November 2013 Tea Party at Dani's

Dani hosted a tea party.  There were cucumber and chicken sandwiches, scones and clotted cream, lemon curd, meat pies, vegetable pies,  and more.

I (Dani) made 3 savory hand pies and 2 sweet hand pies.

Savory
Sausage, Apple, Cheddar Pocket Pies
Roasted Squash and Mushroom Tarts
Goats Cheese Tarts (see below)

Sweet
Nutella and Blackberry Hand Pies
Toffee Apple Hand Pies 





Goats Cheese Tarts from Donna Hay, Instant Entertaining
Makes 8 tarts

1 lb prepared puff pastry
5 oz sliced goat cheese
2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves
salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion sliced
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees farenheight. To make the caramelized onions, place the oil, onion, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a frying pan over medium heigh heat. Simmer until soft and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface, until 1/8" think and cut into 4" squares. On each square, spread the onions, top with goat cheese, oregano, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and cook approx. 15 min until puffed and golden.

I (Lauren) made clotted cream and Lemon curd, then made a scone recipe with Rebecca.  Rebecca made another type of scone as well.

Meyer Lemon Curd from Gourmet Magazine, December 1999
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Meyer-Lemon-Curd-102744 

Yield: Makes about 1 2/3 cups

Active Time: 20 min

Total Time: 20 min

ingredients

• 3 to 4 Meyer lemons (about 1 pound)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

preparation

Finely grate enough zest from lemons to measure 2 teaspoons and squeeze enough juice to measure 1/2 cup. Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a metal bowl and add butter. Set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, whisking, until thickened and smooth and an instant-read thermometer registers 160°F, about 5 minutes. Force curd through a fine sieve set into another bowl. Serve warm or cover surface of curd with wax paper and cool completely.

Cooks' notes: 

 • Lemon curd keeps, covered and chilled, 1 week.
• If substituting regular lemons, increase sugar to 3/4 cup.

clotted cream  (I used a mixture of raw milk cream and Strauss creamery cream)

http://www.joepastry.com/2012/making-clotted-cream/

Start by setting your oven at about 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything under 200 will do. Then pour about a quart of heavy cream into a small dish or pot. That there are already some clots of butterfat here indicates that this is definitely the sort of cream I want.

Cover that with aluminum foil (or a lid in the case of a pot) and place it in the oven for 10-12 hours. 

Turning this into clotted cream proper means cooling it. So into the refrigerator it goes. The chill will cause the lipid molecules in the butterfat globules to form crystals. The whole mass will get firmer.

So I just skim off the big, firm clots and keep them in a bowl until I need them. The remainder I’ll strain and use as half-and-half in, well, whatever. Store this for a week or more tightly covered to prevent odors or off flavors from getting in. 

I (Kim) made a Tea Sandwiches.

I (Rebecca) made two different types of Scones.  I made Petite Vanilla Bean Scones from The Pioneer Woman and Scottish Oat Scones from Eating Well.

Petite Vanilla Bean Scones

Ingredients

• SCONES
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour
• 2/3 cups Sugar
• 5 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 sticks (1/2 Pound) UNSALTED Butter, Chilled
• 1 whole Large Egg
• 3/4 cups Heavy Cream (more If Needed)
• 2 whole Vanilla Beans
• GLAZE
• 5 cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
• 1/2 cup Whole Milk, More If Needed For Thinning
• 1 whole Vanilla Bean
• Dash Of Salt

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Split the vanilla beans down the middle lengthwise and scrape out all the vanilla "caviar" inside. Stir caviar into cream. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Sift together flour, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Cut cold butter into pats, then use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into the flour. Keep going until mixture resembles crumbs.
Mix vanilla cream with egg, then combine with flour mixture; stir gently with a fork just until it comes together.
Turn dough onto a floured surface and lightly press it together until it forms a rough rectangle. (Mixture will be pretty crumbly.) Use a rolling pin to roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick. Use your hands to help with the forming if necessary.
Use a knife to trim into a symmetrical rectangle, then cut the rectangle into 12 symmetrical squares/rectangles. Next, cut each square/rectangle in half diagonally, to form two triangles.
Transfer to a parchment or baking mat-lined cookie sheet and bake for 18 minutes, removing from the oven just before they start to turn golden. Allow to cool for 15 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
VANILLA GLAZE
To make the icing, split one vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the caviar. Stir caviar into milk; allow to sit for awhile. Mix powdered sugar with the vanilla milk, adding more powdered sugar or milk if necessary to get the consistency the right thickness. Stir or whisk until completely smooth.
One at a time, carefully dunk each cooled scone in the glaze, turning it over if necessary. Transfer to parchment paper or the cooling rack. Allow the glaze to set completely, about an hour. Scones will keep several days if glazed.

Scottish Oat Scones

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup all-purpose white flour
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or line it with parchment paper. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat and cook until it begins to turn light brown, about 2 minutes. Skim foam and pour into a small bowl.
2. Stir together oats, flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Stir in raisins and make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Combine the browned butter, egg, yogurt and oil in a small bowl; add to the dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.
3. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead several times to form a ball. Pat the ball into an 8-inch circle and cut into 8 wedges.
4. Place the wedges on the prepared baking sheet and bake until lightly browned and firm to the touch, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool slightly. Serve warm.

I (Katharina) made a Ham Salad.

I (Audra) made Almond Petits Fours and Cream Filled Strawberries.

Almond Petits Fours from Taste of Home
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/almond-petits-fours

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 1-1/2 hours Bake: 15 min. + coolingMAKES: 30 servings

Ingredients

• 1 can (8 ounces) almond paste

• 3/4 cup butter, softened

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 4 eggs

• 1 cup cake flour

• 1/4 cup seedless raspberry spreadable fruit

• Glaze:

• 4-1/2 cups sugar

• 2-1/4 cups water

• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

• 1-1/2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

• 6 cups confectioners' sugar

• Assorted food coloring

Directions:

1. Line a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with parchment paper; coat the paper with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream the almond paste, butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour. Spread evenly into prepared pan.
3. Bake at 325° for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cream Filled Strawberries from Joy of Baking

http://www.joyofbaking.com/StrawberriesFilledCream.html

Preparation time 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

15 large fresh strawberries

1/3 cup cold mascarpone cheese (can substitute with regular cream cheese)

1/3 cup cold heavy whipping cream (35-40% butterfat content)

2-3 tablespoons granulated white sugar, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Choose fresh strawberries that will sit flat. If you find the strawberries are a little wobbly with the stems left on, cut the green stems off so the strawberries will stand upright when placed on your serving tray.
2. With a small sharp knife, cut an "X" into each strawberry, starting at the top of the strawberry and cutting down almost to the bottom of the strawberry. (The cut should be such that the strawberry will open up but not fall apart.) Gently, with your fingertips, spread each strawberry apart to make "petals".  Set aside while you make the cream filling.
3. In a medium sized bowl, whip (with a wire whisk or an electric hand mixer) the mascarpone cheese, heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. 
4. Spoon the cream into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (I used a Wilton 1M tip). 
5. Starting at the bottom of the strawberry, pipe the cream into each strawberry. 
6. If not serving immediately, cover, and place in the refrigerator until serving time.