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) 

5 Reasons You Should be Watching Downton Abbey

Set during the last days of Belle Epoque and Victorian grandeur, Downton Abbey takes us into the drawing-rooms of the English elite, to the scullery of the help, to the rallies in the streets. The aristocrats are running on fumes, the working class is getting all "We are the 99%" and you get the feeling that the women have worn their last ankle lengh skirt. Oh and England is about to get the crumpets bombed out of it, because it's the eve of WWI.

I understand reservations when it comes to Masterpiece Classics--all that Cranford and those Antique Roadshow ads that make you feel like you aught to be 80 years old and knitting your grandson a sweater. Though, none of that has ever kept me away. Cranford, however, this is not.! Downton Abbey is an incredibly acted, no dime spared-produced series that honestly, if you're not watching, you should be!

5 reasons you should get into it:
1. Somehow Masterpiece always pulls the finest actors in the business. Everybody is pulling an award worthy performance out of their hat. I mean really; even the one-eyed, toothless barkeep is gunning for an Emmy. (There is no one-eyed toothless barkeep--yet)
2. A protagonist you love to hate. Mary has got to be the most frigid, self absorbed, gold digging, heartless, manipulative, backstabbing bitch on TV since...Blair Waldorf! And I love it. Part of me wants her to get her comeuppance. The tinier part loves the different shades she brings to her character and can't wait to see what she does next.
3. Sex, Lies, and Politics. Enough said!
4. A colorful supporting cast of maids, cooks and footmen that steal the show...and the brandy!
5. The clothes! The Hair! The Setpieces! This show is absolute eye candy down to smallest broach. The amount of detail that goes into every scene from the jewelry to the silverware makes this such a visual treat.

And of course no history buff should miss it. Sunday's at 10. PBS.

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?

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.

 

Living in a Hipster’s Paradise (Miami Art Walk and a brief interview with Rocky Grimes)

Since returning to the US, my new mission has been to appreciate all the art and culture available to me, here in South Florida. So, yesterday, a couple of girlfriends and I decided to check out the art scene in the Wynwood Art District, down in Miami.

The Wynwood Art Walk consists of several blocks of galleries, exhibiting various artists’ collections, all the while ladling out mixed drinks and electro beats. Yeah, it’s basically a hipster’s paradise. If the free drinks and music inside the galleries aren’t enough, there are dozens of food and liquor trucks outside, serving treats that should certainly be illegal. Against my better judgment, I had 3 deep fried cupcakes and 1 buttered hamburger. I’m not sure why anyone would slather butter on a hamburger or charge 8 dollars for it, but may I tell you, it was worth every cent and calorie. So were the cupcakes. They sell them in 3’s with a choice of vanilla, chocolate, and red velvet, and for investigative purposes, I was forced to sample all three. How I suffer for my blog!

The art exhibits were a mixed bag depending on what you like: photography, pop-art, and classic oil on canvas. Some galleries were exhibiting “art” I like to call, “pretentious, self indulgent, Banksy-wannabe, hipster, crap”. You know what I mean; we all saw “Exit through the Gift Shop”. Mr. Brainwash --remember him? Picture walking through galleries of that recycled, uninspired, pop-art, nonsense –And it wasn’t glorious nonsense either! Sorry, Warhol enthusiasts.

BUT, if that’s your thing, I found that one of these exhibits was a cut above the rest. Rocky Grimes’ exhibit, I absolutely loved. I’m not an art critic, but I’d like to think I know art from crap when I see it. His art was definitely pop-art without the pop. His prints are colorful combinations of different photo cutouts, combined with splashes of neon, and assembled together to convey meaning.

So, of course, I whipped out my notebook and went to tell Mr. Grimes exactly what I thought, and he was so kind as to let me quiz him for a sec. It went a little like this:

Wynwood Art Walk | miami.com

Wynwood Art Walk miami.com

Very excited for the Art Walk in Miami tonight. Will blog later, of course.