Nutty Ham and Cheese Tea Sandwiches

I love hosting tea parties for the women in my life and I enjoy trying new recipes to serve at these gatherings.  The most recent one being a fall-themed tea, I thought I'd try this new recipe for a tea sandwich in the shape of an acorn.  These little sandwiches were different from most tea sandwiches in that there is no spread on the bread, plus the the nutty mix added to the top end of the sandwich.  Their uniqueness is what made them special enough to share on my blog!

I cut this recipe out of my September/October 2010 issue of Tea Time magazine and have only recently had the opportunity to make them.  These sandwiches are made using pumpernickel bread, which I've found is not readily available year round.  Because I was unable to find Pumpernickel in August, I had expected to have to order the bread ahead of time, but was surprised to find a couple of loaves in the bakery section of my market.  Also, assembling these little treats is a breeze, but the nutty topping needs to be made ahead, in fact, I started the process the day before.

To begin, the recipe calls for toasted pecans.  There are two ways to do this; one way is in the oven with the nuts spread in one layer on a cookie sheet and the other is in a frying or saucepan over medium heat.  I find with this method I have more control.  I place the nuts in a cool saucepan and turn the heat on medium.  I stir the nuts constantly, so they don't burn.  I also get close to the pan and take a good whiff every 15 seconds or so.  Before the pan heats, the pecans don't give off much aroma, but as they toast, the nutty smell gets stronger.  It's easier to use this method with almonds because you can see as the nuts toast and get browned.  With the pecans, I took them off the heat when they had a toasted and nutty aroma.  It's better to under toast them than have them burn even a little bit as they would have to be thrown away.

When I removed the nuts from the pan, I spread them on a paper towel to let them cool.  Because I wasn't using them right away, once cooled, I stored them in a zip-lock bag.

I cleaned out the remnants of the nuts in the pan and put the butter in to melt.  Because the pan was already hot, the butter began to melt immediately.

I melted the butter over medium heat until it began to brown and had a nutty aroma, which was about 7 minutes.

I removed it from the heat and poured it through a strainer to remove the foam and any solids, which I discarded.

A little foam snuck through, but I just scooped it out of the bowl with a spoon.  The result was a nice amber colored melted butter.  This butter needed to sit at room temperature until set, which would be at least an hour, so I chose to do this the day before.

The day of the tea, after slicing the bread (I didn't realize it hadn't been pre-sliced!) I used an acorn-shaped cookie cutter to get two acorns out of each slice.

Using the same cookie cutter, I cut acorns out of black forest ham and fontina cheese slices, placing the ham down first and topping it with the cheese.  As you can see, there was no spread on the bread before placing the filling on top.  The spread was on top of the sandwiches!

I'm sorry I missed getting a picture of how I made the spread.  I added the toasted pecans to the browned butter and added a little bit of honey, stirring the ingredients together to mix thoroughly.  This mixture was then spread at the top of the sandwich to resemble the acorn cap.  Aren't these little sandwiches cute?  I think so!

As I was reading through the recipe before typing it here, I realized I didn't follow it exactly!  I was wondering why I ended up with so much extra pecan/butter spread and now I know it's because I was supposed to spread the bottom slice of bread with this mixture before topping it with the ham!  I guess I was working so quickly to get everything assembled, I didn't read the recipe correctly.  I will type the recipe as it should have been made and will make it that way the next time!  I imagine it will only be that much better with the nutty spread in each bite!  Enjoy!

Nutty Ham and Cheese Tea Sandwiches

1 recipe Pecan Brown Butter (recipe follows)

12 slices pumpernickel bread, cut into 2 acorn shapes each*

12 slices black forrest ham, cut into acorn shapes*

12 slices deli-sliced fontina cheese, cut into acorn shapes*

Spread approximately 2 teaspoons Pecan Brown Butter onto 1 slice bread.  Layer 1 slice of black forrest ham and 1 slice fontina cheese.  Top with 1 slice bread.  Spread approximately 1 teaspoon Pecan Brown Butter onto top one-third of sandwich (to resemble an acorn cap).  Repeat with remaining ingredients to make 12 sandwiches.  Serve immediately.

* I used a 2 1/2- x 3 1/2-inch acorn-shaped cookie cutter

Pecan Brown Butter

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted

1 teaspoons honey

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Continue to cook until butter begins to brown and has a nutty aroma, 6 to 8 minutes.  Remove from heat, and strain, discarding solids.  Let sit at room temperature until set, approximately 1 hour.  Add pecans and honey, stirring to combine.  Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Smoked turkey and Cranberry Cream Sandwiches

I hosted a Fall Tea today and thought this would be a perfect choice for one of the sandwiches, given that Thanksgiving is less than a week away.  

To me, this was like Thanksgiving in a tea sandwich!  It had turkey as part of the filling, the spread contained cranberries, and I put it all together on potato bread!  All of the ladies in attendance said they really enjoyed this new sandwich.

I began by chopping the dried cranberries very finely.

I put that in a small bowl and added half (4 oz.) of a tub of spreadable cream cheese.  I used the spreadable version because I assembled this spread the day before and then stored it in the refrigerator and I wanted it to be easily spread as soon as I removed it from the refrigerator the next day.

It resembles a dip at this point.  It could be used immediately or stored in the refrigerator until ready to use.

One rule with tea sandwiches is that the crusts must always be removed.  Looking at the shape of the bread, I determined that I would get three rectangular sandwiches out of each one and tried to cut off the crusts to keep parallel sides so the final product would be prettier.  I always cut two slices of bread at the same time, so they will match perfectly when assembled into sandwiches.

Once the crusts were removed, I laid out the pieces like I was opening the sandwiches.  Again, this is so they match perfectly when fully assembled.  Using a spatula, I spread each slice of bread with the cranberry and cream cheese mixture.

I then topped each "bottom" half with fresh baby spinach leaves.

The spinach was then topped with smoked turkey.

I then placed the "top" piece of bread on top, spread side down and cut each sandwich into 3 pieces.

I suppose these sandwiches could also be served at a Christmas tea as they look festive with the green spinach leaves and red cranberries in the spread.  Enjoy!

Smoked Turkey and Cranberry Cream Sandwiches

1/4 cup finely chopped dried cranberries

4 oz. spreadable cream cheese

8 slices potato bread

1/4 pound thinly sliced smoked turkey

1 cup baby spinach

In a small bowl, combine dried cranberries and cream cheese.  Remove crusts from bread.  Lay bread on work surface and spread with cranberry mixture.  Top half of the bread slices with baby spinach, then smoked turkey.  Place top piece of bread over turkey, spread side down.  Cut each sandwich into 3 rectangular sandwiches.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Blueberry Jam

I've been collecting recipes for foods to serve at teas for several years now, and I must say this in one of my all-time favorite sandwiches to serve.  I found the original recipe for Blueberry Chicken Salad in the July/August issue of Tea Time magazine.  When I decided to try the recipe, fresh blueberries were not in season, and therefore unavailable at my local market.  A couple of years prior, my friend, Gina Madden, had made a chicken salad sandwich for a tea at the church and had used a fruit jam on the bread as a spread before adding the chicken salad.  I had loved the flavor of those sandwiches, so I decided to see if I could find a blueberry jam in lieu of the fresh blueberries.  I found one and, because the sandwiches made this way were such a hit, I've never tried making them the way the original recipe was written!

One reason that this chicken salad is so tasty is that both the light and dark meats of a rotisserie chicken are used.  This makes it more moist, and I think, more flavorful.  I frequently buy one of these chickens when I go to Costco and leave it on the counter to cool for about an hour.  I then remove all the meat, breaking it into small pieces, and put it in a freezer bag in the freezer if I'm not using it immediately.  At any given time, I usually have a bag of this chicken in the freezer.  This cuts down on the preparation time when I want to make these sandwiches.

To make a fine texture, I pulse the fresh or thawed chicken meat in my food processor for about 15 seconds and remove it to a large bowl.  The next step is the most tedious.  I wash the grape tomatoes and then cut each one in half across and then cut each half in quarters.  They have to be cut this way so the pieces are not too large in the chicken salad.  I add the tomatoes to the chicken, cut the green onions; add them and toss all the ingredients together to combine.  Then I add the mayonnaise, salt and pepper and mix until well combined.

Tea sandwiches never have crusts, so I stack two slices together to cut off the crusts.  This way they match perfectly when the sandwich is put together.  I then lay the two pieces on a cutting board as if I've just opened the sandwich.  I spread a thin layer of the blueberry jam each slice.  If I'm making these sandwiches ahead of time, first I spread each slice of bread with a very thin layer of butter to keep the blueberry jam from soaking into the bread.  Then I top one side with the chicken salad mixture, spreading to the edges of the bread, and put the other piece of bread on top, jam side down.  For a tea, the sandwich gets cut into four pieces, whether squares or triangles.  If making several types of sandwiches for a tea, I usually mix up the shapes as well as the types of breads I use.

This in one of the most tasty tea sandwiches I make.  Enjoy!

Chicken Salad with Blueberry Jam

1 (2 ½-pound) rotisserie chicken

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved and quartered

1 cup thinly sliced green onions

1 cup mayonnaise

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Blueberry preserves

1 loaf of sandwich bread

Remove meat from chicken; discard skin and bones.  Place meat in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until coarsely chopped, about 15 seconds.

In large mixing bowl, combine the chopped chicken, tomatoes, and green onion.  Add the mayonnaise, oil, salt, and pepper, and mix until well combined. 

To assemble sandwiches, spread each bread slice (I use 100% whole wheat bread) with a thin layer of blueberry preserves.  Place a generous portion of chicken salad on one side of sandwich, spreading to the edges.  Place the other side on top and cut into desired size and shape.  (The blueberry preserves should be on the “inside” of the sandwich).

For tea sandwiches, I cut off the crusts before assembling and once assembled, cut each sandwich into four triangles.

Devonshire Cream

When I posted the recipes from my Valentine's tea, I neglected to add the recipe for Devonshire Cream, which along with your favorite curd and jam, makes the perfect accompaniment for fresh scones.  Having made a fresh batch for my tea yesterday, I thought this was a good time to share my recipe.  Lora Prange, a friend from church shared this recipe with me several years ago, and it is always well received.  In fact, yesterday one of my friends even spread it on a jam straw I served as one of my dessert choices!

This recipe has only 4 ingredients which need to be beaten with an electric mixer in a medium bowl.  I have found that the best way to get a smooth texture is to combine the Mascarpone cheese with the sugar and vanilla first, beating on a medium speed to combine, then add the whipping cream and beating on high until soft peaks form.  I usually make it right before serving, but it can also be made ahead and refrigerated until serving.

Devonshire Cream

(also known as Devon Cream)

4 ounces Mascarpone cheese

2 tablespoons granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup heavy whipping cream

In a medium bowl, combine Mascarpone cheese, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed.  Add the whipping cream and beat on high until the mixture holds it shape and creates soft peaks.  Refrigerate until serving.

Watermelon Gazpacho

Serving tea is one of my favorite things to do for friends.  Yesterday I had several friends over for a tea where this recipe was a surprising hit.  I found this recipe in the July/August 2011 issue of Tea Time magazine and thought I'd try it for a summertime tea.  This cold soup was very refreshing and very easy to make with only 6 ingredients.

Of course, when having a tea, everything must be served in something pretty.  I thought this champagne glass was the perfect vessel for this chilled soup.  I'm not a big fan of watermelon, so having all of the ingredients equally detected meant that I was not overwhelmed with the flavor of mostly watermelon.  

Regular watermelons have black and white seeds and I've always heard that you shouldn't eat the black ones, but the white ones are okay to eat.  For that reason and to save time I bought the seedless variety and was dismayed to discover seeds inside.  I started to think about why God would make a fruit with both good and bad seeds, so I decided to Google watermelon seeds for answers.  Apparently all watermelon seeds are edible and neither will make a watermelon grow inside you!  The white seeds are immature and the black ones are mature.  The seeds found in a seedless watermelon are empty, therefore infertile.  I had my answer, so I wasn't going to worry about trying to remove the seeds from my seedless watermelon!

Having a food processor or good blender is a necessity for ease in making this soup.  The first step in preparing this dish is to puree the watermelon.  As seedless watermelons are smaller, I bought 2 to get the 8 cups of puree I needed for this recipe.  

 

I began by using the pulse feature to make the pieces a bit smaller before turning it on to completely turn the melon to liquid.  I did one melon at a time so that the liquid level wouldn't get to high and leak out under the blade attachment.  I learned that the hard way!  After each melon was pureed, I poured it into a 4-cup measuring cup to make sure I had the perfect amount before transferring it to a large bowl.

Then I coarsely chopped the red bell pepper, red onion, English cucumber, and cilantro and added them to the work bowl with the lime juice.  I began by using the pulse feature and felt as though it needed a little more liquid to get the desired texture, so I added back in about 3/4 cup of the pureed watermelon.  Once all the ingredients were chopped very fine, I added them to the bowl with the watermelon and mixed to combine, covered it and let it chill for a couple of hours until serving.

A small sprig of the cilantro on top and the soup was ready to serve.  It was a surprising treat and such a pretty color also!  Enjoy!

Watermelon Gazpacho

8 cups pureed watermelon (approximately 1/2 large watermelon or 2 seedless watermelons)

1 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper

1 cup coarsely chopped English cucumber

1 cup coarsely chopped red onion

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Garnish:  fresh cilantro leaves

In the work bowl of a food processor, puree the watermelon in two batches, measuring each batch before transferring to a large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients to food processor with 3/4 cup of watermelon puree; pulse until very finely chopped.  Add to watermelon puree; stir until combined.  Cover and refrigerate for several hours until cold.  Serve cold.  Garnish individual servings with a sprig of fresh cilantro, if desired.

Pear and Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches

These little sandwiches were such a surprise the first time I tasted them, and they've become one of my all time favorite tea sandwiches.  This recipe was one of my first choices when asked to cater a garden party.  My friend, Joann Roach, who is a member of the Royal Ladies Tea Society to which I belong, said she combined a couple of other recipes to come up with this one.  I'm so pleased she was willing to share it with me.

I've always loved raisin bread, but had never heard of or thought to make a sandwich using fruit, much less pears.  Some people are turned off by the thought of the combination, but once they've tried these tiny sandwiches, they're hooked!

I've altered Joann's recipe a little bit as it called for toasted walnuts and I just don't care for walnuts, so I omit them.  Also, I use the spreadable cream cheese in the tub, so I don't have to wait for it to soften.

There are few ingredients and putting them together is quite simple.   The first step is to cut the crusts off the bread.  I make sure I do this two slices stacked together at a time to make sure they match perfectly so the sandwiches look their best. Then I lay them out on a bread board as if I've "opened" the sandwich.  Then I mix a little bit of cinnamon sugar in with some cream cheese and spread it on each slice of bread.  Next, I peel the pears, cut them in quarters and laying each piece on a long side, remove the core.  Then I thinly slice each quartered pear and place the slices on one of the slices of bread from each sandwich, overlapping them as I go.  I put the other slice on top, cream cheese side down.  Then I cut each sandwich twice, once vertically and once horizontally, to make four small square sandwiches.

I'm pretty sure you've never tasted anything like these bite-size sandwiches, but once you do, you'll want more!  Enjoy!

Pear and Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches

1 pkg. Sun-Maid Raisin Bread (discard ends or save for another use)

1 (8 oz.) tub spreadable cream cheese

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 very ripe yellow Bartlett pears

Remove bread from package, discard ends, and place on a cutting board with 2 slices stacked together. Cut off crusts and separate slices as if you were opening a sandwich.  In a tiny bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon together.  Spread cream cheese mixture on each slice of bread.  Save any extra for another use.  Wash and peel pears; cut into quarters.  Laying each piece on a long side, cut out core.  Cut into thin slices.  Layer one side of each sandwich with pear slices overlapping as you apply them.  Place the other slice of bread from each sandwich on top of the pears, cream cheese side down.  Cut vertically and horizontally to create four tiny sandwich out of each full-size sandwich.

Open-Faced White Cheddar Cheese Sandwiches

I have served this sandwich a few times at teas I have hosted, but most recently served it at a garden party where I catered all of the food.  I offered four savory options and three deserts, so I apologize for not having preparation pictures.  A big thank you to Connie Shelton who took pictures of my food that day and without whom I would not have a picture to share with you here!

I found this recipe in the January/February issue of Tea Time Magazine.  This open-faced sandwich is a bit of a surprise to the taste buds because it has a bit of heat from a little cayenne pepper, but it's also bursting with flavor.  Most people are surprised that it's made with white cheddar because of the color, however, the cayenne gives the cheese the orange hue.

A food processor is a necessary tool when making this recipe to get the texture just right. There are only a few steps to making this sandwich, so it doesn't take much time.  

After shredding the cheeses, I place them, the mayonnaise and cayenne pepper into my food processor fitted with the blade attachment.  Using the pulse button, I combine the ingredients until they are fully incorporated and mostly smooth.  The roasted red peppers come in strips, so after I drain them, I dice them.  After dicing the fresh chives, I remove the cheese mixture to a medium bowl and fold in the peppers and chives.  

If I'm serving these right away, I cut my bread into shapes and dress them with the cheese mixture and a couple of fresh chives for garnish.  The bread can be cut into any shape you desire, making sure they aren't any bigger than about 2 inches in diameter.  

When serving sandwiches at a tea, I've found that the bread can dry out pretty quickly.  The way to avoid this is to place your sandwiches on your serving plate, then cover with wax paper.  Completely cover the wax paper with slightly wet paper towel.  The wet paper towel will keep in the moisture and the wax paper acts as a barrier to keep the sandwiches from getting wet.  Remove both layers just before serving.  This works every time!

In this case, I wanted to make as many things ahead of time as possible, so I toasted my bread the day before and stored the pieces in a zip lock bag.  Sandwiches are usually cut in squares, triangles, and rectangles, so I decided to have a different look and cut the bread into hexagons. Open-faced sandwiches give you more of an option that way.

I had made the cheese mixture ahead of time also and brought it in a Tupperware bowl, so all I had to do was assemble the sandwiches.  I thought spreading the cheese would take too much time, so I used the smallest of my Pampered Chef scoops to top the toast with the cheese, then applied two small pieces of chives for garnish.  They tasted as good as they looked!  Enjoy!

Addendum:

I made these delicious open-faced sandwiches today again for a Fall Tea.  To make it a little more theme related, I used bread shaped like oak leaves and I put a clove in the top of the cheese ball to make it resemble a pumpkin!  This side view isn't the best, but I'll show you how I did it.

 Using an oak leaf cookie cutter, I cut out two leaves from each slice of multi grain bread.  Using a butter knife, I made an indentation up the middle to resemble the main vein in the leaf.

Then, I toasted them in the toaster oven.  I made the leaf toasts a day ahead, and once they were cooled, I stored them in a zip-lock bag until they were ready to top with the cheese ball.

Following the recipe below, I made the cheese mixture.  Using the smallest (about 1-inch) Pampered Chef scoop, I placed cheese on the end of each leaf and placed a clove in the top.  I just love playing with food!  Enjoy!

Open-Faced White Cheddar Cheese Sandwiches

8 oz. sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded

8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

5 tablespoons mayonnaise

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ cup diced marinated roasted red peppers

¼ cup minced chives

12 slices multigrain bread, cut into rounds with a 2-inch cookie cutter

Garnish:  fresh chives

In the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, pulse together the cheddar, Monterey Jack, mayonnaise, and cayenne until mixture is mostly smooth.  Fold in the diced red peppers and chives until well combined.  Spread a small amount on each bread round and garnish with fresh chives, if desired.

Valentine's Day Themed Tea

I hosted a Valentine-themed tea in my home and thought I'd share some of the things I did to fit the theme.  My desire was to have each item be either red or include a heart-shaped food item.   The recipes can be found at the end of this post.

The tablecloth was red with hearts of different sizes woven into it.   I used heart-shaped dishes and doilies as well as lacy dishes, which made me think of Valentines I had made as a child.  The teapots with poppies on them held the signature tea, which was made using Earl Grey tea, then adding cranberry, apple and lemon juices.  In the cup it was a very pretty red liquid.  The white teapot held hot water, to be used with an assortment of teabags that were avalable.

The sugar bowl held sugar cubes that I embellished with Royal Icing hearts I had purchased at the local cake decorating store.  I made a "glue" using powdered sugar and water, applied it to each sugar cube and placed the heart on top.  When the sugar cube melts in the tea, the heart floats to the top!

For the salad, I purchased an Romaine American Blend in a bag, but added cute little red bell pepper hearts to dress it up.  This is easy to do if a bell pepper which is more flat on the sides is used.   Also, cutting through the skin side first makes this much easier.  I served a raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing on the side, as it was a red dressing!

It wouldn't be a tea without scones! (Picture from a different tea)   I made the scones with dried cranberries using the recipe found in my friend, Nan Taylor's book, "The Graceful Art of Tea" (visit www.teagraces.com to purchase your own copy).  The recipe calls for heavy whipping cream or buttermilk; I always use Trader Joe's Heavy Cream.

 With the scones I served Smucker's Raspberry Jam, homemade strawberry curd, and Devonshire cream (see later post for Devonshire cream recipe).

I found this recipe on Pinterest for an Egg Sandwich with Beet Garnish.  It originated at rosemaryandthegoat.com.  After boiling the eggs, I soaked them in the beet juice for a couple of hours to get the deep pink ring.  Cutting the beets with a small heart cookie cutter was easier than the bell pepper.  These need to be assembled at the last minute so the bread doesn't dry out and so the color from the beets doesn't bleed into the egg.  The most flavor came from the fresh basil that was mixed with mayonnaise and spread on the bread.

I had found some heart-shaped crackers, but needed to find something red to put on them.  Just in time for my tea, my Feb./Mar. 2012 Simple & Delicious magazine arrived with a recipe for a Sun-Dried Tomato and Parmesan Spread.  I chose to taste it before adding the red pepper flakes, as I wasn't sure the heat would be a welcome addition to a tea food.  After the taste test, I decided to omit the red pepper flakes and to double the amount of sun-dried tomatoes.  It was very tasty and my guests deemed the second favorite dish I served.

This recipe was also discovered on Pinterest.  These Queen of Tomato Hearts originated on winosandfoodies.com.  These were easy to prepare using store-bought puff pastry, a little Dijon mustard and tomatoes.  Two sizes of cookie cutters were used to get the desired effect.  These were well received, but most ladies said they would like to try them with a different filling the next time.

This next item was the favorite of the group.  The recipe for these Chicken, Pear & Gorgonzola Tarts came from my Dec./Jan. '09 Taste of Home magazine.  It uses store-bought mini phyllo tart shells.  The only ingredient I couldn't find was dried pears, but the final product was great without them!  The red came from the bacon sprinkled on top.

  

These bright red Raspberry Balls were a colorful addition to the dessert selection.  My mother has made these coconut balls (almost exact recipe) for years using strawberry, lime, and/or orange Jello depending on the season.  I found this recipe on Pinterest (it originated at homesteadinghousewife.blogspot.com) and decided to make the raspberry version because I had already planned another strawberry dessert.  I omitted the almond extract, as I felt it was not needed and it was not part of my mom's recipe.  I was pleased with the flavor and the color as they are more of a vivid red than when strawberry Jello is used.

One of the ladies in my tea group told me once that there should always be a chocolate selection offered at a tea.  I don't think this is an "official rule," but one she made up as a chocoholic!  I always have something chocolate to offer, and this time it was Oreo Truffles.  I got this recipe from my baking buddy Lori Duncan.  The trick with these is to put the balls in the freezer for at least 1/2 hr. before dipping in the chocolate.  It makes them easier to handle and the chocolate sets much more quickly.

My final selection was a Lemon Cheesecake Tart with a fresh strawberry heart on top.  I found this recipe several years ago in the Sunday paper on an ad for Dickinson Lemon Curd.  Depending on the event, I've made these using raspberries, slices of Kiwi, pineapple, and a small dollop of mint jelly.  This time I omitted the mint flavored apple jelly as I didn't want to add any green to them.  No matter what fresh fruit I use, these are always well received.  This recipe also uses the mini phyllo tart shells.

The event was a smashing success!  The table was beautiful, the food was good, and the company was excellent!

I swethered (an Irish term for going back and forth in my mind) about how to type up the recipes.  Should I present them to you in their original form, or exactly how I made them because they were successful that way.  I finally decided on the latter, so if you want to know how the original recipes were written, please visit the websites listed above.  Below are the recipes just as I made them, which I guess makes them mine!  Enjoy!

 Valentine Tea

5 Earl Grey tea bags                                                           3 cups cranberry juice

5 cups boiling water                                                           1/2 cup sugar

4 cups unsweetened apple juice                                    1/3 cup lemon juice

Place the tea bags in a large heat-proof bowl; add boiling water.  Cover and steep for 8 minutes.  Discard ea bags.  Add the remaining ingredients to tea; stir until sugar is disolved.  Serve warm.

Yield:  3 quarts

Scones

2 cups flour                                                                            1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder                                            1/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons sugar                                                           2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix the first four ingredients in a large bowl.  With a pastry cutter, work in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.  Work in the eggs and cream, until mixture is tender and moist.  Drop the dough by generous 1/4 cup portions onto a greased cookie sheet (can be turned onto lightly floured surface and knead into a circle about 3/4" thick; then cut into wedges).  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until scones are golden in color.  Scones may be made a day before and stored in an airtight container, but are at their best served fresh and warm.  Yield:  12 scones

Egg Sandwich with Beet Garnish

1 can sliced beets                                                                Mayonnaise

3 hard boiled eggs, peeled                                             Fresh basil, chopped fine                   

White bread cut into 2" circles                                                          

                                                 

                                                                   

Drain juice from beets; put in a small bowl.  Place cooked, peeled eggs in beet juice for at least 2 hours to infuse the edge with color.  (If you want the whites to turnpink all the through, let them stand about 7 - 8 hours.)  Cut the bread using a 2" circle cutter.  Mix mayonnaise with fresh cut basil and top the bread circles with this mixture.   Slice the eggs carefully so you dont lose any of the yolk.  Top the bread slice with a slice of egg and then using a very small heart cutter, cut a slice of beet to go on top.  You don't want to put the beet heart on too soon or it will start to dye the yolk.

Sun-Dried Tomato and Parmesan Spread

4 oz. cream cheese, softened                                           1 Tbsp. minced fresh basil

1/4 cup sour cream                                                              1 garlic clove, minced

2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese                                    1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes,                      1/8 tsp. pepper

   patted dry and chopped finely                                 

2 Tbsp. mayonnaise

Place all ingredients in a food processor; cover and process until blended.  Chill until serving.  Spread on crackers or toasted bread of your choice.

Tomato Tarts

1 box frozen puff pastry, defrosted

Dijon mustard

Tomatoes, cut into thick slices, then into hearts using the smaller cutter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  You will need 2 heart-shaped cutters in 2 sizes for this recipe. For each tart, cut out two of the larger hearts.  Using the smaller cutter, cut a heart from the center of one of these larger hearts.  You should have the same amount of solid hearts as you have cut-out hearts.  Using your finger, brush a little water around the edge of each solid heart; place the cut-out heart on top.  With a fork, prick the exposed dough from the bottom solid heart (in the well created by adding the cut-out heart).  Spread a little Dijon mustard on this inner well area.  Using the smaller of the 2 heart cutters, cut the tomato hearts; place one tomato heart in the well of each tart.  Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 8 minutes or until puffed and a beautiful golden brown.  I also baked the small cut-out hearts to be used at a later time as a garnish on soup!

Chicken, Pear & Gorgonzola Tarts

8 bacon strips                                                                     2 tsp. butter

1 1/2 tsp. brown sugar                                                     1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon                                             1/4 tsp. pepper

2 (5 oz.) cans white & dark chicken in water           2 pkg. (1.9 oz each) frozen mini phyllo tart shells    

1/3 cup pear nectar                                                           1/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

3 Tbsp. apricot preserves

Place bacon in a baking pan; broil 4 in. from the heat for 4-6 minutes on each side or until crisp.  Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over bacon.  Broil 1 minute longer or until bacon is glazed and bubbly.  Drain on paper towels.  Cool and crumble.

In a small skillet, combine the chicken, pear nectar, preserves, butter, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil; cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 - 4 minutes or until thickened.  Place tarts on a baking sheet; spoon about 1 teaspoonful of filling into each tart shell.  Sprinkle with bacon and cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 5 - 7 minutes or until heated through, serve warm.  Yield:  30 tarts

Raspberry Coconut Balls

1 large bag flaked coconut

1 small and 1 large box raspberry Jello
1 can sweetened condensed milk

In a large bowl, toss the coconut with the large box of Jello powder.  Add the can of sweetened condense milk, mixing thoroughly.    Pour the small box of Jello powder into a small, shallow bowl.  Roll the coconut mixture into 1-inch balls, then roll in the Jello powder to coat the outside.  Place on a cookie sheet for approximately 1 hr. until they stiffen a little.  Store in an airtight container.

Oreo Truffles

1 pkg. Oreo sandwich cookies

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

8 oz. milk chocolate chips

In a food processor, crush 7 of the Oreos until fine crumbs; set aside in a small bowl.  Add the remaining cookies to the food processor and crush until fine crumbs.  Add the cream cheese and process until completely mixed.  Shape into 1-inch balls and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.  Place in the freezer for at least 30 min.  Melt the chocolates in a double boiler.  Dip each Oreo ball into chocolate, coating completely and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with a small amount of reserved crushed Oreo crumbs.  Hint:  Because the balls were in the freezer, the chocolate will harden quickly, so you'll want to sprinkle with the crumbs after every two balls are coated in chocolate.

Lemon Cheesecake Tarts

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup lemon curd

1 cup whipped topping (i.e. Cool Whip)

2 pkg. (1.9 oz.) miniature phyllo cups

Fresh strawberries, hulled, cut in half and notched at the top to resemble hearts

In a medium bowl, blend the cream cheese until smooth; add the curd and mix until combined.  Fold in the whipped topping.  Place in a piping bag fitted with a star tip; pipe mixture into each phyllo cup, filling to the top.  Place a fresh strawberry heart on top of each tart.  Refrigerate until serving.  Hint:  I've used 1/4 of a kiwi slice and a raspberry with a little mint jelly at Christmas time and used the kiwi, mint jelly and pineapple for Green Bay Packer colors for a Super Bowl party.  No matter the fruit I use, these are always a huge hit!

Yield:  30 tarts