Tea Time

Be sure to visit your favorite tea shop, gift shop, or grocery when you’re in the mood to discover some great new teas. Wander through a local antique shop and find teapots, teacups, and vintage linens. And don’t be afraid to mix and match!

Best Friends Tea: Tea is delightful when shared with friends. Why not invite a couple of your best friends to tea and have each of them invite a best friend? Serve a lovely cream soup (perhaps cream of sweet potato or crab bisque?) along with tea sandwiches filled with tarragon chicken salad or thin-sliced tomatoes and cream cheese. Blue berry or maraschino cherry scones would be delightful along with a strong, sweet Assam tea. Give each woman a favor — perhaps a packet of seeds with a note attached that talks about “spreading the seeds of friendship.”

English Country Garden Tea: When your garden’s in full bloom, there’s nothing more romantic than an English Country Garden Tea. Make your table stylish with a candelabra and your best china. Consider laying an Oriental rug on your patio to enhance the feeling of luxury. Serve English Breakfast Te or Darjeeling along with tea sandwiches made of edible flowers, sliced cucumbers, Stilton cheese, or English Cheddar. Wicker baskets with napkins tucked inside hold muffins, scones, or cookies. Decorate with a topiary, place your cake on a stemmed cake stand, and encourage all your guests to wear hats and Victorian style jewelry — and be ready to try their hand at croquet!

Sterling Silver Tea: Feeling elegant? Polish your silver teapots, creamers, sugar bowls, and silver flatware to a high shine and invite your friends in for a Sterling Silver Tea. Be sure to tell everyone to wear a piece of silver jewelry (hopefully an heirloom piece) and bet ready to tell the story behind it. Decorate your table with strands of silver beads or silver confetti from a party store. Serve silver needle tea and white cheddar and olive tea sandwiches. Your sweets could be cake or cupcake decorated with vanilla frosting and silver sprinkles. Angel Tea: Find angel stickers or an angel template at a craft store and design your own invitations for your Angel Tea. Serve angel hair pasta or tea sandwiches made with chicken salad, sliced strawberries, and cream cheese. Rose hips tea would be delightful accompaniment. Dessert might be angel food cake or an angel ring coffee cake. Other sweets might include cheesecake, angel cookies from your lo- cal bakery, or divinity fudge. Share a favorite prayer, affirmation, or heartfelt thought with your guests.

Daisy Tea: Send out daisy-themed invitations and decorate your table with daisy décor. Dai- sy-shaped cookie cutter stamp out bread to hold fillings such as shrimp salad or egg salad, complimented by edible flowers. Or spread cream cheese on date-nut or apple-walnut breads. A floral or citrus tea would be the perfect accompaniment.

Women’s Networking Tea: Invite friends you think might be interested in networking — for example, graphic designers, Realtors, insurance agents, financial planners, etc. Type up short dossiers on each friend and have them at each place setting. Encourage each guest to bring and pass out business cards. Have a selection of sandwiches such as cashew chicken, date cream cheese, or smoked salmon pinwheels. Cream or cherry almond scones would be delicious with a niche cooling tea. Give mini notepads and pens as favors.

Harvest Tea: Fill crockery with mums or bittersweet, cluster around some pumpkins or gourds, and add rich-hued candles to your table. Herbed quiche is a hearty sa- vory, as are tea sandwiches that include chicken salad with chutney and thin- sliced roast beef with white cheddar. Serve spiced Indian chai or choose a Puerh, an aged black tea from China that’s known for its rich, earthy flavor. Key Lime Scones 2½ cups flour 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 stick butter 1 cup milk 1 large egg Grated zest from 3 or 4 small key limes

Mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in the butter using a fork until mixture is crumbly. In a separate bowl combine milk, egg, and lime zest. Now add this to the flour mixture and stir until well blended and dough is quite sticky. On floured board, from dough into a roll. Slice off circles and place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Brush circles lightly with milk and bake at 425 degrees for approximately 20 minutes. Serve with Devonshire cream and garnish with thin lime wedges.

Simple Devonshire Cream

1 (3-oz) package cream cheese, softened Cream together cream cheese, sugar, and salt. Then beat 1 tablespoon sugar in cram until the mixture until the mixture forms stiff 1/8 teaspoon salt peaks. Chill until serving. Yields about 2 cups. 1 cup heavy cream

Devonshire Cream 2

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened Cream all ingredients together, making sure sugar is 1 (12 oz. ) carton sour cream thoroughly dissolved. Chill until ready to serve. Yields 1 lemon, juice only about 3 cups. 2 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups powdered sugar

Lemon Tea Bread 1/2 cup butter, softened 1¼ cups sugar 2 eggs 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 cup lemon juice from 3 large lemons 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Cream together butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, and lemon juice. In separate bowl combine flour, Baking soda, salt, and nuts. Now stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, but do not overmix. Grease and flour 4 mini loaf pans, then pour equal amounts of batter into each. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, or until wooden pick comes out clean. Allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then finish cooling on a rack. Serve slices with jam or Devonshire cream or drizzle on your favorite topping.

Strawberry Cobbler 4 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced 1 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 cu p sugar 1 egg, beaten 1/4 cup butter

Arrange strawberry slices in a greased 9-inch baking dish. In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and sugar. Add egg and mix with fork until all ingredients are incorporated and mixture is crumbly. Spread mixture over strawberries and dot with pieces of butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. Serve in fancy parfait glasses and top with whipped cream. Down-Home Cinnamon Raisin Muffins 1/4 cup oil 1 egg 1 cup milk 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1½ teaspoons cinnamon 1 tablespoon baking powder 2 cups flour 1/2 cup raisins

Combine oil, egg, milk, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Mix well with a wire whisk. Add in the baking powder, flour, and raisins. Mix again until batter is moist and everything is incorporated — but do not overmix. Spoon batter into paper muffin cups or well-greased muffin pan. Bake a 400 de- grees for approximately 20 minutes.

Coconut Bourbon Bombe 4½ cups soft coconut macaroon cookie crumbs (about 24 cookies) 1/4 cup bourbon 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened 1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk 1 (12-oz.) container frozen whipped topping, thawed 1 cup pecans, crumbled and toasted Your favorite chocolate or caramel topping

Put cookie crumbs in large bowl and drizzle with bourbon. Toss well and let everything soak for 30 minutes. Coat the interior of a 9-cup mold or large round mixing bowl with cooking spray, then line with plastic wrap. Gently press bourbon-soaked crumbs into prepared mold, forming a shell. Set aside. Combine cream cheese and condensed milk in a bowl and beat at medium speed until smooth. Fold in whipped topping and pecans. Spoon mixture into cookie shell. Cover and freeze bombe onto a chilled serving platter. Wrap a damp, warm towel around mold to help loosen. Slide off mold and peel off plastic wrap. To serve, slice bombe into wedges and serve with your favorite chocolate or caramel topping. Apple Spice Cake 2 cups sugar 2 medium eggs 2½ cups flour 1 cup oil 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 4 cups apples, diced 1 cup walnuts, chopped 1/3 cup butterscotch chips

Mix sugar, eggs, flour, oil, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon together. Fold in apples and walnuts. Pour into a greased 9-inch x 13-inch pan and sprinkle the top with butterscotch chips. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 50 minutes.

Cat Head Biscuits 2 cups self-rising flour 2 tablespoon butter or margarine 1 cup buttermilk

Place flour in mixing bowl and crate a small depression. Add butter and small amount of buttermilk and begin mixing. When butter is blended, add in the rest of the milk and mix until just blended and dough forms a ball. Place dough on floured surface and pat out gently to a 1½-inch thickness. Cut out 6 bis- cuits and place on greased pan. Bake at 400 degrees for about 14 to 16 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter. Chilled Strawberry Soup 2 cups frozen strawberries 2 cups milk 3/4 cup heavy cream 3/4 cup sour cream 3 tablespoons sugar

Combine strawberries, milk, cream, sour cream, and sugar in food processor and pulse until smooth. Chill at least 8 hours in refrigerator before serving in chilled bowls. Garnish each serving with a mint leaf, fresh strawberry, or dab of vanilla yogurt. Yields about 8 appetizer-sized servings.

Lavender Scones 2 cups flour 1 tablespoons baking powder 6 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons dried culinary lavender, chopped 1 egg 1/2 cup buttermilk

Sift flour and baking powder together. Cut the butter into flour mixture until it has the consistency of bread crumbs. Stir in sugar and lavender. In separate bowl, beat egg and buttermilk, then add to mixture, forming dough. Place dough onto well-floured surface and shape into a circle. Pat down dough until it is about 1 inch thick. Use a floured cutter to stamp out 12 scones. Place scones on parchment-lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with jam or preserves. Apple and Cheese Brushchetta 1/2 cup goat cheese, softened 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 large apple, peeled, cored, and diced 10 slices French bread

Preheat broiler. Combine cheese, thyme, pepper, and apples. Place bread on baking sheet and put under broiler until just lightly toasted. Remove from broiler and spread cheese/apple mixture on each slice of bread. Broil until cheese softens and bubbles slightly. (Note: shredded cheddar cheese may be used in place of goat cheese.)

Haley’s No-Fuss Sponge Cake 4 eggs, separated 1 cup sugar 4 tablespoons cold water 1 cup cake flour, sifted 1 teaspoon baking powder Whipped cream or whipped topping Sliced strawberries or peaches

Beat together egg yolks and sugar. Add water. Sift together flour and baking soda, add to batter, and beat. In separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, then fold into batter. Pour batter into a well-greased small angel food cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. Once baked, cool com- pletely and invert onto cake platter. Slice cake in half, horizontally, and fill with whipped cream or your favorite whipped topping. Now top with remaining whipped cream and add sliced strawberries or peaches.