Tea Time thread

I love planning tea parties & everything that goes with it! I thought it would make a great general thread to exchange ideas for everything that goes into a tea party: menus, recipes, decorations, invitations, anything goes!

I am also planning an afternoon of tea & cookie decorating with a small group of friends for the holidays & would love some ideas!
My ideas so far:
stacking triangle sandwiches so they form a 3D tree shape
Turkey & cranberry sandwiches (any good recipes other than the obvious?)
Gouda & tomato sandwiches
Potato puffs
Wassail
I'm just in the beginning stages!
I would love some ideas on a theme-something more specific than just cookies...maybe something to tie in traditional teas, or Victorian-era CHristmas traditions!

That sounds really good... Is my invitation in the mail? :drool:

I don't know why, but the thought of tiny little sandwiches on a 3-tier platter appeals to me a lot. I like my sandwiches to be half white, half wheat. There's a place near my house that does parties, and they offer princess costumes and fashion shoots. They also have some theme that's like those older ladies clubs, where everyone wears the same color and has funky hats.

They also have some theme that's like those older ladies clubs, where everyone wears the same color and has funky hats.

Could it be the Red Hat Society? They're big on teas. They meet in big groups wearing purple dresses & red hats. Only members under 50 have to wear pink hats. My friend's a member, which is how I know so much.

:lol: they were purple dresses and red hats, but the place has the dresses and hats as costumes.

they were purple dresses and red hats, but the place has the dresses and hats as costumes.
That sounds like the Red Hat Society to me!

Wow this sounds really fun, I want to go to a tea party! :lol:

I drink Yorkshire Gold tea with a little whole milk, I let the tea brew for 3-4 minutes and it is soooo yummy! I have a cup for my mumma wind down in the evening or after my little one goes to bed. :)

I love planning tea parties & everything that goes with it! I thought it would make a great general thread to exchange ideas for everything that goes into a tea party: menus, recipes, decorations, invitations, anything goes!

I am also planning an afternoon of tea & cookie decorating with a small group of friends for the holidays & would love some ideas!
My ideas so far:
stacking triangle sandwiches so they form a 3D tree shape
Turkey & cranberry sandwiches (any good recipes other than the obvious?)
Gouda & tomato sandwiches
Potato puffs
Wassail
I'm just in the beginning stages!
I would love some ideas on a theme-something more specific than just cookies...maybe something to tie in traditional teas, or Victorian-era CHristmas traditions!

Well, this menu sounds very yummy so far! As for other things you can include in a tea party, there's always the classic goodness of scones in any flavor you fancy (you can make them from scratch, get a scone mix from a store, or buy them in a bakery), served with jam and clotted cream if you can get it. You can also serve other types of dessert, like cakes and pies--especially cute in bite-sizes (think petit-fours and tartlets). Gingerbread and pumpkin pie would be good fall/winter choices for tea treats, while mincemeat pie is classic British. A Victorian era classic would be chicken salad as a salad--mound the chicken salad (white meat only!) on lettuce leaves and eat with a fork. Crumpets (english muffins) and jam are a teatime classic as well. Another idea for sandwiches is to make them, chill them, then take cookie cutters and cut out festive shapes from them so that you have candy-cane shaped sandwiches, Christmas tree-shaped sandwiches, bell-shaped sandwiches, etc. Of course, a British friend of mine once said that the most imporant thing about a proper tea wasn't what you served but that you had a great group of people and good conversation. Good luck on your party, hope it's a blast.

Crumpets (english muffins) and jam are a teatime classic as well.
That all sounds yummy, although crumpets and english muffins are two different things. :)

I would add pikelets (like tiny, sweet pancakes), sponge cake, pound cake, fruitcake (if anyone you know actually likes it...) and plum pudding.

This site (http://www.victoriana.com/christmas/default.htm) has some great information about Victorian Christmas traditions, including some recipes. :)

Wow, that's a great website! Totally up my ally!

Anhelda, great suggestions!
I have made & bought scones, and I find that most people where I live don't like them (sigh). I generally make some sort of mini-muffin instead, and put out both clotted cream (I LOVE clotted & Devonshire cream! I can usually find it in our Whole Foods/Harry's) and home-made whipping cream. I think I will take your ideas & make gingerbread & pumpkin mini-muffins! I was also thinking of adding a pear sandwich! (partridge not included)

For anyone who has never made it, homemade whipped cream is easy, super-delicious, and you have control over a variety of flavourings:

1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
3 tablespoons confectioners (powdered) sugar

Beat together w/ electric mixer on high until stiff. Tip: you can only mess this up if you do not beat long enough...it will start to seperate after awhile.

You can flavour this mixture with any extract, spice, and even unsweetened cocoa. Start with a small amount (1/4-1/2 teaspoon) as many extracts can overpower this, many extracts infuse with the mixture, making it more powerful as time goes on....subtlety is the key!

You can also whip the cream w/ a dash of salt for a quick homemade alternative to butter, clotted cream, etc. I bet it would be good also with a dash of spice!

That all sounds yummy, although crumpets and english muffins are two different things. :)

Really? I had always heard that they were the same thing, but I defer to a more knowledgeable voice. Thanks for the correction!

Muffins:
http://nosheteria.com/2005/10/homemade-nooks-and-crannies-please.html

Crumpets:
http://www.girlalive.com/food/030.html

We like doing Mad Hatter tea parties (if you wanted one with costumes).
I go out to the specialty tea shop and get some different loose leaf (alway key, never have tea bags!) teas. I usually get a black and a green tea with different flavourings just to change things up a little.
I do up a smoke salmon and cream cheese (with capers) on some ryvita (or crispbread), egg salad sandwich, cucmber sandwich and some sort of smoked/cured meat sandwich with some nice cheese. I have to have scones with tea, so those are always there. Some pudding/custard type desserts in egg cups, and little cakes from the bakery.

I have made & bought scones, and I find that most people where I live don't like them (sigh).
Can not imagine people who don't like scones, especially with clotted cream. Just recently found out that clotted cream is baked cream. I wondered how they got it to taste so different from regular whipped cream.

For anyone who has never made it, homemade whipped cream is easy, super-delicious, and you have control over a variety of flavourings:[/quote]
I agree. Real whipped cream is the best.

Here's a recipe for you and if you haven't read the "Miss Julia" books, you should. She's a very proper southern lady who knows the how to give a tea. I think I'll start a thread over in Fiction.

"MISS JULIA'S CHRISTMAS MARASCHINO CHERRY PIE


The Crust:

2 squares Unsweetened Chocolate
2 T. Butter
2 T. Milk (heat this before using)
2/3 cup Confectioner’s Sugar
1 ½ cups (or a little more)Angel Flake Coconut

Melt Chocolate and Butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Mix well. Combine hot Milk with the Confectioner’s sugar and blend. Add to the Chocolate mixture and mix well. Add coconut and mix well. Using a fork, press this mixture over the bottom and sides of a buttered 10” pie plate. Chill for one hour.



The Filling:

1 T. Unflavored Gelatin (one envelope)
1-1/4 cups cold Milk
3 eggs, separated
½ cup of granulated Sugar
1/8 tsp. of Salt
1 tsp. of Vanilla
½ cup of chopped Maraschino Cherries, drained
1 cup Heavy Cream, whipped
Grated Unsweetened Chocolate and Coconut for the top.

Soften Gelatin in ¼ cup of cold Milk in a small bowl. Separate the eggs, and beat the Yolks in the top of a double boiler. Add Gelatin mixture, ¼ cup of granulated Sugar, Salt and remaining Milk to the yolks. Cook over hot water, stirring frequently, until mixture coats a spoon. Add Vanilla and mix well. Chill in refrigerator until slightly thickened, then beat until smooth. Beat egg whites in a separate bowl until foamy, gradually adding remaining ¼ cup of sugar, one tablespoon at a time, and continue beating until stiff. Fold meringue mixture, chopped cherries and the heavy cream that has been whipped into the gelatin mixture. Turn into the Chocolate-Coconut shell. Sprinkle top with grated chocolate and coconut. Chill until firm.

I use red maraschino cherries, but you can use the green ones, or you can use ¼ cup of each. This pie will serve 6 or 8, depending on how generously you slice it."

This is quoted from missjulia.com

I have a passion for those perfect cucumber sandwiches. Though it's a disaster when I try and make them myself. For something that seems so simple how can it go so wrong? :upset: Any tips ?

I have a passion for those perfect cucumber sandwiches. Though it's a disaster when I try and make them myself. For something that seems so simple how can it go so wrong? :upset: Any tips ?

This site has two recipes with step-by-step instructions. cucumber sandwiches (http://www.thepauperedchef.com/2006/02/cucumber_sandwi.html)
I hope it helps. :)

This site has two recipes with step-by-step instructions. cucumber sandwiches (http://www.thepauperedchef.com/2006/02/cucumber_sandwi.html)
I hope it helps. :)

That's a great site!

A tip for cutting those pesky sandwiches:
wrap the finished sandwich (prior to cutting) in a damp paper towel, then in aluminum foil & refrigerate at least an hour. This makes it moist, easier to cut, and it kinda meshes the whole sandwich together so it won't fall apart as easily. Use a sharp bread knife to cut. My party was yesterday-I used small metal cookie cutters to cut the sandwiches into fun shapes after refrigerating & it worked very well!

By the way, I found pre-made crumpets in my grocery store's refrigerated section!!!! So for Americans: they look like English Muffins, but are nothing like them, actually-they are more of a spongy cross between a waffle & pancake-they were very light & fluffy-it was a wonderful texture! I served them hot w/ homemade sweetened whipped creams (one almond, the other vanilla with cinnamon) and jellies-my guests absolutely loved them!

By the way, I found pre-made crumpets in my grocery store's refrigerated section!!!! So for Americans: they look like English Muffins, but are nothing like them, actually-they are more of a spongy cross between a waffle & pancake-they were very light & fluffy-it was a wonderful texture! I served them hot w/ homemade sweetened whipped creams (one almond, the other vanilla with cinnamon) and jellies-my guests absolutely loved them!

Oh, yummies! I never thought to have crumpets with flavoured whipped cream! :drool:

Thanks to both of you. Yes, it's always the bread that I have problems with, can't wait to try it out the new way :tu:

Okay, here is my full menu from last week's party:

sandwiches:
cooked pear, mint & butter on white bread
baco-dilly (bacon, cream cheese, mayo, scallions, dill) on honey-wheat
turkey, swiss & cranberry sauce baked inside Pillsbury Crescent rolls (they were awesome!)

aforementioned crumpets w/ whipped creams

coconut lemon cake

white chocolate peppermint truffles rolled in crushed peppermint
dark chocolate raspberry truffles rolled in rasp cocoa

Coffee
Wassail-apple cider, pineapple juice, spiced tea with a cheesecloth sachet filled with whole allspice, whole cloves and cinnamon sticks all cooked in a crockpot-it was wayyyyyyyy too sweet for my tastes until I added some water

dark chocolate raspberry truffles rolled in rasp cocoa
Okay, I think I'm going to drown in my own drool....:drool: :drool: :drool:

Wow, this tea stuff is really cool. I have never taken tea before (well, the tea-time thing, not the beverage), much less a tea-party! Not even when I was a kid...you know how little girls love to do tea parties? (I wasn't into that stuff back then, I was more into running and going bonkers.) Can you share what you guys usually eat during tea?

Wow, this tea stuff is really cool. I have never taken tea before (well, the tea-time thing, not the beverage), much less a tea-party! Not even when I was a kid...you know how little girls love to do tea parties? (I wasn't into that stuff back then, I was more into running and going bonkers.) Can you share what you guys usually eat during tea?

There are many great tea websites with menus, recipes and etiquette, altho I personally shun etiquette most of the time :lol:

More traditional teas will have three parts:
scones with clotted cream & jams (clotted cream is kind of a butterish product)
tea sandwiches-often cut in triangles with the crusts cut off
dessert-either mini-desserts or a sponge cake filled with jam & whipped cream covered in powdered sugar

Of course, there's tea! High teas will often include extras such as yogurts, fruit compotes, appetizers.

I think it's fun to combine traditional elements with some creative twists-traditional sandwiches range from egg to ham to cucumber. In Victorian times they also liked chicken salad wrapped in lettuce. I generally do some traditional & then make-up my own-last tea party I wrapped swiss cheese & deli turkey slices into a Pillsbury crescent roll with cranberry sauce in the middle & baked it.....it was wonderful & easy!

Ah yes, I do love high teas. I've been to two this year! They are both invites. One was my mom's BFF's birthday, the other's my aunt and uncle's anniversary. I just love the food there. My mom's friends' high tea had more desserts, so I liked that better. I start on the desserts when people are not even halfway through their main course. I'm an incurable sweet tooth, I know.

Oh, and in my mom's friends' hightea, there's this mini-dessert which is a cup containing three flavors-chocolate, mint and strawberry. I think it's cream, though I can't be sure. It sure is yummy!