Tea Party Sandwhiches

Sometimes I really do think the universe conspires in our favor, and when it does it really makes me smile. Some big news might be coming which would be related to that, but I'll save that for next week. But on a smaller scale, last night rather than get out of class super late, my lab was fortuitously pushed up and I got home early enough that I could spend the night with Nick. We had nothing planned for dinner so we ordered Domino's and watched Must Love Dogs. It was nice to actually be able to spend our anniversary together. It definitely made it that much more special.

And to boot my class for this morning was canceled so I get to hang out and slept late. A good week indeed.

~***~

There's something intensely cute yet satisfying about finger foods, the smaller the better. And in the case of going to any occasion that serves them, you feel a lot less guilty when you eat 20 of anything. Really that just adds up to being an appetizer, so why not eat another 20 and get your full meal in?

Tea sandwiches are a great addition to any appetizer plate and you can be as traditional or creative as you want. The key to making them is to remember that the sandwiches are meant to be dainty not overly stuffed with fillings. Here are three that I served at my last tea party, plus a two I have served in the past.

Traditional Cucumber
-very thinly sliced cucumbers
-softened cream cheese
-white bread with no crusts
-FRESH dill (optional)
1. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on both sides of the bread.
2. Place 2 layers of cucumbers in the middle.
3. Cut into 4 triangles.

Sundried Tomato and Pesto (taken from Harmony Tea Room)
-Trader Joe's Sundried Tomatoes (also processed in a food process, I would do this AFTER the pesto)
-Fresh Pesto (basil, cashews, parmesan cheese, olive oil to taste in a food processor)
-white bread with no crusts
1. On slice one, spread pesto, on slice two spread sundried tomatoes.
2. Put two slices together so that spreads are not touching, then close with a third slice of bread.
3. Cut into 4 triangles or rectangles.

Grilled Ham & Cheese with Apricot Jam
-Thinly sliced ham (1/4-1/3 of a pound is usually enough for a small party)
-American Cheese (cheddar could also work)
-Apricot Jam
-Potato bread with crusts
1. Place two slices of ham on bread with once slice of cheese.
2. Spread Apricot jam on one side of the bread.
3. Cook in a skillet with butter until golden brown on each side.
4. When sandwich cools cut into four rectangles.

Smoked Salmon and Marscapone Cheese
-Smoked salmon
-Room temperature Marscapone cheese
-crustless Pumpernickle bread
-Capers or mixed greens (optional)
1. Assemble like a normal sandwich. (That wasn't too hard!)
2. Cut into rectangle

Goat Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper
-Softened goat cheese (not crumbled, in the block variety. Also, I wouldn't use spreadable, it doesn't have as much of a kick to it.)
-1/2 of a roasted red pepper cut into thin slices
-mixed greens
-crustless multi grain bread (or white)
1. Assemble & cut!

If you need help softening the cheese I usually put some into a little bowl and microwave it for 5-15 seconds depending on how cold it is, stir and then check to see if it needs more and continue until softened (but not boiling hot or liquidy).

Apple Tofu Salad

This salad is essentially a take on the Waldorf salad (I had no idea what that was until someone pointed it out to me) and is super easy to make.

You need:
- 1 apple (use a sweet variety like Rome or Red Delicious)
- 1/3 block of extra firm tofu drained
- cranberries
- walnuts
- sunflower & pumpkin seeds
- lemon extract
- crumbled goat cheese

1. Slice apple into tiny pieces (don't peel) and put in a small bowl with a little bit of lemon extract. Toss around to let the lemon extract cover the apple (this helps to prevent it from getting brown, also, if you use a tart kind of apple this will be way too tart and taste horrible).
2. Cut tofu in the same sized pieces as the apple. It is really important you drain the tofu before you use it (whether you do this in a strainer in the sink for an hour or the quick way (by squeezing it a bunch of times with a paper towel), up to you. Just do it). When you add the apple to your salad bowl, put the tofu in the bowl you used before to soak up the rest of the lemon extract left behind.
3. Then mix everything in a salad bowl using as much of all the trimmings as you so desire.

Tea Party Baked Goods

Here are the three baked goods I mentioned in my Tea Party entry.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Scones
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup oatmeal
- 1/3 cup milk

(You can substitute the dairy in this for non-dairy products and it works fine. If you double this recipe you may need to adjust the flour.)

Mix ingredients then separate into desired scone size. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until they start to get a little golden brown.


(Scones on the middle rack, cookies on the top.)

Banana Coconut Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
- 2 cups flour
- 1 banana
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or 1 egg)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup coconut
- peanut butter to taste and texture

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and roll into balls. Cook at 350 degrees until slightly brown on the edges.

Linzer Tarts
- 1 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3 1/2 cup flour
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- Jelly of your choice (I like raspberry preserves the best)
- (food coloring optional)

- Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Chill. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Find a clean area to work and put some flour down, then roll out cookies and use cookie cutters to cut cookies into desired shape (you will need to cut them so that you have pairs).
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cookies cool (I personally like to let them cool on my counter top. It keeps the moisture in. Sometimes cooling trays let moisture escape (depending on the cookie) and newspaper absorbs the moisture while metal tins cool so fast they harden the cookie. In all cases you end up with dry and/or hard cookies).
- When cookies are cool enough to handle, start making sandwiches with your jelly in the middle. Then when you are ready to serve dust the plate with powdered sugar. Sugaring ahead of time will be too messy and the sugar gets weird.

Mini Pavlovas ie. A Little Piece of Heaven

After my freshman year of college I was lucky enough to do a summer abroad for school and lived in London with some of my family there. We spent a lot of time doing all these different things I had never done before, and they cooked some of the most amazing food. A different meal every night and all things I had never tried before. It was a really great experience.

My cousin, William, figured out that I have a HUUUUGE sweet-tooth (it really didn't take him that long) and so a staple in the house became Pavlovas, a meringue dessert made with whipped cream and berries. I loved it so much I ate it for breakfast, and when we ran out of berries I used yogurt. My mouth is watering right now thinking about it...

Here's the recipe I use for Mini Pavolovas, straight from Barefoot Contessa with a few of my changes:

Meringue

You will need:
* 6 extra - large egg whites, at room temperature
* 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
* 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
* 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a small glass and a pencil, draw 6 (3 1/2-inch) circles on each piece of paper. Turn the paper face-down on the baking sheets.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, and cream of tartar on medium speed until frothy. Add 1 cup of the sugar and raise the speed to high until the egg whites form very stiff peaks. Whisk in the vanilla. Carefully fold the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar into the meringue. With a large star - shaped pastry tip, pipe a disc of meringue inside each circle. Pipe another layer around the edge to form the sides of the shells.
(I do not have a piping bag and have tried to do it the cheap way with a plastic bag and snip the tip off and I'm too much of a slob so I just scoop a bit on the cookie sheet and smooth it over with my spoon.)

3. Bake for 2 hours, or until the meringues are dry and crisp but not browned. Turn off the heat and allow the meringues to sit in the oven for 4 hours or overnight.

Whipped Cream

You will need:

* cold heavy cream
* powedered sugar (generally 1/4-1/3 of a cup)
* pure vanilla extract (generally 1-2 teaspoons)

1. Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (you can also use a hand mixer). When it starts to thicken, add the powdered sugar and vanilla to taste and continue to beat until firm. Don't overbeat!

2. If the meringue is not done put the bowl back in the fridge and make sure to beat again when you take it out to serve.

Berries

You will need:
* Fresh Strawberries
* Fresh Raspberries
* Sugar

1. Remove tops and slice up strawberries into a bowl. Leave raspberries whole.

2. Add a sprinkling of sugar on top. Then put the bowl in the fridge and let sit in there for at least 30 minutes (the longer it sits, the sweeter the fruit and the more syrup you'll get).

To assemble:

1. Get a plate and put the meringue in the middle.
2. Scoop a dollop of whipped cream on top.
3. Spoon berries on top.
4. Eat!

Let them eat cake! (Or just drink some tea)

Funny how after I finally get back to California all I can think about is going to Harmony Tea Room (or the tea place as we call it). I even had a dream about it last night! What would I do if I could have my own tea party at the apartment?

Invitation:

I like to use Paperless Post when sending out invites to parties. It's much fancier than using Facebook or Evite as you get to put together your own invitation similar to a paper stationary one. In the past I've followed invites up with girls who have said they're coming, but only when I've had extra invites and the time to make the look all pretty.



Dress:

My Aunt Susie says that everything in life should be an experience. No matter how small or how big you need to be in the right frame of mind and appreciate everything you do. How can you get in the right frame of mind for a tea party? By dressing up! Some of my friends wants to kill me for this, but I make everyone dress up. Florals or retro dresses preferred, but as long as you get dressed up it's step one to get you excited for the experience.



Food:

Anything traditional and anything girlie goes. I've tried to recreate some of the recipes from Harmony Tea Room while putting in some traditional fare and also making up my own. At the last party I had (which you are enjoying pictures of in this post we served...

Beverages:
Assorted Teas (blacks, green, and herbal)
Mimosas
Pink Lemonade

Appetizers:
Dates with blue cheese
Apple and tofu salad
Mini Cinnamon Oatmeal Scones
Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Quiche

Tea Sandwiches:
Cucumber and Cream Cheese
Sundried Tomato and Pesto
Grilled cheese with ham and apricot jam

Yeah, I know that's a lot of food, but you know me! I go overboard for everything.



Cookies:
Blackberry Crumble
Vegan Peanut Butter-Banana-Coconut-Chocolate Drops
Linzer Tarts
Mini Pavlovas



(Recipes for all of these fill follow. Just click on the "tea party" tag and they'll come up as I write them.)

Decor:

And as Sandra Lee says, decor and tablescapes are always an important part of any meal. Unfortunately for me, none of my place mats match my favorite tablecloth that's perfect for Spring. But since I like to put out all different kinds of teacups (just like Harmony Tea Room), the disorganization sort of matches. I match all my plates and serving dishes, though, (everything is white) and it brings it all together. Especially when I add a nice bright floral bouquet. And I always play classical music in the background (something nice and light like concertos by Mozart, Chopin, etc.).





And what do you do when you're done gorging yourself on treats? You watch a chic flick of course! We've watched Jane Austen via the BBC and modern movies like The Devil Wears Prada. Whatever floats your estrogen boat.

This kind of made me miss my friends from home a lot! I may need to have some girls over here to have a tea party. I just need to think of an excuse to have one now...Maybe to celebrate that this is my 100th entry?