Dragonwell Dead atsm-8

by Laura Childs

  Strawberry Slush Tea

  2 cups brewed black tea, chilled

  1½ cups frozen strawberries

  1 (6-ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate

  ¼ cup powdered sugar

  1 cup ice cubes

  Place brewed tea, frozen strawberries, lemonade concentrate, powdered sugar, and ice cubes in a blender. Mix until smooth and slushy. Pour into champagne flutes and serve.

  Profiteroles

  1 cup milk

  ½ cup butter

  1 cup all-purpose flour

  4 large eggs

  In heavy saucepan, bring milk and butter to a boil. While boiling, add flour all at once and stir rapidly until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat and beat in eggs thoroughly, one at a time. Place heaping teaspoons of dough on a greased cookie sheet, two inches apart. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking 10 to 15 minutes, until puffs are well risen and dry. When cool, gently pull off the top and add your favorite filling. Curried chicken salad is great for luncheons, chocolate ice cream is perfect for dessert!

  Mini Pecan Muffins

  2⁄3 cup melted butter

  2 large eggs

  1 cup brown sugar

  ½ cup all-purpose flour

  1 cup chopped pecans

  Mix butter and eggs together well. In separate bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, and pecans. Add the dry mix to the butter and egg mix and beat well. Grease and flour mini muffin tins, then pour batter into tins until about two-thirds full.

  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

  Lemon Jumble Cookies

  6 Tbsp butter

  ½ cup sugar

  Grated rind and juice from lemon

  1 egg, beaten

  3 cups self-rising flour

  1–2 Tbsp milk

  Cream butter, then add sugar and grated lemon rind. Mix well and stir in strained lemon juice and beaten egg. Sift the flour and stir in lightly, adding milk as needed to keep dough stiff. Turn dough onto floured board and divide into small pieces. Roll each piece out gently with your hands and form into an S shape. Transfer to greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

  Bacon and Red Pepper Quiche

  8 slices bacon

  ½ cup chopped onion

  ½ cup chopped red pepper

  6 eggs

  1 cup half-and-half

  ½ cup sour cream

  Salt and pepper to taste

  Sauté bacon, onion, and red pepper. In separate bowl, beat eggs with half-and-half, sour cream, and salt and pepper.

  Pour half of this mixture into a greased 9-inch pie plate.

  Drain the bacon/onion/red pepper mixture and spread on top. Pour remaining egg mixture over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

  Haley’s No-Cook Peanut Butter Truffles

  ¼ cup powdered sugar

  ½ cup sweetened condensed milk

  1 cup creamy peanut butter

  6 oz mini semisweet chocolate morsels

  1⁄3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

  Combine powdered sugar, condensed milk, and peanut butter in mixing bowl. Stir until well blended. Stir in mini chocolate chips, then chill until firm. Gently shape into small balls and roll in chopped walnuts or pecans. Chill until firm. Serves one. (Just kidding!)

  Key Lime Scones

  2½ cups all-purpose flour

  2 Tbsp brown sugar

  1 Tbsp baking powder

  1 tsp salt

  1 stick butter

  1 cup milk

  1 large egg

  Finely grated zest from 3 or 4 key limes

  Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a fork until crumbly. In a separate bowl combine milk, egg, and key lime zest. Add to the flour mixture and stir with fork until dough is blended yet sticky.

  Place dough on generously floured board and divide into two balls. Gently flatten each ball until it is about five inches in diameter, then cut into wedges. Place wedges on ungreased cookie sheet, then brush lightly with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes.

  The Last Straw Cheese Straws

  ½ cup butter

  1 8-oz package shredded cheese

  1 cup all-purpose flour

  ¼ tsp salt

  1⁄8 tsp cayenne pepper

  Combine cheese and butter in mixing bowl. Blend in flour, salt, and cayenne pepper. Form the mixture into 3 or 4 balls, then roll out each ball until dough is thin. Cut into strips and place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for about ten minutes or until golden brown. (Note: These are a perfect companion to soups and chowders!)

  Black Orchid Cocktail

  1 part blue curaçao liqueur

  1 part dark rum

  1 dash grenadine syrup

  Pour into cocktail shaker over ice, shake well, strain, and serve.

  Drayton’s Spine-Tingling Ice Angels

  Brew a pot of jasmine or rose hips tea and chill in refrigerator. Fill martini or parfait glasses with a scoop of raspberry or lemon gelato, then pour the chilled tea over it.

  Tea Time Tips

  from Laura Childs

  Victorian Tea

  Lay out your best china as well as a few choice antique pieces atop a lace tablecloth. Serve Earl Grey or an elegant Darjeeling, maraschino cherry scones with Devonshire cream, shortbread, and roast beef and white cheddar tea sandwiches. Floral nosegays at each place setting and a candelabra in the center of the table add elegance. Invite your guests to wear ruffles, Victorian hats, gloves, and cameos.

  An invitation using Victorian paper dolls or a fancy, scrolled cardboard frame from a scrapbook store would be perfection.

  Blue-and-White Tea

  In the eighteenth century, Chinese sailing ships and British clipper ships transported literally thousands of tons of Chinese blue-and-white ceramics to Europe and the Americas.

  The influence of these beautiful dishes remains with us today and these blue-and-white plates, teapots, and tea ware look stunning set against crisp white tablecloths. When your table looks this good, you don’t need to get tricky.

  Serve cucumber and mint butter tea sandwiches, smoked salmon with cream cheese, raisin and apple scones, and Yunnan or Lapsang souchong tea.

  Cottage Tea

  Choose a cozy spot in the garden or sunroom and create a relaxed cottage atmosphere. Spread a quilt on the table, fill an old watering can with flowers, and use your vintage ceramic pitchers and mugs. Serve scones in wicker baskets, turn a clay pot upside down and top it with a plate of chicken chutney tea sandwiches. Serve a malty Assam and perhaps a vanilla-flavored tea. Old jars, tins, and one-of-a-kind teacups complete the picture.

  Tea Blending Party

  Buy a selection of loose teas, then visit your local herb store for dried chamomile, lavender, lemon verbena, rose petals, hibiscus, and cinnamon. Purchase small cotton muslin bags or tea sacks of unbleached mesh paper and allow your guests to concoct their own blends of tea. When it comes to serving food, simplify things by using three-tiered trays. And remember, cakes, shortbreads, and sweets go on top, scones in the middle, and savories (appetizers and small tea sandwiches) belong on the bottom tier.

  Spa Tea

  Fresh flowers, aromatherapy candles, and relaxation music set the mood. Drape fluffy towels over your chairs and place plump pillows underfoot. Then invite your friends in for a spa tea. Serve Egyptian chamomile and lemon herbal teas, fruit juices, bottled water, fruit kabobs, and shrimp salad tea sandwiches. Favors might include small loofahs, soaps, lip balms, and mini bottles of lotion. If you can hire a professional or coax a friend or relative to give shoulder or hand massages, so much the better.

  Bird Lover’s Tea

  Ancient Chinese scholars used to carry their birds with them to the local teahouse in extravagantly woven bamboo cages. While they wrote poetry and sipped delicate teas, their birds would merrily chirp away. You, too, can have a Bird Lover’s Tea. I
f you sit outside, place your table near a bird bath or feeder. For an inside tea, decorate your table with small birds and woven nests from a craft store, tiny bird houses, or ceramic birds. Use table napkins or dishes with bird motifs and serve your tea (a nice oolong or plum tea, perhaps?) in a traditional clay YiXing teapot. To celebrate the joys of tea and friendship, try your hand at writing a poem similar to this Sung dynasty poem by Tu Hsiao-Shan:

  One winter night

  A friend dropped in.

  We drank not wine but tea.

  The kettle hissed,

  The charcoal glowed,

  A bright moon shone outside.

  The moon itself

  Was nothing special—

  But, ah, the plum-tree blossom!

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