Lemon Sorbet

This recipe requires an ice cream freezer. If you don’t have one, you can find delicious sorbet at your local grocery.

1 cup sugar
1 ¼ cups water
4 lemons
1 egg white

Boil together the sugar and water, until the sugar has dissolved. Add strips of the peel of two lemons into the sugar syrup. Add the juice from all four lemons to the syrup. Strain out the peel and add the mixture to the ice cream freezer. Churn until thick. Add the egg white and continue to churn for 10-15 minutes until firm enough to scoop. Pack into plastic containers and freeze until it hardens or until you’re ready to serve it.

The Firefly Tea: White Chocolate Truffles

Truffles are so easy to make and always seem very special.

16 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped or 16 ounces white chocolate chips
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon clear vanilla
20 ounces of white chocolate, melted, for dipping

Place the 16 ounces of chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside.

Heat the cream in a small heavy saucepan over low heat until small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan and the cream begins to give off steam. Immediately pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Add the vanilla and stir until it is completely incorporated.

Place the mixture in the fridge for 1 hour or until it is firm enough to shape into balls.

Scoop out a heaping teaspoonful of the chocolate and roll it into a ball between your palms. Dip the shaped truffles into melted white chocolate. Repeat with the remaining chocolate. If the mixture gets too soft to hold its shape, place it back in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Yield: about 30 truffles

The Firefly Tea: Petits Fours

Follow directions on a box of white cake mix. Pour batter into greased and floured jelly roll pan, 15 ½ x 10 ½ x 1 inch. Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool. Cut cake into small squares using biscuit or canapé cutter.

Glaze cake pieces by placing upside down, a few at a time, on wire rack over large bowl or baking dish. Pour Petits Fours Icing (below) over top so entire cake piece is covered at one time. (Glaze that drips off cakes into bowl can be reheated and used again.) Decorate using Decorators' Icing (below) or with silver dragees. Yield: about 35 cakes

Petits Fours Icing

9 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (about 2 pounds)
½ cup water
½ cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract

Combine ingredients in top of double boiler and heat over boiling water just to lukewarm. Do not overheat icing or it will become dull. Remove from heat, leaving icing over hot water to keep it thin. If desired, tint parts of icing with food color (yellow for the Firefly Tea.) If necessary, add hot water, just a few drops at a time, until of spreading consistency.

Decorators' Icing

Mix 2 cups confectioners' sugar and 1 tablespoon water. Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing is of the consistency that can be piped. Yield: ¾ cup

The Firefly Tea: Moon and Stars Cookies

2 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Put the sugar into a food processor, add pieces of the butter, one at a time, and process until mixture is creamy. Add the eggs, lemon zest and vanilla and process until blended. Add the flour mixture and pulse until just incorporated.

Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and keep in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly grease the cookie sheets or line them with parchment paper.

Unwrap the dough and cut into quarters. Keep out one quarter and stick the others back in the fridge until you’re ready for them. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut out the cookies and transfer them to the prepared sheets, leaving 2 inches space between cookies. Take care not to distort the cookie shape when transferring. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until the cookies are pale gold. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

The Firefly Tea: Shrimp Skewers with Pineapple and Pepper

These Shrimp Skewers could be grilled but timing is imperative and the risk is great that the shrimp will be over-grilled. It is really easier to use a big pan and cook them in several batches.

2 pounds shrimp, 26-20 count, peeled and deveined
3 yellow peppers, cut into 1" pieces
1 fresh pineapple, cut into 1" cubes
1 jar sweet and sour sauce
1 stick butter

Thread one or two shrimp, yellow pepper and pineapple on a wooden skewer. Repeat until all shrimp are skewered. In a large sauté pan, carefully place the skewers without crowding. Add little pats of butter around each skewer. Brush with sweet and sour sauce. Heat for about 2 minutes and turn the skewers over. Brush with more sweet and sour sauce. Cook for another 2 or three minutes or until the shrimp are cooked through. Shrimp will lose their silvery blue translucence and turn pink and firm when they are cooked. Do not overcook.

The Firefly Tea: Miniature Salmon Quiches

This barquette shape makes an elegant presentation. You can, however, use mini muffin pans or round tart pans.

2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon red pepper
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 eggs
3/4 cup milk
8 ounces smoked salmon, flaked
Garnishes: carrot curls, green onion brushes, red onion shreds, dill, celery leaves

Process flour, melted butter, salt and pepper in food processor until combined. Add cheese; process until well blended. Shape dough into 1 1/2" balls. Press dough into greased 2 1/2" barquette pans. Preheat oven to 350º. In a bowl, whisk eggs and milk. Stir in salmon. Spoon about 1 tablespoon filling into each pastry shell. Bake 15-20 minutes or until center is set. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove from pans, garnish, and serve warm or at room temperature. Yield: about 3 dozen quiches

The Firefly Tea: Pimento Cheese Tea Sandwiches

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sharp cheddar, grated
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 – 3 tablespoons mashed pimentos
1 teaspoon onion, grated
thin sandwich bread

With a food processor or mixer, combine until well blended.

To assemble tea sandwiches: Cut rounds from center of the bread slices with a biscuit cutter. If you like, use a small cookie cutter or canapé cutter to cut a design in half the bread circles. Spread Pimento Cheese on the whole bottom rounds, top with the circles that have the cut-out design.

The Firefly Tea: Chicken and Pasta Salad

Salad:
16 ounces uncooked rotini pasta
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup thinly sliced celery
½ cup chopped green onions
12 ounces fresh snow pea pods, trimmed
2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
8 ounces pineapple in juice, drained, reserving juice
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
lettuce of your choice

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons reserved pineapple liquid
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey

Cook pasta per package directions. Rinse with cold water until cool.

Mix salad ingredients, except almonds and lettuce. In a small bowl mix dressing ingredients until well blended.

Add pasta and ½ cup almonds to salad. Stir. Add dressing, toss to coat. Line serving bowl or platter with lettuce. Spoon salad over lettuce. Sprinkle with remaining almonds.

16 servings

The Firefly Tea: Spicy Empanaditas

If you’re from certain parts of the world, empanaditas are old friends but I remember the first time I ate one. It was at a state fair where I had many other tasty food choices. The empanaditas were my favorite though. It wasn’t until recently, with the recipe and help of my lovely Latina neighbor that I made them myself.

If you want to use already prepared pie crusts, no problem. Roll over them a bit to press the seams before using.

1 large cooked potato, chopped into small cubes
1/2 pound fresh Mexican chorizo (spicy pork sausage)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 teaspoon cilantro, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Pastry dough for a 9 inch, 2-crust pie
1 egg, separated
2 tablespoons milk

Cook and stir the chorizo until browned, breaking up any large clumps. Drain but keep about 1 tablespoon fat in the pan with the sausage. Add the potato, onion, jalapeno pepper, salt and pepper. Cook until onion is softened, about ten minutes. Sprinkle with the cilantro.

Heat oven to 400º. Whisk egg white and 1 tablespoon milk together, reserve. Prepare pastry dough; gather into a ball. Divide into halves, flatten them into disks, wrap in plastic and let rest in the fridge for at least a half hour. On a lightly floured cloth covered surface, roll 1 round of pastry into a circle, about 14 inches in diameter. Cut into 11 or 12 circles, 3 1/2 inches in diameter.

Spoon 2 teaspoons beef mixture onto center of each circle; brush edge of pastry with egg mixture. Fold pastry circle up over filling; press edge with fork to seal. Place empanaditas on ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining round of pastry and filling. Gather any remaining pastry; shape into another round. Repeat rolling, cutting and filling.Beat egg yolk and remaining 1 tablespoon milk until well blended; brush over tops of empanaditas. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm. About 34 empanaditas.

Dos and Don’ts for the Firefly Tea Buffet

Even though it is tempting, don’t invite more guests than you have seating and by seating, I mean a chair and a place at a table. I know some people are quite adept at eating while sitting in folding chairs, balancing their plate and iced tea on their knee but I find that pretty risky. The guests, after all, were asked to wear white.

Seating guests at tables also allows you to set the table ahead of their arrival. Napkins, silverware, and iced tea glasses should be in place. Just before you ask everyone to sit down, place the gazpacho and set a basket of the White Cheddar Scones and a little container of Chive Butter on each table. Keep the scones wrapped warmly in a napkin. Pour the iced tea now or fill the glasses as you visit each table. Keep a pitcher of water on hand too in case someone doesn’t want to drink the tea.

Your guests will finish their soup and get up to go through the buffet line in naturally staggered times. Be sure to place the tables and chairs so there are clear paths to the buffet.

Your buffet doesn’t have to fit on just one table. Use a separate table for desserts. Let everyone see what’s coming up next! You might use a small table to hold pitchers of tea, ice and water.

On the table itself, vary the height of the serving pieces. You can slip a box or big can underneath the tablecloth to elevate a dish but don’t do too many of these or your table will look awkward. Use your footed cake stands and yes, this is the time to use your three-tiered trays.

A few Dos and Don’ts for the Hostess:

*Don’t use paper plates, cups or plastic forks.
*Don’t bring foil trays or dishes that the food was cooked in to the table to serve from.
*Do have extra napkins.
*Do offer sugar, artificial sweetener and lemon on the tables even if you prefer your tea without those things. This is about making your guests comfortable, not pushing your own beliefs. (I add this one for myself.)
*Do pull your teenage kids into service. They can clear the soup, help keep the tea glasses filled, remove the plates as everyone goes for dessert and clear the tables when everything has been eaten. If you don’t have your own kids, borrow a neighbor kid, your niece or nephew, a couple girls from church, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find teenage help.
*Do keep a roll of paper towels and a dish towel or two handy but out of sight.
*Do serve the food if someone brings it as a hostess gift. That is, if there is enough to go around. Proper etiquette says you don’t have to do this but why risk hurting someone’s feelings by not using what they brought. Yes, even if it is Watergate Salad. Being kind and generous outweighs having a perfect buffet table.
*Do try to relax and enjoy the party. A nervous, fussy hostess will make her guests uncomfortable. The people you invited are your friends and none of them will be upset if they have to wait a few minutes for a tea refill.

Dos and Don’ts for the Guest:

*Do ask if the hostess would like help but if she says no, please believe she means no.
*Do stay outdoors unless you need to use the restroom. Don’t hang around inside when the hostess meant this party to be outside.
*Don’t bring food to the party unless you’ve cleared it with the hostess first. She’ll probably welcome your vegan-glutton free-no peanut-diet delight but give her warning. She’s probably already set her buffet table. Don’t make her scurry around at the last minute.
*Don’t annoy the hostess by asking “What’s in this?” unless you have an allergy that will send you into anaphylactic shock. If you want the recipe, you can ask her tomorrow when you call to thank her.
*Do try to be in an upbeat party mood. Do think of something interesting or funny ahead of time to contribute to the conversation if you aren’t a good spur-of-the-moment speaker.
*Do be receptive to tasting new foods.
*Don’t bring booze; this is a tea, not a BYOB party. The hostess might indeed serve something alcoholic but that’s totally her call, not the guest’s.
*Do look for signs that the hostess is ready to say goodnight. And say goodnight.
*Do write a thank-you note the next day or at the very least, call the hostess to let her know how great everything was. She’ll really appreciate it and you’ll be invited back again.

The Firefly Tea: White Cheddar and Chive Scones

These are the best savory scones I make. They taste a bit like Red Lobster’s Cheese Biscuits, only these are lighter, more delicate. The dough is a big sticky mess so put down a generous amount of flour before dumping it out. Flour your hands and the cutter too.

2 cups self-rising flour
½ cup butter
¼ cup sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
1/8 cup fresh chopped chives
½ cup buttermilk
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350º. With your food processor or a pastry blender, cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add cheese and chives. Whisk together egg and buttermilk. Add to flour mixture. Stir enough to combine ingredients loosely.

Pour out onto floured surface and pat together in a circle to about ½ inch thick. Cut with a round biscuit cutter and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes only 8-10 scones so make several batches in order to have one scone per person. Serve with Chive Butter.

Chive Butter

1 stick of butter, softened
2 Tablespoons chives, chopped

Combine with a fork or whirl in the food processor. For a butter log, put the chive butter onto plastic wrap and form into a log. Refrigerate. Cut pretty round pats to serve. OR simply put the chive butter in a pretty container and refrigerate until ready to use.

The Firefly Tea: Apple Crunch Mini Muffins

I don’t like muffin papers on my homemade muffins. To have to peel that paper from a mini muffin especially seems like way too much bother. Simply grease the muffin cups or spray them with Pam for Baking spray.

1 ½ cup flour
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup shortening
1 egg, slightly beaten
½ cup milk
1 cup shredded, unpared tart apples
Nut Crunch Topping, below

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into the bowl of a food processor. Add shortening and pulse until fine crumbs form. Combine egg and milk. Add to dry ingredients all at once, pulsing only to moisten. Stir in apples. Use a small cookie scoop to fill greased mini muffin pans two-thirds full. Sprinkle with Nut Crunch Topping. Bake in a 375º oven for 12-14 minutes. Makes 36 mini muffins.

Nut Crunch Topping:
Mix together ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup chopped pecans and ½ teaspoon cinnamon.

The Firefly Tea: Lemon Blueberry Bread

There are a lot of tea breads that I love. Lemon-blueberry tea bread is my favorite though. The flavor of lemon in this bread isn’t some pale background note; it is the main player. The sweet blueberries compliment the lemon, not the other way around.

When I bake tea breads, I don’t use a traditional 9” x 5” bread pan. I like smaller slices so I use a 12" x 4" x 2 1/2" pan. It holds the same amount as a 9" x 5" and recipes don’t have to be adjusted. The timing should be decreased, however. If you don’t have this special pan, you might want to consider cutting the slices of tea bread in half. Unless you’re serving only tea bread and tea, a whole big slice is just too much to eat.

Here’s the recipe:

1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

GLAZE:
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup sugar

In mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, juice and eggs. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk. Fold in peel, nuts and blueberries. Pour into a greased 12” x 4” loaf pan. Bake at 350º for 45-50 minutes. (If using 9” x 5” loaf pan, bake for 65-70 minutes.) Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine glaze ingredients. Remove bread from pan and drizzle with glaze. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 1 loaf

The FireFly Tea: Yellow Gazpacho

Serve this cold soup in small bowls. You don’t want your guests to fill up on this before they get to taste any of your other food. You might also serve the gazpacho in stemmed glasses, cordial glasses or sherbet dishes. Garnish the soup with the size of the dish in mind.

3 pounds yellow tomatoes, chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
2 yellow peppers, seeded and diced
2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 cup peeled and chopped jicama
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 slice stale bread (crust removed), soaked in water and squeezed dry
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
Dash hot pepper sauce
Garnish of choice

In a blender or food processor, puree the tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, yellow pepper, cucumber, jicama, bread and onion until very smooth, about 3 minutes. Add vinegar, white wine, olive oil, salt and pepper and combine. Pass through a coarse strainer. Chill thoroughly. Garnish with finely chopped tomato, cucumber, onion and/or herb sprigs of your choice and/or a dollop of sour cream.

Firefly Tea Menu

This tea isn’t served in courses; instead it is a tea buffet. Is the tea bread a dessert or does it belong with the scones? Who cares! Your guests will enjoy the food, recognize some things as typical tea party treats but it won’t matter the order in which they eat. You might notice the white and yellow theme continuing with the food.

Yellow Gazpacho Soup
White Cheddar and Chive Scones with Chive Butter
Lemon Tea Bread
Apple Mini Muffins
Pimento Cheese Tea Sandwiches
Salmon Mini Quiches
Chicken and Pasta Salad
Shrimp, Pineapple and Pepper Skewers
Spicy Empanaditas
Moon and Star Cookies
White and Yellow Petits Four with Silver Dragees
White Chocolate Truffles
Lemon Sorbet
Darjeeling-Ceylon Iced Tea Blend from Upton

Firefly Tea

Late summer is the perfect time for watching fireflies. And it is the perfect time for a Firefly Tea! Gather your friends, lots of them, to enjoy the last warm summer evenings.

Twinkling light is the first thing to think about when planning your decorations for a Firefly Tea. Get out your white Christmas lights and string them through your trees, on your garden fence, circling big pots of flowers. Speaking of Christmas, why not borrow another idea and place luminaries around your yard. Of course, don’t forget the candles. Bring out every white candle you have. Group them down the length of your table, set them on rocks in groups of three. If you have some hanging candle holders, attach them to tree branches.

Have you noticed how white flowers look underneath the moon? They have a beautiful glow that you don’t see in the daylight. Their scent is stronger then too. Bring any pots of your white flowers into your party space. Add one or two yellow flowers as well. If you don’t have any potted flowers, assemble little bouquets of cut white flowers in clear glass vases. Add one or two yellow flowers for color.

So far on the table we have white candles and white and yellow flowers. Use a white tablecloth as well as white dishes, if you have them. White and yellow napkins would be the perfect compliment. Sprinkle mirror confetti on the table for even more sparkle.

To make the setting even more special, sink some plastic pipe into the ground, drape white nylon netting between these poles and let it cascade down each pole to the ground. Loop a yellow bow around a bunch of netting to achieve a full, bloused look.

Some people are lucky enough to have lots of natural "music" in their yards. If you don’t, buy an environment CD that has the sounds of night creatures with only the lightest bit of instrumental music to accompany them. A Firefly Tea is all about soothing and natural sensory experiences.

I don’t usually ask guests to dress a certain way but for this tea, it adds to the atmosphere if everyone wears white or yellow clothes. Almost every woman has a pair of white slacks or a white skirt or even white shorts. Men have white or yellow golf shirts usually in their closets.

Yes, I said men! This is a tea where couples are invited. There is certainly nothing inherently feminine about drinking tea and no reason why men wouldn't enjoy this party. The only caveat is that you’ll need more food. A two-bite tea sandwich isn't going to go very far in satisfying a guy’s appetite. It is okay to go outside a normal tea menu to include more filling food for this event.

Tomorrow we’ll look at the Firefly Tea menu!