Tea Party!

My mother was the California state coach for the 4-H stock show nationals in public speaking this past year. She's been doing it for a long time (my brother and I both competed and won with her coaching) but since we are way too old she has turned to warping the minds of younger children. I mean shaping. Heh.

Jessie is not so interested in tea...

So in celebration of all this 4-H coaching, the girls she coached threw her a tea party. I made a lot of food, and to be honest I will have to edit a lot of this tomorrow, because tea party food is heavy. You may not think it at the time, with the tiny bite sized portions, but you put away several tea sandwiches and you will fall into a food coma.  Couple that with having to do a full shift of veterinary technician work after downing enough smoked salmon to satisfy a grizzly, and you have a sleepy Miss Mochi.

The spread! Cupcake recipe coming soon!

I do love tea parties. I was probably the only 18 year old that threw her 18th birthday party bash at a tea house. Original Gansta material, obviously.

After the jump I have six recipes as well as some tea party cheats for you!



Deviled and Spiced Ham Sandwich

1 8 ounce package of cream cheese
1 can of deviled ham
1/4 cup mayo
10 small stuffed green olives, finely chopped
1 can of Spam, sliced into 10 slices

Mix everything but the spam together. Fry the spam in a skillet until browned. Chop the spam finely and mix into the cream cheese mixture when cooled. Spoon mixture in between slices of bread with the crust removed and lightly buttered to prevent sogginess.  Yes, I put spam in a tea sandwich. I am that awesome. Alternatively, ham would work but I had spam on hand, and I think it lends a nice salty spiced taste that ham doesn't. You can make this filling up to 5 days in advance, but assemble the day of.

Egg Salad Sandwich

6 hard boiled eggs, chopped
4 tbs mayonnaise
3 tbs Dijon mustard
3 tbs cucumber relish
pepper to taste

These crisps I picked up from Costco.

Mix everything together and taste. Add relish, mustard, or pepper as necessary.  Spoon mixture in between slices of bread with the crust removed and lightly buttered to prevent sogginess. Or place on top of bread crisps and sprinkle with chives or bacon bits. You can make this filling up to 5 days in advance, but assemble the day of.

Smoked Salmon Bites with Lemon Creme Fraiche and Cucumber

1 tub of creme fraiche
zest of one lemon
juice of 1/2 a lemon
smoked salmon
cucumber, sliced into ribbons

Mix the lemon zest and juice into the creme fraiche until incorporated.  Spoon onto bread crisps and top with a piece of thinly sliced cucumber, broken to fit the size of the crisp. Top with smoked salmon.

Cheddar and Apple Bites

1 granny smith apple, sliced 1/4" thin
smoked shard cheddar, sliced 1/4" thin
1 1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice

Combine the water and lemon juice, and put apple immediately in the liquid after cutting to prevent browning. Cut a slice of bread into quarters after removing the crust. Top each quarter with a slice of cheese and a slice of apple.

Chicken Salad Crisps

1 tub of chicken salad (I used one from Costco with poppy seeds, pecans, and cranberries)
bread crisps

This isn't a recipe, more of a cheat.  Find a tasty chicken salad and top pieces of crackers or bread crisps with it. Simple and delish!

Hibiscus Tea Lemonade

8 cups of hot water
8 tea bags of your favorite hibiscus tea (like Tazo's Passion) or similar quantity of loose tea
2 59 fl. ounce cartons of your favorite lemonade
3 lemons, sliced 1/4" thin

Put the tea bags in the hot water and let steep approximately 5 minutes. Throw out tea bags and put tea in the fridge to chill.  Combine the chilled tea and lemonade in your serving vessel and garnish with lemon slices. I made lemonade ice cubes to put in, that way the drink doesn't get watered down.

Strawberry Romanoff Tartlets

Sour Cream
Brown Sugar
hostess shortcakes
strawberries, sliced thin

Mix sour cream and brown sugar together, in a 1:1 ratio. Spoon into the depression on top of the shortcakes. Top with slices strawberries, then sprinkle brown sugar on top of the strawberries.