Throwing a French Tea Party

Sigh...Is there anything more wonderful than lounging in a ankle length dress, lips bright red and hair pinned up in curls, sipping tea and eating french pastries? NOPE!

How to throw a French Tea Party:

Having mastered the art of making scones, whipping up fresh Devonshire cream, and hosting a proper engligh tea party, I'm excited to add throwing French Tea Parties to my repertoire of lofty pursuits. Though I'm fairly certain the french don't do tea parties and if they do it's just a funny euphemism for drinking more wine. But what a french tea party may lack in authenticity it makes up for with butter. Oh so much butter. And what's more french that that?

Some things you'll need:

1. French pastries: The french bake, right? A french tea party must have french pastries. I chose a raspberry tart with pate brisee crust (or shortbread) and financiers with raspberries. And again this weekend, I made the same with cherries. Financiers are an interesting pastry made with butter cooked on a stove and ground almond flour then topped with fruit. Both cherries and raspberries worked perfectly with them. The raspberry tart was a bit hit or miss. It's made with pate brisee (a fancy way of saying a shortbread cookie crust). I wasn't a fan of the tartness of the raspberries on the first try so I customized it with dark cherries and clarified butter (Mmm memories)--a huge improvement. Anything that's fruity and delicate will give your tea party a french flair. (Recipe links below)  

2. Decor: When you're setting your table for low tea, ask yourself, "Would Marie Antoinette approve?". Think pastels and creams, and for God's sake put a tablecloth on your table! Think palace of Versailles: baroque, decadent, and daintier than a french confection. A little pastel goes a long way. 

3. Stereotypes! When in doubt, bring out the wheel of brie and baguette. brie and baguettes are not only telegraphically french, they also make wonderful side savories that balance out all the sweetness of the tea and pastries. 

 4. French Music: Another must. Simply go pandora and type "La Vie En Rose" and let the digital DJ do the rest. :) 

See my previous post on How to throw a Proper English Tea Party.

1.) Quiche:
7 large eggs
bacon
1 cup of cheddar
1 cup of baby spinach
1 sauteed onion
1/3 cup of heavy cream
puff pastry crust (thawed)
-Cook the bacon.
-Dice and saute the onion(Set both aside in the refrigerator to cool for about 10 minutes)
-In a large bowl whisk 7 eggs, heavy cream (add shredded cheese, spinach, and the cooled bacon and onion)
-add freshly ground black pepper
-Use a roller to flatted the thawed puff pastry and use it to line the bottom of a round pan, fill the pan will the eggs (leave room for the eggs and pastry to expand)
-Bake 400 F for 15-20 minutes.

2.) Cherry Tart: Recipe for raspberry tart (JoyofBaking)
Cherry Tart: Add 4 teaspoons of confectioners sugar to this pate brisee dough
2 cups of fresh cherries (pitted)
1/3 cup of clarified ("browned") butter (place unsalted butter in a small pan on medium heat. Allow it the bubble and froth for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally) (This is the same butter used in the financiers)
-Follow the raspberry directions from Joy of baking, using the cherries instead. drizzle the cooked butter over the top of the cherries.

3.) Financiers (See Joy Of Baking Recipe) 

Jamaican Easter Bun & Cheese

A Jamaican Easter means donning a frock worthy of Effie Trinket's approval, possibly a hat or at the very least a fascinator, and heading to church to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ in style. Then, after prancing around in pastel like a walking confection, we eat homemade Easter Bun and Cheese.

I know right. Jamaica is TOTALLY Suzanne Collins' futuristic Capitol. Manners y'all!

Ehem. Anyway...

Easter Bun, it's like American fruitcake only edible and deliciously topped with savory cheddar cheese. My family recipe has some minor deviations from the traditional Jamaican bun. I am a health nut after-all, so of course this has to be the most nutrient packed, fiber filled, whole foods embossed, Easter bun of them all. Plus it involves Guinness Stout, so you know it's good.

Dense and semisweet, we Jamaican's usually serve it topped with a slice of cheddar cheese.

Recipe:
Ingredients:
1 bottle of Guiness Stout                                  4 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour
4 tsp Molassas                                                 2 Eggs (beaten)
2 tsp baking powder                                        2 tsp Coconut Oil                                    
1 cup brown sugar                                           1 Cup Raisins
1/2 tsp of anise                                                1 16oz bottle of Maraschino Cherries
1 tsp (Vanilla, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Allspice)
Orange Peel
(yeah, that's right, no milk!)

Step 1: Mix Guinness, sugar, molasses,coconut oil, Raisins, Orange peel, Anise,nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice in a small pan and bring it to a boil. Remove this from the stove and let cool. Add the beaten eggs.

Step 2: Mix dry materials (flour, baking powder) in a large bowl and make a hole in the center. Poor the step 1 liquid into the center and then fold the flour into it.

Step 3: Pour this in a bun tin and bake at 350 degrees until done. You'll have to check it with a knife in the center 30 mins in and reduce the oven to 300 from there. These cakes are dense so it's difficult to say exactly how long it takes.

Enjoy!

And Happy Easter!

Potato Gratin with Thyme & Tomato: Improvising from Pinterest

I ate like a queen today, thanks to the many recipes on Pinterest. I dont need to tell you how obsessed I am with pinning. Every girl worth her salt has got to be a pin-head by now. The original recipe can be found HERE but I made some changes. The original recipie is creamier and more decatant. My recipie is a little bit healthy and rustic

Ich Bin ein Berliner Does Not Mean What's in Your Wallet

German Bread Haus- The most amazing bakery in South Florida

There are two completly different realities of what happend yesterday. Yeserday I decided to make a blog trip to THE best bakery in South Florida, or at least Broward County: German Bread Haus. This little hidden gem is tucked away in Fort Laudedale, about a stoplight east of I-95 and Commercial Blvd. 

Yesterday I boarded a train in Berlin, likely headed for some clandestine mission to an ex Soviet country and armed with a stun gun and a wallet full of fake identities. 

Orgasmic Poppy Seed Pastry

I discovered this bakery last weekend and I've been raving about it ever since. Freshly baked treats sprinkled with whole grains and organic goodness. The fresh bread is delicious and the desserts...gah! The desserts are honestly too fantastic for me to even attempt to describe. Everything is baked fresh with love and organic flour. Walk in and the scent of warm sugar and wheat envelope you. 

The two realities converged somewhere between me biting into a warm, coconut filled, chocolate cookie delivered fresh from the oven by a young man I like to call "real life Peeta", and perusing the adorable little comic book store next door. 

Well you haven't made it big until someone in Europe has hacked into your bank account. And apparently while I was picking out gingerbread men at German Bread Haus, my card was actually racking up charges in Germany, boarding trains in Berlin and all that jazz. My adorably dorky friend (Dan) reminded me that only spies board trains in Berlin (that's how much TV we watch). He's right. Obviously there's some serious espionage going on. Espionage involving Eastern European thugs in tracksuits. 

Fresh Apple Strudel. Hot out the oven

While my bank investigates I plan on living off of apple strudel. 

I'm going to keep updating with weekly post as part of my new Broward County Treasures series. As you know, I spent the summer discovering cool things to do in South Florida like the Art Walk and grape stomping. Now I'm going to focus on discovering what there is to do around these parts (Broward) besides dying of old age! 

Stay tuned. 

(Gluten Free) Cilantro & Feta Cornmeal Fritters

I'm super excited announce that I came up with my OWN recipe for something. I mean...I HOPE I'm the first to make this. I've been drooling over corn fritters all week. Finally I decided to throw something together with the ingredients I had lying around the fridge. They actually came out absolutely decilous. The cilantro with feta cheese are an unlikely pair (to me anyway) but they compliment each other nicely. I substituted flour with cornmeal, because I make everything with cornmeal these days. This recipe makes 12-16 fritters.

Ingredients:

1 cup of cornmeal

1teaspoon Baking powder

1 teaspoon Chili powder

1/2 teaspoon Cumin

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Onion Powder

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup Whole Milk

1/2 cup fresh chopped Cilantro

1 Small Onion Diced

2 Cloves Garlic Minced

1 cup of corn (drained)

1/2 cup of Feta Cheese

The Whole Food and Nothing But the Food: Mexican Monday

So I'm starting the year off right. As promised, I am going au naturale...wait, that's naked. No no, I'm going natural for 2012. I went to the grocery store this week, heavily weighed down by the resolution that I would not eat or drink anything processed.

With no patience for whole foods shopping, I walked out of the store with some tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and a bag of dry pinto beans. IN DEFEAT. I thought to myself: Let the hunger games begin!

It took some series talking down from my parentals to put it all in perspective. Don't focus on what you shouldn't eat, focus on getting more of what you should eat. Instead of nit picking over every wayward ingredient in the nutritional facts, I started focusing on getting more heathy whole foods in my diet.

With that in mind, I started looking around at foods I love and wondering if I could make them naturally--from scratch. It was Mexican Monday, a holiday I made up two years ago in Mexico, and all I wanted was something tasty, warm, and cilantro-tastic. And that's how I ended up digging up my crock pot and making a fabulously all natural Mexican feast of Organic Non-GMO Tortillas, Tomatoes, and homemade refried beans and avocado.  Om nom nom...

I slightly modified this recipe from 100 Days of Real Food

Hansel & Gretel

NYC P1: There's No Walk Of Shame on Madison Ave.

As I sit in West Harlem reflecting over the past couple days, I cannot bring myself to regret the past 48 hours, or decisions that led me to sitting here, rendered an invalid for all intents and purposes, and salving the pain of my now crippled feet by stuffing my face with $50 Parisian cookies from Maison Laduree. Last night I dined like a queen in Union Square with Wall Street investors, analysts, and the like. Today I'm eating like Marie Antoinete. I ask myself, "Who funds these exquisite overtures?" Do I have some Park Ave. residing patroness of my Blog who sprinkles fairy dust into my wallet for the sole purpose of amusing herself with my later recantings? Or will the vikings of Chase bank be at my door at any moment. Because I sure don't have any explanation for how these trips/excursions keep popping up.

Last night I dined at Casa Mono, a tapas restaurant. Tapas is the Spaniard's version of an expensive practical joke in which waiters serve one single pea on a plate to a large table given heaps of champagne and red wine, and proceed to watch their patrons fight with knives and forks to the death over the last morsel. It's kinda like Hunger Games, only I didnt read that book and have no idea if that reference is even close. The only way to keep from killing your friends is to order 3-4 plates per person and pretend to be civilized as your date goes for the last bite of fried bunny.

As for the food, no expense is spared. Every wild game imaginable is on the menu: rabbit, ox, fox--whatever. My entirely middle class self tried things like rabbit, quale egg with truffles, and something called 'sweet breads' for the first time and I loved it so much, my next boyfriend will probably have to be some ax weilding huntsman able to supply me with an endless supply of wild game.

Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins: *whispers* They're healthy...

How to make Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins with Whole Wheat Flour

Here's a little recipe I came up with while doing some experimenting with blueberries. It's a healthy (or at least more nutritious) alternative to blueberry muffins, and the whole wheat flour makes it much denser and more fibrous, so one of these is like an entire meal. 

Whole Wheat Corn Muffins with Blueberries: 

Ingredients:

1 cup of whole wheat flour

1 cup of cornmeal

3 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

3/4 cup of brown sugar

1 cup of milk

1 egg

1 1/2 cups of frozen blueberries (thawed/drained)

a dash of salt

and a few spoons of butter for good measure. 

It’s Just Your Good Libations: Throwing a Wine Party

Every once in awhile, don't you just want to put on a Ritz?

I think I was born in the wrong era. How else can I explain my love of art, travel, opera, classical music, and the pursuit of all things lofty—or the fact that everyone turns and pointedly stares at me whenever that, “Oh you fancy, huh” song comes on?

Raw Milk: What is it and Why is it So Taboo?

CounterThink.com

Oh darling, are you still feeding your children pasteurized milk? How passé…

For the past few years, it seems like there has been a growing movement to overhaul our foods. “The food system is corrupt; it’s causing cancer, we’re genetically modifying, caging, and injecting our foods with steroids and antibiotics, and it’s making us sick!” Meanwhile, lately I can’t avoid seeing a commercial, funded by a large corporation, showing me rows of happy cows frolicking in the grass under the Californian sun and farmers in overalls on tracker beams telling me that this is where our food is coming from.

The days of spending hours in the grocery store eyeing each label dubiously and checking for red dye #40, MSG, and hydrogenated oils almost seem like simpler times. Now, the cows are unhappy, the chickens are from concentration camps, the meat’s pumped up with more drugs than Amy Winehouse, and the soy beans are going to make your son develop ovaries—and the corn—don’t even get me started on the corn!

Now the tides have turned to raw milk: the new wonder food that’s being touted to cure everything from autism to cancer.

So what is raw milk and why is it so amazing…or dangerous?

How To Throw A Proper English Tea Party

You were obsessed with William and Kate’s wedding, you watch Masterpiece Theater, and you have to resist the urge to work “quite” and “nary” into casual conversation. Admit it, you secretly wish you were English, don’t you? Join the club. I’m a cardholding member. 

This Saturday I decided to throw a Tea Party. An English tea party though, nary a Republican in sight. Mad hats, fancy frocks, and scones abound and a drawing room flowing with classical music and conversation.

Traditional Afternoon tea, or “low tea,” is held around 2-5 in the afternoon. I decided to invite a few friends to dress up and indulge in my delusions of grandeur and it was actually easier than I thought. I don’t why I haven’t done this before. I think I was secretly intimidated by the idea but, surprisingly, planning and hosting a traditional English Tea Party is MUCH easier than it sounds.

Assemble your finest china. I've had this dainty little set in the family for years collecting dust—but, if you don’t have a tea set of your own, fear not; you can find a similar set like this in almost any thrift store.

It's all in the details. Little pieces like this crystal, cream and sugar set (top) add a touch of elegance to the table.

Don’t be afraid to break tradition. My friend brought over this gorgeous Chinese tea set. He brewed his own loose leaf tea while I made a more traditional British tea with cream and sugar.

Get to know traditional tea etiquette and decide whether you want to go by the book or switch up some of the recipes and times. Whatever you do, don’t make tea time a brunch.

 

My Favourite Things: Cream Scones and Devonshire(Clotted) Cream

Had a glorious English Tea Party today. Decided to share a traditional British recipe and some prep pics. I used the recipes for Cream Scones and Clotted (Devonshire) Cream here, and they turned out fabulous. Everyone was raving about the cream—and the smell baking these scones filled my house with—heaven! My house smells distinctly like shortbread cookies, vanilla, and butter. The clotted cream with scones are definitely the most indulgently fattening things I've ever made in my life and for the taste, it's worth it. The cool clotted cream complemented the scones and jam deliciously. You’ll want to glob it onto everything.  Enjoy the pictures.

Be Yourself. Happy Independence Day!

Today’s the day for barbeque and fireworks. But while you’re out in the sun or schmoozing at a poolside with cocktails, be yourself; don’t eat watermelon like a poser. Follow THIS guy’s hilarious and possibly offensive advice, readers. Happy 4^th of July.

Manhattan in Mourning

NYC, what can I say that hasn’t already been written about, sung about? I could hyperbole myself to death just attempting to convey just one grain of this wily pastiche of grit, dirt, glass, and brick, rich and poor. So I’ll just break into song: “NYC, what is it about you? You’re big. You’re tough. You’re rough!”

Last weekend I discovered that my aunt, who I’ve never actually met but if I had, would have loved inexplicably, had died of cancer. There I was, feet still died with grapes from the vineyard, learning that I was to fly to New York, post haste.

I’ve been over it and around it, but I’ve never actually been to Manhattan. But now was my chance to finally go! I was in mourning but… really how long can someone stay in mourning when they’re surrounded by the city lights, sipping coffee at Bryant Park, and eating Pizza on Broadway?

Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards Harvest Festival

Here, in sunny Florida, we grow oranges—that’s about it. Trust me, if anyone could call themselves an expert on Florida agriculture it should me moi, who has traversed the entire length of the state about a billion times. How, by the billionth and 1 commute from FSU to south Florida, I never noticed vineyards among those endless rows of orange trees, is beyond me.