Rosemary Thyme Spiced Nuts

 

INGREDIENTS
3 c. large whole nuts - I like to use 1 c. cashews, 1 c. pecans, and 1 c. almonds (I usually buy nuts at Trader Joe's)
2 T. olive oil
2 T. coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 300° F. Place nuts in a medium heatproof bowl.

Pour oil into a small heavy saucepan and place over medium-low heat until warm. Do not let it get too hot – the oil will burn. Add rosemary and thyme and stir until aromatic, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in cumin and cayenne pepper. Pour the flavored oil over the nuts and stir to coat evenly. Sprinkle with sugar, salt, and black pepper. Stir again. Transfer to a jelly roll pan or a baking pan with sides. Bake for about 15 minutes total, stirring after the first 10 minutes. Let cool. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

JEN'S NOTES:

• Very tasty and simple! A nice break from all the sweet snacks this time of year.
• I made a double batch and divided them into little mason jars as St. Nicholas day gifts for co-workers.
• I used half oven-roasted, salted almonds and half unsalted, chopped pecans, which was a good mix for flavor and texture.
• I didn't have fresh herbs, so I used dried rosemary and thyme, and changed the proportions accordingly.
• I added a little garlic powder because, you know, garlic.

Source

Bacon Dill Tea Sandwiches

8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened)
1/3 c mayonnaise
5 slices bacon (finely chopped)
1 tbls green onion (chopped)
1 tsp dill weed
1/8 tsp pepper
1 c. toasted slivered almonds

Mix ingredients until well combined.  Spread half of the bread with a think coat of mayo.  Spread the other bread with the cream cheese mixture.  To make each sandwich, cut off crusts, and cut into three parallel sections, or four triangles.

NOTES:
I made this for the 2012 tea but served openfaced on thin rye bread.

Shortbread Tea Tarts

Photo Credit:
J. M. Klejeski

Crust:
1 cup (227 grams) (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (55 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) all purpose flour
3 tablespoons (30 grams) cornstarch (corn flour) or rice flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

• Lightly butter, or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray, 36 miniature muffin tins (approximately 2 inch (5 cm) in diameter).
• In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together (1-2 minutes) until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour, cornstarch and salt and mix just until incorporated. If the shortbread dough is too soft to roll into balls, cover and refrigerate for about 30-60 minutes.
• Take a scant 1 tablespoon of shortbread dough (about 15 grams) and place in the center of each muffin tin. With your fingertips, press the dough onto the bottom and up the sides of the individual muffin tin. Once filled, cover and place the tart pan, with the unbaked shells, in the freezer for about 15 minutes so the shortbread can become firm. (This will help to prevent the shortbread from puffing up during baking.)
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven.
• Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown. About halfway through the baking time, if the shortbread has puffed up, lightly prick the bottom of each shortbread with the tines of a fork. Once they are fully baked, remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. When completely cooled, remove the tarts from the pan. (They can be frozen.)

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese (not low fat)
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Fruit:
We used blueberries and raspberries, but kiwi, tiny strawberries, or blackberries would also be good.

Notes:
The original recipe is here.  There were lots of warnings about how fragile the crusts were, but mine came out of the pans really well.  I did take care to weigh the dough (15 grams, as suggested) and when I pushed them into the mini-muffin tins, I made sure the sidewalls weren't thin at all.  The impressions I made were more bowl shaped, resulting in fairly thick bottoms and walls.  Fortunately, the shortbread was delish (!) so this wasn't a problem at all.

We piped my standard fruit pizza filling into each (rather than the sweetened condensed milk version on the original recipe), topped it with a berry, and refrigerated them until the tea party.

I made the crusts early in the week, and just filled them a few hours before serving.  It is now the day after though and they're still very good.

Orange Blossom Mini-cheesecakes

I used this basic recipe but with mini vanilla wafers for the crusts and orange oil in the batter for flavoring.
The topping was 8 ounces of cream cheese mixed with 1/4 cup of sugar and piped on top.

Spring Petit Fours

For the Cakes:
1 1/3 cups cake flour
3/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
8 T butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam (optional)

For the Glaze:
8 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
4 egg whites
1/2 cup milk
2 T vanilla extract


Food colouring as desired (pastel pink, green or yellow)

• *NB: If desired, meringue powder can be used instead of egg whites in the glaze. Omit the egg whites and substitute 1/4 cup (35 g) meringue powder; increase the milk to 1 cup (250 ml).
• Have all the ingredients at room temperature
• Preheat to oven 350 degrees F. Use Baker's Joy (or another Pam-like product with flour added) to spray the pan.  (I brushed it around with a silicone brush so there weren't pools of it in the crevices.)
• Beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla just until incorporated.
• Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat each addition just until incorporated, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Spoon 1 T of the batter into each well of the prepared pan. Gently tap the pan on a flat surface to eliminate any air bubbles. Bake just until the cakes are no longer sticky on top, about 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cakes cool upright in the pan for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Set the rack over a sheet of waxed paper, invert the pan onto the rack and lift off the pan. Let the cakes cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, wash and dry the pan and repeat with the remaining batter.
• To make the glaze, in a a large bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, egg whites, milk and vanilla until smooth, about 1 minute. Whisk in the food colouring.
• Using a rubber spatula, transfer the glaze to a bowl with a pouring spout. Slowly drizzle the glaze over each cake, allowing it to completely cover the top and sides before glazing the next cake. Gently tap the wire rack on a flat surface to remove excess glaze. Let the glaze dry completely, about 1 hour, before serving. Makes 40 petits fours.

NOTES:

• Instead of "gently tapping" as suggested, I put a couple of hotpads on the countertop and pretty firmly whacked it down a few times.  I gently tapped the first batch as suggested and there were bubbles which affected the finished product.  That didn't happen with subsequent batches.
• I used the meringue powder option for the glaze and it worked really well.  Would definitely do again.
• I made the glaze quite a bit thinner than it calls for and was able to dip them instead of trying to pour it over evenly.  (I tried that with the first one and it worked terribly!  Too thick and too much trouble to pour it on evenly.)
• The cutest ones I saw online were all colored, so I colored the batter and then the icing a matching but lighter shade.  (The pink ones started out as an insanely bright color which was toned down by the glaze. I blame the paste food coloring.)
• By using my thinned glaze and dipping them, one batch of glaze was more than enough to coat a double batch (80) of cakes.
• It really did work as easily as the recipe describes.  They dumped out nicely and one tablespoon of batter filled each well just right.
• I'd be tempted to inject a little jam or filling in each and dip the entire cake (bottoms too) in the glaze.
• I used lemon extract in the glaze - highly recommended.
• Original recipe here.

Microwave Lemon Curd

1 cup white sugar

3 eggs

1 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest and butter. Cook in the microwave for one minute intervals, stirring after each minute until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from the microwave, and pour into small sterile jars. Store for up to three weeks in the refrigerator.

NOTES:

• Super sour and delicious!
• Mine took about 13 minutes in the microwave, roughly the same as making it the traditional, stovetop way, but I didn't have to worry about it scorching. It didn't require my full attention.J
• The original recipe also calls for the zest from 3 lemons. I didn't add this, but it would be a really nice addition.
• I doubled the recipe for my tea party for about 100. (It took longer than 13 minutes to thicken.)
• I made a trial batch about 6 weeks ago and it's still good in the refrigerator.

Jolene's Scones

3 ¼ c. flour

½ c. sugar

2 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add

1 c. buttermilk

¾ c. butter (softened but not melted)

For cinnamon chip scones mix in 1 c. cinnamon chips

OR

For raspberry white chocolate scones add 1 c. white chocolate chips and about 1/3 to 1/2 c. fresh raspberries (the raspberries make the dough really sticky and messy so they are a bit more difficult to mix in)

Divide the dough into two balls and then form them into 7 in. circles. Coat the top with melted butter and sprinkle generously with raw cane sugar. Cut each of the circles into 8 and place them on ungreased cookie sheet. They do expand while baking so space them out a bit!

Bake at 425 for 10-14 min.

NOTE: I didn't even get one of these. They were so good that all 90 were eaten!

Ham and Cheese Pinwheels

These can be made one or two days before the Tea and refrigerated.

This recipe assumes 8-count packs of 10-12 inch tortillas. Cut into eighths, it will yield about 192 pinwheels.

3 packages of large sized flour tortillas

2 8-ounce cream cheese

1 packages dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix

2 cups mayonnaise or Miracle Whip

2 cups shredded cheese (or cheese slices)

thin sliced ham

Mix cream cheese, dressing mix, and mayo until it is spreadable. Add shredded cheese. (unless you’re using sliced cheese)

Spread an even layer over tortillas and top with a layer of ham (and cheese, if using slices). Roll up as firmly as possible and put in an airtight container. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Slice each tortilla into about 8 circular finger sandwiches. Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to serve.

Note: We always run out of these. The girls love them!

Cashew Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches

75 ounces drained canned chicken

24 oz water chestnuts, chopped

1 1/2 cups cashews, chopped

12 stalks celery, finely chopped

6 tbsp. finely chopped onion

juice of 1 fresh lemon

3-4 cups mayonnaise/Miracle Whip

6 tsp dill

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Slice Pate au Choux breads in half and add about 1 tablespoon of this filling to each. The method for the breads is here and the recipe is here. Makes about 200 finger sandwiches.

You can cut the celery, water chestnuts and onion several days ahead of time. Add the cashews just before serving.

Brownie bites

This is a post promoting a rather silly product rather than a recipe, I suppose. (And just why did my photo come out sideways?) Anyway, this is a photo from my 2010 Mother/Daughter Tea showing the easiest item on the menu. I started with a boxed brownie mix and topped it with canned frosting and theme-colored sprinkles. Since everything at the Tea MUST be cute, cutting them into the typical not-quite-even squares will just not do!

I used a Wilton Brownie Cutter which, in addition to making these uniform little delights, also picks them up out of the pan as they cut. Basically, they get stuck (but not in a bad way) in the cutter and can easily be pushed out onto the plate. Usually, I wouldn't even consider purchasing a unitasker like this for the kitchen, but it really does make the job easier and it saves all those crunchy, chewy brownie pan edges for someone who'll appreciate them.

The frosting was squiggled on with a #47 tip.

Petit Fours

Derived from the French for "small oven," these small, iced cakes are a nice addition to any tea party. As much as I'd love for mine to look like this ...

... I just don't like cake well enough to put the work into it. Instead, I start with a secret ingredient --

Cut them into fourths (Flip them over and use a chef's knife to keep the manufacturer's icing from cracking on the top.)

Dip the cut edges into a white, poured fondant.

And decorate. These matched our 2010 retro, brown/teal theme, but I typically pipe a buttercream leaf and small flower on each.

Fondant Recipe:

3 c. powdered sugar

1/4 c water

1 T. light corn syrup

1 tsp. almond extract

Place sugar in saucepan. In a small bowl, combing water and corn syrup. Mix well. Add to sugar and stir well until mixed. Place over low heat (never exceed 100 º). When mixture is completely smooth and heated through, remove from heat and stir in flavor and color. Briefly reheat the icing as it cools, so it will continue to stick to the cake. (You'll know when it's time.)

Place on waxed paper or parchment to cool.

NOTE: For some reason, I had to add a little more water to make it work this year.

Each package makes 40 little cakes.

Mini Cheesecakes

These bite-sized delights are easy to make, take about 1/3 of the baking time of a full-sized cheesecake, and freeze well.

Start with paper liners in a mini-muffin pan.

The chocolate crusts in mine are these lo-cal Oreo snacks.

From there, mix a batch of your favorite cheesecake batter. This one is:

3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

¾ cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

(Add 1/4 cup cocoa if you want chocolate cheesecakes.)

Combine cream cheese, sugar, cocoa and vanilla.

Mix until blended.

Add eggs, one at a time mixing well.

Spoon filling over crusts.

Bake at 325 º for 20 minutes.

I used a #60 food scoop (capacity - about 1 tablespoon) to fill each cup neatly.

After the cheesecakes cool, they'll freeze for up to 3 months. Top them when cool (or thawed). I topped these with a little Nutella.

NOTE: For this year's Tea Party, I used 5 cream cheese, 1.25 c sugar, 3.5 tsp. vanilla, 5 eggs. Yield: 107 cheesecakes.

Cucumber Sandwiches - 2 options

What would a proper tea party be without cucumber sandwiches?

Below are two recipes I've used and liked:

1 Loaf Cocktail Rye Bread or 1 Bag Bagel Chips

1 - 8 ounce cream cheese, softened

1/8 cup sour cream

1 envelope dry Italian seasoning

1 cucumber, sliced thin

Mix Italian seasoning into softened cream cheese. Spread onto bread slices. Top with cucumber slice and garnish with spring of parsley if desired.

I also like this recipe:

1 medium cucumber with seeds removed

1 tsp. VERY finely chopped onion

12 ounces cream cheese

2 Tbls. mayonnaise or Miracle Whip

1/8 tsp. Tabasco sauce (be sure to measure it ;-)

Cocktail Rye bread

Peel and grate the cucumber. Put cucumber into a strainer that has been lined with cheesecloth. Place the strainer over a bowl and refrigerate for an hour. Wring as much liquid as possible from the bag. Combine all ingredients, adding more mayonnaise if necessary to get a spreading consistency.

Either way, I use a double batch for my 100 person tea party and I make the spread part several days ahead of time to allow the flavors to blend. Sandwiches are assembled the day of the tea.

Lemon Poppyseed Bread

1 pkg. lemon cake mix

1 (3.75 oz.) pkg. instant lemon pudding

1/4 c butter

1/4 c oil

1 c hot water

1/4 c poppyseed

4 eggs

Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix 4 minutes. Pour into two 9 X 5 greased bread pans. Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.

Makes 2 loaves.

NOTE: This bread can be made up to a month ahead of time and frozen until you need it.

Fresh Citrus Curd

1 medium lemon

1 medium orange

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter

4 eggs, beaten

Squeeze 1/4 cup of juice each from the lemon and orange.

In heavy saucepan, combine butter, sugar, and juice. Heat gently until butter is melted. Stir in eggs, combining completely. Cook over low heat until mixture thickens, about 20 minutes, stirring constantly so it doesn't stick or scorch. Cool. Pour into container and keep tightly covered for up to two weeks.

NOTES:

I doubled this recipe for my tea party of about 100 people.

I used bottled lemon juice (no orange juice), to make it extra tangy.

Mock Devon Cream

1 cup (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup sugar

Blend until completely smooth. Refrigerate in a covered container for up to 2 weeks.

NOTES: Do not use light cream cheese or sour cream. I doubled this recipe for our tea party of approximately 100 people.

Cashew Chicken Salad

75 ounces drained canned chicken

24 oz. water chestnuts, chopped

1 1/2 cups cashews, chopped

12 stalks celery, finely chopped

6 tbsp. finely chopped onion

juice of 1 fresh lemon

3-4 cups mayonnaise/Miracle Whip

6 tsp dill weed

Combine all ingredients and mix well. NOTE: Everything can be made a day or two ahead of time, but add the cashews at the last minute.

Pate au Choux Finger Sandwiches

These little breads are a staple at our church's annual Mother/Daughter Tea (and the exhausted organizers seem to have established the tradition of eating the leftovers for dinner when they get home later that evening)

1/2 c water

1/2 c flour

dash of salt

4 tbls. margarine

2 eggs

1/2 cup shredded cheese (swiss or cheddar)

In a saucepan -Melt margarine in water. Add flour and stir vigorously with a whisk until ball forms or pulls away from sides of pan. Remove from heat.

With an electric mixer, beat in eggs and add cheese.

Beat for about a minute until it looks glossy but no longer wet.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

I used a #60 food scoop, capacity- 1 tablespoon.

You can reuse the same sheet of parchment several times.

Bake at 400 º for 20 minutes.

Cool. Split in half and fill with your favorite filling (ham salad, tuna salad, etc.)

Makes approximately 20.

Notes—bake until thoroughly browned and they will not flatten when cool. They keep their nice texture and height even when made a day ahead of time. I made 7 double batches for the Mother Daughter Tea and the Cashew Chicken Salad recipe. I kept 4 baking sheets going at a time so I always had a cool one to put the next batch of batter onto. These can be made ahead of time and frozen.

To watch Alton Brown's take on a similar recipe go here and here.