I have friends that are just plain fun to be around! Not too long ago, one of these girlfriends of mine,
Tracie, decided to host a tea party! We had a lot of laughs! We kidded ourselves that tea parties are for women much older than ourselves. But we mixed it up fresh with great food and decor...and of course US!
We did however, use some
antique glass plates to dine with. They were pretty darn cool, they were rectangle, crystal plates and were sectioned off to separate your food. But, the funny part about them, there was an indention to hold a cigarette! We of course had to use that special
cigarette holder in our modern day hip way. Check out the delicious recipes below from Tracie along with some photos!
Tea is liquid wisdom. ~Anonymous
Springtime Asparagus Quiche
1 prepared 9” pie crust
1 lb of asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces but keep a few whole
3 eggs
1 ½ C half and half (do not use ultra-pasteurized)
1 t kosher salt
Freshly grated nutmeg, about ¼ teaspoon
1 C shredded Gruyere/Swiss blend (Trader Joe’s)
Crushed red pepper to taste
Prick the crust with a fork and at 425 degrees for about 8 minutes. (Place an aluminum pie pan inside the crust to keep it from shrinking or use pie crust weights.)
Roast the asparagus with a little bit of olive oil at 425 degrees for about 5 minutes. Shake the pan about half way through. Plunge the roasted asparagus into ice water.
Place the grated cheese on the pie crust. Drain and dry the asparagus with a clean towel. Sprinkle evenly over the cheese. Whisk the eggs with the half and half. Add the salt, nutmeg and crushed red pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the cheese and asparagus. Top with a handful of extra cheese, if desired and arrange the whole spears on top.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes until set covering the edge about half way through. Serves 8.
Buttermilk Herb Potatoes
Herb Mix:
1 T dried, minced onions
¼ t dried basil
¼ t dried thyme
¼ t garlic powder
1 T dried parsley
½ t black pepper
1 t kosher salt
¾ C buttermilk powder (found in the baking aisle)
Potatoes, peeled and chopped into ½” dice—one medium potato per person
Vegetable oil
Combine the herb mix ingredients. Toss 1 t of the herb mix with each diced potato. Heat 1-2 T vegetable oil in a heavy skillet. Add the potatoes and toss to coat with oil. Cook, covered over low to medium heat about 20 minutes. Stir frequently. Store the remaining herb mix in a Ziploc bag for up to 2 weeks.
Adapted from Rise & Dine by March Claman
Sangria at a tea party? You betcha!
Hudson Cream Pie Crust This is the pie crust for Tracie's quiche.
Hudson Cream Flour is a local product. The mill is in Hudson, Kansas, a very small town. I try to support local products, so Hudson Cream is my flour of choice.
1 C Hudson Cream Short Patent Flour
½ t kosher salt
6 T butter-flavored Crisco, chilled
2 ½ to 3 T ice water
Fluff up the flour with a wire whisk before measuring, use the spoon and level method. Mix the flour and salt in a medium bowl with the whisk. Using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Add 2 ½ T of ice water and work the dough into a ball. Add a few sprinkles of ice water, as needed, until the dough comes together.
Form the dough into a ball and place on a large piece of plastic wrap. Press it into a disk and wrap the plastic wrap around the disk. Refrigerate the dough for about 5 minutes, then roll it out between two pieces of plastic wrap or a floured surface.
Strawberry and Rosemary Scones recipe was from Giada De Larentiis’ Food Network site. Tracie "I think they would be good, substituting lemon zest for the rosemary, if you are not into the sweet and savory thing. I would also cut the Glaze recipe in half, I had a lot left over."
