Tea and Poetry Tea Party: Watermelon Fruit Salad

Ode to the Watermelon
Pablo Neruda from Neruda's Garden, an Anthology of Odes
...
Thirsty, we anticipate
you:
a mine or mountain
of ambrosia,
but between teeth and desire,
you change into
simple, fresh light
melting into a spring,
touching us with song.
...

Plain fruit salad is delicious but for a tea party, it is nice to add something extra. This Watermelon Fruit Salad Dressing does just that.

For the salad:
fruit of your choice, cut into bite-size pieces
watermelon, cut into chunks

For the dressing:
1 cup cubed seeded watermelon
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon raspberry vinegar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Stir before using.

Tea and Poetry Tea Party: Easiest Apple Tart

Ode to the Apple
Pablo Neruda
…
You are always
more refreshing than anything
or anybody,
always newly fallen
from Paradise:
simple
and pure
rouged cheek
of dawn!
…
All Neruda poetry quoted here is from the book Neruda’s Garden: An Anthology of Odes.

1 15-ounce package refrigerated unbaked pie crust (2 crusts)
6 large apples
½ cup water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 ½ teaspoons apple pie spice
milk
coarse sugar

Let piecrusts stand at room temperature according to package directions. Meanwhile, core and slice peeled apples. Combine apples with water and lemon juice and toss to coat.

Stir together the ½ cup sugar, flour and spice in a large mixing bowl, Drain apples well; add to sugar mixture and toss gently to coat. Set aside.

Unfold one piecrust. Place on a lightly floured surface. Unfold the second crust and place on top of the first. Roll the two crusts together from center to edge, forming a circle about 14 inches in diameter. Ease the pasty into a 9-inch pie plate, letting pastry extend over the edge.

Spoon apple filling into the pie. Fold the pastry up and over the filling, pleating the pastry to fit. Brush pastry with milk; sprinkle with sugar. Cover the edge of the pie with foil to prevent over browning.

Bake in a 375º oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake about 30 minutes more or till crust is golden. Cool slightly on a wire rack. About 8 servings.

Blog-a-thon Week 4

This is Week 4 of Gracious Hospitality's Blog-a-Thon. The idea for this week is: Share ideas and pictures that involve stitching for the tea table. Any kind of stitches count: sewing, embroidery, knitting, crochet, tatting, quilting, etc. The work can be yours or of someone else, but should be homemade rather than done by factory machines. Ideas are napkins, tea cozies, table linens, and other creations made with tea themes.

I love doilies, all doilies, ancient ones, modern ones, made by people I know or made by strangers. I always use doilies on my tea tables, as well as around my Victorian house. The doilies I'm showing here are a mix of very old, created by my husband's great aunts, and merely old, created by my own grandmother. I don't know the pattern names unfortunately.

I'm often asked how to remove stains from old pieces like these. I recommend mixing hot water and Biz in your sink or dishpan. Let the crocheted piece soak for a half hour or so; rinse and repeat until the stains are gone. Never ring out the water; blot dry on a thick towel. You can also use the sun to help whiten pieces by laying them outdoors. One caution with crocheted pieces, be very careful about using starch. Use very little and don't put your doilies away without first washing the starch out.

Tea and Poetry Tea: Mini Baked Potatoes

Ode to the Spud
Pablo Neruda
…
Hunger’s enemy
in all nations,
your victorious flag
is buried,
And quickly there
in the cold or on the
burning coast,
your anonymous
flower
appears,
announcing the thick
and soft nativity
of your roots.
…

Choose the firmest, most blemish-free new red potatoes, about two per person. Wash and then bake in a 350º oven for about 30 minutes.

When cool enough to handle, scoop out some of the pulp with a melonballer to form a small cavity. Reserve that bit of potato to a bowl.

In the bowl, combine the potato pulp, ¼ cup of sour cream and 2 tablespoons cream cheese. Sprinkle with dill or other herb of your choice. Add salt and pepper. Refill potato with this mixture and return to the oven until the potatoes are again hot.

Other ingredients you might want to add to the potato mixture are: sautéed onions; crumbled bacon, chopped ham, grated cheese, or chopped walnuts.

Tea and Poetry Tea Party: Sliced Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Basil on Ciabatta

Ode to the Tomato
Pablo Neruda
...
It invades kitchens,
enters lunches.
It sits
and rests
on cupboards,
between tumblers,
butterdishes,
and sky blue salt shakers.
The tomato revels in
its own light,
a gentle majesty.
...

1 loaf ciabatta bread, sliced into 1/3-inch slices
6 tomatoes, cut into 1/3-inch slices
1 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/3-inch slices
6 spring of basil, torn
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse kosher salt and fresh black pepper

Arrange slices of tomatoes, the mozzarella and basil on bread slices. Sprinkle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Top with another slice of bread or leave open faced. Cut in half or thirds, depending on the size of the bread.

Asparagus Soup

I’m taking a little detour today to include a recipe for Asparagus Soup for Anita. But it can be used instead of the French Onion Soup originally intended for the Tea and Poetry Tea. April and May are the prime months for asparagus so get it while it's here!

4 quarts water
2 pounds asparagus
4 tablespoons butter
2 onions, finely chopped
1 medium waxy potato, peeled and sliced
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 bunch of parsley, about 12 stems, tied with string
½ to 1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper

Bring the water to a boil in a 6-quart pot.

Cut off and discard the woody bases of the asparagus. Cut off the asparagus tips and reserve them. Chop the remaining stalks into 1-inch segments and reserve.

When the water boils, put the tips in the water for 2 or 3 minutes, until they are tender but not mushy. Take them out and rinse them under cold running water. Set aside.

Put the stalks in the boiling water and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the stalks to a bowl full of ice water. Water can be discarded now.

Heat the butter in a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Add the onions and potato and stir every 2 minutes for about 10 minutes, until the onions turn translucent and the potatoes soften slightly.

Add the broth, the cut-up asparagus stalks and the parsley. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until the asparagus and potatoes have softened thoroughly. Puree the soup in a food mill, food processor or blender.

Heat the soup, add the heavy cream and season it with salt and pepper. Add the asparagus tips directly to the soup or heat them at the last minute in a little water and arrange them on top of the soup. A dollop of sour cream can be added and the tips placed on top of it. Makes 8 servings.

Tea and Poetry Tea Party: Orange Scone Wedges with Cream Cheese Filling

Ode to the Orange
Pablo Neruda
...
May the light
of each day
be
orange-colored,
and the heart of humans,
piquant-sweet sections--
a spring
capable of preserving
the mysterious simplicity
of the Earth
and the impeccable unity
of an orange.


These scones come out so perfectly. With the cream cheese filling, there is no need for any toppings. That makes these scones perfect for the Tea and Poetry Tea Party.

Filling:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange peel

Scones:
1 ¾ cups flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons firm butter
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
¼ cup whipping cream
1 egg
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons coarse white sugar

Heat oven to 400º. Beat all filling ingredients with mixer until smooth; set aside.

In a bowl, combine flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in 1 tablespoon orange peel, whipping cream and 1 egg.

Place dough on lightly floured surface; gently roll in flour to coat. Knead lightly 10 times. Divide dough in half. Pat or roll each half into 9-inch round, about ¼ inch thick. Spread filling over half of each round.

Fold each dough round in half over filling. With sharp knife, cut each half round into 6 wedges. On ungreased cookie sheet, place wedges 1 inch apart. Brush tops with beaten egg; sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. 12 scones.