Cookbook Project, Books #85 and 86
Aug. 23rd, 2009 08:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyspriteWhile I've been having a lot of fun with this project, the one downside has been that the overwhelming majority of my cooking has been just for my husband and myself. On the one hand, it has widely expanded our dinner menus. On the other hand, putting more effort into planning and experimenting with dinners has meant that sometimes I haven't had quite as much energy into cooking for friends as I often do.
So, with that in mind, I recently had a handful of friends over for afternoon tea. It was an idea that a few people had suggested in the past, and that I'd been idly thinking about for a long time. And I had a couple of cookbooks that were perfect for that sort of gathering, so that provided the kick in the backside I needed to organize the event. And I'm incredibly glad I did - I could have asked for it not to happen on the hottest day of the year, but other than that it was wonderful.
Anyway, on to the food.
"Afternoon Tea," Susannah Blake
This book was the inspiration for the event, to be honest. It was a gift from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mermaidlady, and it's utterly beautiful - full of details about hosting a tea, and gorgeous pictures, and delicious-looking recipes for the most charming little foods that demand a special occasion to serve them at. I've been looking forward to finding the right occasion to use this book since I got it, and it didn't disappoint me.
I made a whole bunch of recipes from here, and they all turned out quite well. The egg and cress finger sandwiches were different, but good - it never would have occurred to me to put lemon zest in egg salad, but the flavors worked surprisingly well. The baby cheese scones with cream cheese and grapes were excellent, given the incredibly hot weather, and the sweet scones with clotted cream and jam were to die for, though much of that may have just been the clotted cream. I'd never had it before, and... just yum. The summer berry tartlets were adorable, and an appropriate vector for gorgeous berries. The only thing that turned out less than perfect were the orange almond tuiles, and that was just a matter of weather - it was far too humid for them to stay as crisp as they should have.
"Just Your Cup of Tea," Kathie Janger
This book, honestly, I expected to be a disappointment. It's a little glossy booklet even more cheap than the standard checkout lane fare that I bought for $0.99 at the Harvard Bookstore from a throwaway rack outside the front door. It caught my eye, and was cheap enough that I decided to try it. I can't remember how many years ago that was, but I think even then the thought of hosting a tea party was hovering in the back of my head. Honestly, though, given the cheap price and the excessive simplicity, I just kind of assumed it wouldn't be very useful.
I am very glad to state that I was completely wrong. Both the pecan shortbread and the raspberry tea cookies (which, given the selection of jams I had, also expanded to include blueberry and lemon) were excellent. The cucumber finger sandwiches, though, were absolutely stellar. Cool and delicious and full of more flavor than ought to be possible in anything that simple, and given the yield from our garden and the oppressive heat wave we're currently living through, I might just subsist on those sandwiches alone for the next month.
I need to remember to have people over and feed them more often....
So, with that in mind, I recently had a handful of friends over for afternoon tea. It was an idea that a few people had suggested in the past, and that I'd been idly thinking about for a long time. And I had a couple of cookbooks that were perfect for that sort of gathering, so that provided the kick in the backside I needed to organize the event. And I'm incredibly glad I did - I could have asked for it not to happen on the hottest day of the year, but other than that it was wonderful.
Anyway, on to the food.
"Afternoon Tea," Susannah Blake
This book was the inspiration for the event, to be honest. It was a gift from
mermaidlady, and it's utterly beautiful - full of details about hosting a tea, and gorgeous pictures, and delicious-looking recipes for the most charming little foods that demand a special occasion to serve them at. I've been looking forward to finding the right occasion to use this book since I got it, and it didn't disappoint me. I made a whole bunch of recipes from here, and they all turned out quite well. The egg and cress finger sandwiches were different, but good - it never would have occurred to me to put lemon zest in egg salad, but the flavors worked surprisingly well. The baby cheese scones with cream cheese and grapes were excellent, given the incredibly hot weather, and the sweet scones with clotted cream and jam were to die for, though much of that may have just been the clotted cream. I'd never had it before, and... just yum. The summer berry tartlets were adorable, and an appropriate vector for gorgeous berries. The only thing that turned out less than perfect were the orange almond tuiles, and that was just a matter of weather - it was far too humid for them to stay as crisp as they should have.
"Just Your Cup of Tea," Kathie Janger
This book, honestly, I expected to be a disappointment. It's a little glossy booklet even more cheap than the standard checkout lane fare that I bought for $0.99 at the Harvard Bookstore from a throwaway rack outside the front door. It caught my eye, and was cheap enough that I decided to try it. I can't remember how many years ago that was, but I think even then the thought of hosting a tea party was hovering in the back of my head. Honestly, though, given the cheap price and the excessive simplicity, I just kind of assumed it wouldn't be very useful.
I am very glad to state that I was completely wrong. Both the pecan shortbread and the raspberry tea cookies (which, given the selection of jams I had, also expanded to include blueberry and lemon) were excellent. The cucumber finger sandwiches, though, were absolutely stellar. Cool and delicious and full of more flavor than ought to be possible in anything that simple, and given the yield from our garden and the oppressive heat wave we're currently living through, I might just subsist on those sandwiches alone for the next month.
I need to remember to have people over and feed them more often....
