High Tea - Taste The Best

Next to playing with Barbies, tea parties are a favorite activities of young girls. But now, with places like Miss Marenda’s Tea Room is Sparta and Lady Marpelet’s Tea Room in Cookeville, big girls (and not just brides) can have their own tea parties.

Whether it is a traditional English high tea or just the gals getting together, food plays an important part at tea parties. From scones to cucumber sandwiches, the food is often as dainty as the pots and cups that hold the tea.

If you are thinking of having a tea party, here are some helpful hints from hgtv.com:

· When setting a table for a tea party, be sure to use very delicate linens and teacups. Linens should be crisply ironed. Place the teapots on a doily or lace tablecloth. Fine silver pieces and fresh flowers are nice touches.

· Place scones and other foods that go well with tea on tiered pedestals. Vary the flavors, shapes and sizes of the foods. Pies and cakes as well as little finger sandwiches are all welcoming tastes.

· If your tea’s flavor is a little lacking, add one to two drops of your choice of extract.

· Have some lemon and orange zest, cinnamon sticks and cloves handy for your guests to add to their tea.

· Serve tea with small bouquets of herbs for guests to add to their tea if they choose.

· Never serve tea with cream. Always serve it with milk.

· China teapots are best for keeping the heat inside the pot. Place a tea cozy around the pot for added insulation.

· Set out a variety of teacups and saucers so that guests can choose one that suits their personality. This makes for a great conversation piece at the party.

· Throw a tea-tasting party. When guests are finished with a cup, have them pour any remaining tea that is in their cup into a large bowl on the tea table.

· When setting up a tea tasting, line a basket with a cloth napkin and place the varieties of tea you have to offer to your guests.

Here are some recipes you don’t have to be at high tea at the Plaza to enjoy.

Basic Scones
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4 T. butter
3/4 cup milk
Sift dry ingredients. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add milk and blend well. The dough will be sticky. Flour a flat surface and knead for about half a minute. Roll out into 1/2 inch thick and cut into triangles. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes.
From the kitchen of Evelyn Hargis

Cream Scones
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 T. sugar
6 T. butter
2 eggs, well-beaten
1/2 cup plus 1 T. heavy cream, divided
Course sugar crystals
Preheat oven to 425°. Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a medium bowl. Cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly. Make a well in the center of the crumb mixture and add beaten eggs and 1/2 cup cream. Mix until dough begins to form a ball then knead dough with your hands in the bowl for 30 seconds. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Form each half into a ball and flatten to form a circle about 3/4 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Cut each into eight wedges. Place wedges one inch apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush tops with remaining cream and sprinkle with sugar crystals. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
From the kitchen of Evelyn Hargis

Five Spice Tea Cake
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. Chinese five-spice mixture
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 cup cooled, very strong jasmine tea (1 tea bag)
1 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter a 6-cup loaf pan and line it with waxed or parchment paper. Sift together the baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, five-spice mixture and ginger. In a medium bowl, mix the tea and applesauce. In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. With the mixer running at medium speed, drizzle in the oil and mix. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and 1/3 of the tea-applesauce mixture and mix. Repeat twice more, using up all the ingredients. The batter will be thin. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until firm to the touch and split on the top, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 70 to 90 minutes. Cool 30 minutes, then turn the cake out onto the rack, peel off the paper, and let cool.
From foodnetwork.com

Perfect English Tea
Irish breakfast tea leaves
Milk
Sugar cubes
Lemon slices
Honey
Fill a kettle with cold water and set it to boil. As the water nears a boil, pour a little of it into a teapot to warm it, swirling the water around and then discarding it. For each cup of tea desired, place a spoonful of loose tea leaves into the empty, warmed teapot. Pour the boiling water into the teapot and let the tea steep 3 to 6 minutes, depending on the type of tea leaves. Gently stir the tea before pouring it through strainers into teacups. Serve with milk and sugar cubes or lemon slices and honey.
From foodnetwork.com

Finger Sandwiches
2 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained and patted dry
1/2 cup finely minced green olives
1/2 cup finely chopped cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1 loaf soft white bread, crusts removed
1 loaf soft wheat bread, crusts removed
2 T. chopped parsley leaves, for garnish, optional
2 T. bacon pieces, for garnish, optional
2 T. poppy seeds, for garnish, optional
2 T. chopped pecans, for garnish, optional
In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese and mayonnaise. Split into four 4-oz. portions and put into separate bowls. Combine pineapple and four ounces cream cheese mixture and set aside. Combine green olives and four ounces cream cheese mixture and set aside. Combine cucumbers and four ounces cream cheese mixture and set aside. Combine pecans and four ounces cream cheese mixture and set aside. Spread the fillings on top of white bread slices and cover with wheat bread slices. Cut each sandwich into triangles, squares or circles. Garnish with parsley, bacon pieces, poppy seeds or pecans.
From foodnetwork.com

Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches
24 slices thin white bread
8 oz. thinly sliced smoked salmon
8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 oz. (1/4 cup) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 T. grated fresh ginger
1 T. fresh lime juice
3 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp. kosher salt
To make ginger-cilantro lime butter, place butter, cream cheese, ginger, lime juice, cilantro and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse just until ingredients are combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to a sheet of parchment or waxed paper. Roll into a 1 1/2-inch wide log. Refrigerate until ready to use. Spread all of the bread slices generously with the butter. Place slices of smoked salmon in an even layer on half of the bread slices. Top with remaining bread slices. Using a 2-inch cookie cutter, cut out the tea sandwiches.
From foodnetwork.com

(this article was taken from crossville-chronicles.com)