infraredherring.com » Tea Party Success!

Aug

2005

So the tea party went off without a hitch! There was more than sufficient food, so visitors were able to take some choice items home with them. I had leftovers (and you know how I feel about leftovers - the sooner they’re gone, the better) so I brought some to work the next day. The lemon squares in particular were a hit with both tea party attendees and work folk. They don’t look particularly stunning, but they’re luscious.

Lemon Squares Sm

The menu was tweaked slightly to add cream cheese, chives & pistachio sandwiches and I did not make any smoked cheddar & ham sandwiches. I couldn’t find good ham. The sandwiches were decent, but I think next time I will use thinner sliced bread. I’ll have to find a bakery that bakes a good pullman loaf and get them to slice it thinly lengthwise for me.

Possibly my favorite item on this menu were the fresh heirloom cherry tomato mini tarts in a parmesan crust.

Tomato Tart Sm

They were by far the most labor-intensive item to make. The high percentage of parmesan in the tart shells meant that removing the lining and pie weights was an ordeal, since the shells were a) sticking to the lining, and b) pretty fragile. But good lord, the end result was worth it. Beautiful tarts with a terrific taste. Keep in mind that I don’t even like fresh tomatoes, and I still had more than my share of these mini tarts.

Mushroom Quiche Sm

Also particularly good were the mushroom mini quiches and the lemon curd. As a compromise, I decided to add caramelized onions to the mushroom mini quiches, which meant a rich sweet/savoury filling. The lemon curd was smooth, sweet (but not tooth-numbingly sweet), and just exactly tart enough. It went beautifully with the scones and clotted cream.

See photos of all that was served at the tea party (except the scones - I forgot to take a photo of those!)

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