Nurturing my inner... tea party

The recent royal wedding affected some local media coverage nearby.  A British tea shop not too far from here landed in the news.  They were doing their own version of special royal teas leading up to the big day.  A friend of mine saw the piece asked if I might like to try the place.  I had actually already been there a few times in past years and it was wonderful.  So I invited the rest of the running class girls and made a reservation.  Unfortunately, as I called closer to the date to confirm, they told me they had gotten so worn out from the demand for pre-wedding teas, they were closing the shop for two weeks to recover.  Okay, super.  It wasn't like it was any small miracle to get a date on the calendar that all nine women could commit to, but hey, we tried to push it off for another couple of weeks.  I waited and called back to confirm the new date when they were supposed to be reopen for business, but due to an accident of some kind with the lady who organizes the afternoon teas, they were not going to do them on the weekend for two months.  Two months!!!!  Talk about double disappointment.

Undefeated by the rejection of the master colonizers of said temporarily closed local business from above paragraph, this native New Englander decided to throw a tea party in her home.  Tea at the Yank's!  (It seems that I don't mind making grand plans when I really have no idea what I'm doing.)

We tried to divide up the foods so we had both savory and sweet covered.  I had an idea for something sweet and wasn't sure if it would work, but turned out, it did, so now I can tell you about it.

Mini Fruit Tarts

1 package sugar cookie dough
2 packaged cups of vanilla pudding
Various berries/fruits cut up small

Knowing I was going to spend time getting my condo all cleaned from top to bottom, setting up the table for tea and making one thing from scratch, I had to take a little premade help for this.  For starters, prepackaged cookie dough.

Yes, of course you can make cookie dough
from scratch if you have the time.

Take the dough straight out of the fridge, or you can even put it in the freezer for 20 minutes, but make sure it stays cold when you slice it up quickly with a sharp knife into 24 even circles.

Tried to get them as uniform as I could.

I sprayed two mini muffin tins with non stick spray.  Put a circle in each and then quickly pressed them into the cup.  If the dough gets warm, put the entire thing into the fridge for a bit to cool and then take it back out and mould them.  Slightly moisten fingers too, that can help you not stick to the dough.

They don't have to be perfect.

Bake them at the temperature the package says and approximately the time as well, keeping a watchful eye on them.  They will puff up.  This of course made me think this was going to be a disaster, but do not panic, all will be well later.  When the edges of the cookie cup are browned, it's time to take them out.

In oven action shot. That was tricky. (And hot.)

Once you take them out of the oven, leave them in the muffin tin to cool.  That's when they will collapse and turn into a cup shape.  (Yea!)  You can't remove them right away or they will be too soft and fall apart.  After they are cooled, they will harden and then you can pop them out easily.



See, they turned out just fine. (If they hadn't,
you never would have heard of them.)


The friend who lent me the teapots also tossed in some silver serving trays amongst other tea time items.  Everything she had was formal and perfect for the occasion.  I arranged a dozen of the cookie cups on it.  (And now I want my own silver tray.  Where can I get one like this?)

So regal.

With a small spoon, I put a dollop of vanilla pudding in each sugar cookie cup.  Again, if you have the time and desire, feel free to make pudding or custard from scratch.  (I really wanted to, but just had too much to do this time around.)

Crunchy and creamy done. What's next?

I envisioned each tartlette with four quadrants.  I quartered strawberries, wedged up some kiwi, picked out large raspberries and used pairs of blueberries because they were small.  Into each tart artistically went some of each fruit to create edible mosaics.

Just like in the pastry shops. (And no one has
to know I cheated a bit by not making it
all from scratch. Shhh.)

This was my dining room as I was preparing for the food to arrive.  We had two-tiered cake stands, teapots, a turn table with various milk glass containers and my Nana's sugar bowl with different types of sugars inside (raw, cubes, German rock), milk, clotted cream (a must for the scones!) and jams.  This would make easy access for everyone with just a quick spin.

I also borrowed a white table cloth (that was my friend's grandmothers!), ironed that and cloth napkins.  In recent weeks I have had so much fun purchasing teacups for this occasion on ebay.  All Royal Albert, because I decided I liked those best.  All different, because I thought that would be fun!  Like an art collection.  With each cup I had a demitasse spoon.  Some were antiques with engraved city names in the bowls.  I only have a few so far, but will be working on that over time.

Setting things up. Not fully organized yet.

The ladies began to show up around 3:00 pm and each brought something delicious.  Here was the menu: cucumber sandwiches, curry chicken salad on mini rye, warm scones, melting moments orange-flavored short bread cookies dipped in chocolate, almond creamcheese blossoms, blueberry muffins, mini quiches, fruit tarts and some packaged tea cookies.  It was definitely more than we all could finish off, (enough for about a dozen people!) but we certainly gave it our best effort by snacking away for more than two hours while drinking authentically British PG Tips tea.  (One of my friends said she never liked tea, but she loved this tea.  I think the deciding factor, besides that it was quality team, was that I brew it slightly strong.  So the tea really had some body and flavor to it.)

A sampling of the table.

I highly recommend that every woman throw a tea party for her friends.  It's such a femenine and delightful way to spend the afternoon.  I actually researched the proper way to hold a teacup - which is to have two fingers on the handle, never inside the loop.  I read about how to stir sugar into the tea with your spoon - never touch the bottom and make clinking noises!  Also, I saw pictures on where to put the napkins, the silverware, the teacups.  You can even turn on the classical music channel on cable if you don't have any instrumental CDs.  Every bit of planning afternoon tea is about creating the right ambience and trying to be as true to its British roots as possible.  There is so much to learn from the experts.  You'll have a blast getting educated!

The most enjoyable part about the afternoon was that it was a great way for all us girls to get to know each other a bit better with lively storytelling and big laughs over several pots of steamy, comforting tea.  (In fabulous teacups, mind you.  That never hurts.)  Since not everyone could make it this time, and there are tons of other recipes I'd like to try, I'll be doing this again in the future.  I'm also extending the offer that if anyone wants me to help them plan a tea at their house for their friends, I'm more than happy work out details and ideas with them.  It's not nearly as hard as you think.  What you don't own you can always borrow, everyone who attends will chip in and bring something scrumptious to share, and friends will help you set up and clean up.  The most important thing you have to do... is open your home.