed to be quiet, and at the age of three I was taken to a Sunday afternoon symphony concert that began with The William Tell Overture. I snacked on my apricots until I heard the Lone Ranger theme in the middle, whereupon I rose from my velvet chair, dropped my box of apricots, and yelled "Hi Ho, Silver" to a crowd of three thousand. Some, reportedly, were amused, others were not. Don't invite this gal to your party.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
Comments