A Mad Hatter's Tea Party

A Mad Hatter's Tea Party
Everything you need to know about throwing your own


Recipes
Cucumber-mint tea sandwiches

Ingredients
1 large cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
Salt and white pepper
16 thin slices white bread
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
16 fresh mint leaves

Directions
Sprinkle the cucumber slices with salt and pepper and set aside in a colander for 10 minutes so any excess liquid can drain out. Pat dry with paper towels.
Using a cookie cuter, cut two 2-inch rounds from each slice of white bread. Coat each circle on one side with a very thin layer of butter.
Layer cucumber slices on top of the buttered side of 16 bread rounds.
Add a tiny dab of butter and top with a mint leaf. Place another bread round on top, butter side down, and press the sandwiches together gently. Serve immediately or refrigerate, wrapped in plastic.


Cream cheese, rooibos tea, and edible flower tea sandwiches

Ingredients
1 cup cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons brewed and chopped rooibos (or other herbal) tea leaves (excess water squeezed out)
12 thin slices white bread
20 edible flower petals (such as from roses or nasturtiums), chopped

Directions
Mix together the cream cheese and brewed tea leaves. Set aside.
Using a 2-inch round or flower-shaped cookie cutter, cut 2 pieces of each slice of bread. Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture on 12 of the bread rounds and sprinkle with the chopped floewrs. Cut a small circle out of the middle of the 12 remaining bread rounds and place on top of each sandwich. Press each sandwich together gently and serve immediately or refrigerate, wrapped tightly in plastic.

"Eat Me" Cupcakes

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add shortening, milk, and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Add eggs to mixture. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Scrape sides of bowl and beat for 1 minute 30 seconds until well mixed.
Fill paper liners with batter until 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Once cupcakes are cool, frost with frosting. Using colored decorator icing (can be bought at the store) write "Eat Me" on your cupcakes. Enjoy!

Other food ideas
-Serve iced tea (or hot tea, whatever you prefer) in wild flavors
-Make cookies in the shapes of hearts and spades
-Make a cake in the shape of a mushroom or a tea pot

Decorating Ideas
-Use wild tea pots and tea cups of mix and matching styles and colors
-Create paper labels that say "Eat Me" or "Drink Me" and attach them to food and drink
-Have a stuffed mouse like the Dormouse in one of the tea pots
-Use a mixture of chairs with varying size, shape, height, and color
-Hang colorful lanterns and streamers above the table
-Scatter playing cards and chess pieces around the room.
-Make rabbit paw tracks that lead throughout different places in the house/garden
-Put clocks all over the room that are stopped at tea time
-Hang a branch from the ceiling with the Cheshire cat's grin attached to it
-Use a mix of colorful flowers on the table and in vases around the room

Games
-Lawn croquet
-Pin the grin on the Cheshire cat
-Chess
-Buy basic hats and let the guests decorate them with odd supplies and things (buttons, ribbons, stuffed mice, checker pieces, clocks, etc.)

Spring Tea Party - Part One

Spring is such a lovely time of year! When all the flowers start to come out, and it's often sunny and beautifully breezy! :-) (And mixed in are colder, wetter days, but that makes the nicer days all the better! :OD). I think Spring is the perfect time for a TEA PARTY!!! :-)

For the spring tea party, if it is warm enough, having it outside would be lovely, but also the breeze might be too cool for your guests, so I would suggest having it inside, and opening some windows if weather permits that.

Use a table cloth that will generally match, or compliment, your tea set (preferably a lacy or plain white, or another light color. Flowers are nice too, just don't let it look too "busy".).

Use matching, or complementing, cloth napkins. And set the table so it is all ready for your guests.
On the table place the food, and also place flowers around in vases - this will make things feel more spring like. :-) (And, if you can, have pretty curtains on the windows - this can brighten up the room! :-)).

For tea, serve Raspberry herbal tea. But also have another kind handy in case one of your guests doesn't prefer this kind. :-) Make sure to have sugar out, and honey available. (No milk is needed since it is an herbal tea, but both honey and sugar go nice with it. But you can have only sugar if that works better for you. :-)).

Also, have another fancy drink handy (besides just water) for those guests who don't prefer tea. I love when they have fruit punch at a tea party, so here is a recipe! :-) ( http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fruity-Sherbet-Punch/Detail.aspx ).

Fruity Sherbet Punch
INGREDIENTS

* 4 cups apple juice, chilled
* 4 cups pineapple juice, chilled
* 4 cups orange juice, chilled
* 2 liters ginger ale, chilled
* 2 quarts orange or pineapple sherbet

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine juices in a punch bowl. Stir in ginger ale. Top with sherbet. Serve immediately.


(You can either set a bowl of this out with the glasses set around it, or you can set out a glass for each person along with their tea cup.).

For sandwiches it's nice to have a couple different kinds as well. (Make sure to have a "normal" type sandwich among the others, such as peanut butter and jelly.).

For this tea party have CUCUMBER TEA SANDWICHES ( http://home.att.net/~dfaglon/tearecipe.html#cucumber2 ).

CUCUMBER TEA SANDWICHES

1-2 European cucumbers
Salt and black pepper
White wine vinegar
Pumpernickel or wheat bread very thinly sliced
Butter at room temperature

Peel a European cucumber and slice it into transparent slices
with a mandolin or very thin slicer (a potato peeler works well too).
Sprinkle these thin slices with a little of white wine vinegar
and salt and let drain in a sieve for about 1/2 hour. Drain
away any excess water and pat dry with a paper towel. Cover a
slice of lightly buttered thin brown bread with 2 layers of cucumber
and a bit of black pepper and top with another slice of buttered
bread. Press firmly with the palm of your hand. Cut off the crusts.
Cut into small rectangles or triangles. Cover with plastic wrap
until served.

And ( http://home.att.net/~dfaglon/tearecipe.html#chicken ).

CHICKEN SALAD TEA SANDWICHES WITH SMOKED ALMONDS
Makes 24 tea sandwiches

3 cups chicken broth or water
2 whole boneless chicken breasts with skin (about 1
1/2pounds) halved
I cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup minced shallot
1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon leaves
24 very thin slices homemade-type white bread
1/2 cup finely chopped smoked almonds (about 2 ounces)

In a deep 12-inch skillet bring broth or water to a boil
and add chicken breasts in one layer. Reduce heat and
poach chicken at a bare simmer, turning once, 7 minutes.
Remove skillet from heat and cool chicken in cooking
liquid 20 minutes. Discard skin and shred chicken fine.
In a bowl stir together chicken, 1/2 cup of mayonnaise,
shallot, tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste. Make
12 sandwiches with chicken salad and bread, pressing
together gently. With 2 inch round cutter cut 2
rounds from each sandwich. Put almonds on a small
plate and spread edges of rounds with remaining 1/2
cup mayonnaise to coat well. Roll edges in almonds.
Sandwiches may be made 2 hour ahead, wrapped in plastic
wrap, and chilled.

And also peanut butter and jelly. (Made with your choices of jelly. :-)).

For some sweeter treats (which you would set out right away with the sandwiches), have LEMON CRANBERRY SCONES ( http://home.att.net/~dfaglon/tearecipe.html#lemon ) -

LEMON CRANBERRY SCONES
Makes about 16 scones with Lemon Curd, Jam and Double Devon or
Clotted Cream


2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest (from about 3
lemons
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar plus 3 tablespoons additional if using
fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut
into bits
1 1/4 cups fresh cranberries, chopped coarse, or 1
1/4 cups dried cranberries or dried cherries
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 F. and line a large baking sheet
with parchment paper. With a vegetable peeler remove
the zest from lemons and chop fine, reserving lemons
for another use. In a food processor pulse flour, 1/2
cup sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, and zest until
mixture resembles coarse meal and transfer to a large
bowl. In a small bowl toss together fresh cranberries
and 3 tablespoons sugar and stir into flour mixture.
If using dried fruit, add to flour mixture. In another
small bowl lightly beat egg and yolk and stir in cream.
Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just
combined. On a well-floured surface with floured hands
pat dough into a I-inch thick round (about 8 inches in
diameter) and with a 2-inch round cutter or rim of a
glass dipped in flour cut out as many rounds as
possible rerolling scraps as necessary. Arrange
rounds about 1 inch apart on baking sheet and bake in
middle of oven 15 to 20 minutes, or until pale golden.
Serve scones with crème fraiche or whipped cream.
Scones keep individually in plastic wrap and foil,
chilled, 1 day or frozen I week.

And - Banana Streusel Bread ( http://joyofbaking.com/breakfast/BananaStreuselBread.html ). (Go to this site for more tips for when making it. :-)).

Recipe: Banana Streusel Bread

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (110 grams) light brown sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (100 grams) pecans, coarsely chopped

1 - 5.5 ounce (155 gram) package of Werther's Original Chewy Caramels, coarsely chopped

2 very ripe large bananas, mashed

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/3 cup coffee flavored yogurt (can also use plain, vanilla, or caramel flavored yogurt)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Butter (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray) the bottom and sides of an 8-cup loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3 inch) (23 x 13 x 8 cm). Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 2/3 cup of pecans, and half of the chopped caramels. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, yogurt, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients until just combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. Over mixing the batter will yield a tough, rubbery bread.) Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup of pecans and chopped caramels over the top of the batter. Bake until bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 - 60 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes one - 9 inch loaf.


And Shortbread Cookies ( http://joyofbaking.com/shortbreads/shortbreadcookies.html ) -
Shortbreads:

2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt

1 cup (2 sticks) (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (60 grams) powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar

1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract

Shortbreads: In a separate bowl whisk the flour with the salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until smooth (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 1/4 inch (.5 cm) thick. Cut into rounds or whatever shapes you wish using lightly floured cookie cutter. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, or until cookies are lightly brown. Cool on rack.

Shortbread with keep in an airtight container for about a week or frozen for several months.

Makes about 20 shortbread cookies.




Part two coming soon with tea party game ideas and more! :-)

Recycling Tea Boxes

Spring is here, and spring means planting seeds and hoping that they sprout into cute little plants! But here is an eco-friendly (and fun) idea for planting seeds.

Once you've finished enjoying a box of your favorite Celestial Seasonings tea, tear off the top and the two inside flaps. Keep the white paper liner inside the box - it will keep your seedling starter from leaking. Cover the bottom of the lined box with ½ inch of sand to ensure proper drainage, then fill the rest of the box with a seedling-specific planting mix. That's it—you've made a seedling starter! Select a favorite flower, herb or veggie and plant seeds in your starter according to the seed packet's instructions.

Decorating With Tea Time Things

I like to decorate with tea pots, and tea cups and things! It can sure cheer up a room to place such things around! :-)
Why not try putting your tea things around the house, or a certain room? Maybe up on the mantle piece, or on the top of a book case, or on and end table! :-) It's fun to do little arrangements with them too, and when you have a tea party, you can simply take them down! :-)

Lavender

I found these two neat recipes here - http://oldfashionedliving.com/lavender2.html
They look really neat! :-)


Lavender Tea Blend
Ingredients:

1 teaspoon fresh lavender flowers

2 tablespoon fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoon fresh lemon balm

2 cups boiling water

In a teapot, combine the herbs. Add boiling water to the pot and steep 5 minutes. Serve with honey. Makes two cups of tea. If you want to add a black tea bag or loose tea of your choice you can add another cup of boiling water and make 3 cups of a stronger tea.


Charming Lavender Tea Gift
You will need:

1/3 teaspoon dried lavender flowers

4 teaspoons orange pekoe tea

New or vintage tea cup and saucer

small plastic bag, or plastic wrap

Tea Ball

Ribbon

Mix the herbs and tea then place in a piece of plastic wrap or a small bag and tie tightly with a ribbon. Place in the clean dry tea cup, with the tea ball (they are very inexpensive and can be found in most store kitchen sections) Include a note that this should steep for five minutes in boiled water. Wrap in tissue paper and place in a gift bag for a great gift for teachers and co-workers.

(Or anyone! :-)).

A Mad Tea-Party

`Take some more tea,' the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.

`I've had nothing yet,' Alice replied in an offended tone, `so I can't take more.'

`You mean you can't take LESS,' said the Hatter: `it's very easy to take MORE than nothing.'

`Nobody asked YOUR opinion,' said Alice.

`Who's making personal remarks now?' the Hatter asked triumphantly.

Alice did not quite know what to say to this: so she helped herself to some tea and bread-and-butter...

`I want a clean cup,' interrupted the Hatter: `let's all move one place on.'

He moved on as he spoke, and the Dormouse followed him: the March Hare moved into the Dormouse's place, and Alice rather unwillingly took the place of the March Hare. The Hatter was the only one who got any advantage from the change: and Alice was a good deal worse off than before, as the March Hare had just upset the milk-jug into his plate.

Taken from "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll

How to host your own Mad-Hatter tea party, coming soon...

My Tea Set!

Earlier this week I received my very own tea set in the mail! (Bought from http://www.teacupgallery.com/category// ).
That is it in the picture above! :-) I'm quite excited, and can't wait to give a tea party with it!!! :-)

Tea sets are lovely when they are matching, but they are also very lovely if they are made up of lots of different styles of tea cups! It makes it neat to look at how they are all different! :-) Either way, they are elegant! :-)