This inviting teatime spread offers savoury and sweet accompaniments for hot tea and dry sherry.
This Labour Day, after you've toiled, pause for a spot of tea to recharge your batteries and bask in the satisfaction of a hard day's work done. Even if you slip off to the beach afternoon tea is still a welcome affair.
THE CUSTOM of taking tea together is among the most ancient forms of hospitality. While the character of the beverage and the rituals for its preparation and serving differ from one area of the world to another, 'tea' as a social institution remains a gracious way to entertain.
At its best, teatime is a convivial hour or so spent enjoying good company and pleasing refreshments. To simplify serving, set out a sampler of various teas (black, green, chai, herbal, etc.) along with hot water, lemon slices, sugar, milk and cream. For those who don't drink tea, offer coffee, lemonade or bottled water. For an afternoon tea, dry sherry can be a nice surprise.
Tea accompaniments ideally include sweets (little cakes, cookies, scones or fresh fruit) as well as savouries (miniature tarts and dainty sandwiches). If you're short on time, purchase part of the menu from a bakery or supermarket.
SUCCESS TIP:
To fill sandwich cookies neatly and efficiently, use a pastry bag fitted with a plain round piping tip. In a pinch, roll a square of aluminium foil into a cone and snip off the tip for piping.
Cheese Tea Biscuits
Cheddar-flavoured biscuits are a zesty counterpart to sweet accompaniments for tea.
1 cup flour
1/8 tsp. each paprika, dry mustard and salt
1/2 cup firm butter
1 cup (4 oz) shredded white cheddar cheese
1 egg yolk
Method
1. In a bowl, stir together flour, paprika, dry mustard and salt to combine thoroughly.
2. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter and cheese until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg yolk; stir with a fork until dough clings together. Use your hands to press dough into a smooth ball. Wrap dough in plastic film and refrigerate until firm (at least 30 minutes).
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured board or pastry cloth, roll out dough to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Cut with a 1 1/2- to two-inch-diameter cutter. Place biscuits slightly apart on ungreased baking sheets. Pierce each in several places with a fork.
4. Bake until golden brown (10 to 12 minutes). Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly, then serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes about 3 dozen (2-inch) biscuits.
Shrimp and Chive Tarts
Ready-to-use puff pastry makes these miniature tarts simple to prepare. If you prefer, substitute 3/4 cup finely diced chicken breast for the bay shrimp. You'll need three muffin pans, each with 12 cups approximately 1 3/4 inches in diameter.
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry (half of a 17 1/4-oz package)
1/4 lb cooked bay shrimp
2 tbs. mayonnaise
1 tbs. chopped chives
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 cup finely shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
Method
1. Thaw puff pastry at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. To prepare filling, combine shrimp, mayonnaise, chives and mustard in a small bowl. Mix lightly to coat shrimp evenly.
3. On a lightly floured board or pastry cloth, unfold pastry and roll out. Cut rounds from pastry, using a 2-inch-diameter cookie cutter. Gather trimmings from cutting the pastry, press together into a ball, re-roll and cut into rounds. You should have approximately 36 rounds. Lightly press pastry rounds into muffin tins with ungreased 1 3/4-inch-diameter cups.
4. Into each pastry shell, spoon 2 or 3 of the bay shrimp coated with mayonnaise mixture. Sprinkle with a rounded 1/2 teaspoon of shredded cheese. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bake tarts until just golden brown (12 to 14 minutes). Remove at once from muffin tins and serve hot or warm.
Makes approximately 3 dozen tarts.
Apricot-Filled Sandwich Cookies
These elegant little cookies can be baked and frozen weeks ahead, but wait to fill them until an hour or two before serving time. Otherwise, the moist apricot jam may cause the cookies to soften.
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup firm butter
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 to 1/2 cup apricot jam or preserves (or mango)
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Method
1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar and nutmeg; stir to blend thoroughly. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs.
2. In a small bowl, beat egg yolk with vanilla. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture until all particles are moistened. Work with your hands to form dough into a smooth ball. Enclose in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (about 1 hour).
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured board or pastry cloth, roll out dough to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Cut out cookies with a 1 1/2-inch-diameter cutter. Transfer to ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake until cookies are golden (6 to 8 minutes). Transfer to wire racks to cool.
5. Apply about 3/4 teaspoon jam to half of the cookies. Top each with a plain cookie. Just before serving, sift lightly with confectioners' sugar.
Makes approximately 40 small cookies.
Watercress Finger Sandwiches
Cut these dainty sandwiches into slender rectangles or any other shape you'd like.
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tbs. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup lightly packedwatercress leaves
12 thin slices firm-textured white bread
Substitute callaloo, spinach, bibb lettuce
Method
1. In a food-processor work bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, mustard and watercress. Process until well-combined.
2. Trim and discard crusts from bread. Spread half of the slices evenly with watercress mixture; cover with remaining slices. Cut each sandwich into 3 equal strips.
3. Arrange sandwiches on a tray or platter; enclose in plastic film and refrigerate for up to 8 hours until ready to serve.
Makes 18 small sandwiches.
Smoked Salmon Spread
To thicken the salmon spread, you will need the yolk portion from a hard-cooked egg. Purchase thinly sliced rye or pumpernickel bread and toast it shortly before serving.
3 oz smoked salmon or lox, coarsely chopped
1 hard-cooked egg yolk
1 tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. chopped fresh dill or 1/4 tsp. dried dill weed
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1/4 cup butter (preferably unsalted), melted and cooled
Toasted wholegrain, crusts removed
Crackers
Method
1. In a food processor or blender, combine smoked salmon, egg yolk, lemon juice, dill and white pepper; process or whirl until smooth.
2. With motor running, add melted butter in a steady stream, blending until thickened and smooth. Transfer mixture to a crock or bowl, cover, and refrigerate to blend flavours for at least 1 hour or up to a day.
3. Serve the spread with toasted triangles of rye or pumpernickel or with crackers.
Makes about 2/3 cup.
Chocolate Butter-Cream Sandwich
Flaky, tender chocolate pastry and a butter-cream filling make these delicate cookies irresistible.
1 cup flour
2 tbs. unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup firm butter
2 tbs. whipping cream
2 tbs. (approximately) confectioners' sugar
Butter-Cream Filling (recipe below)
Method
1. In a medium bowl, combine flour and cocoa; stir to combine thoroughly. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs.
2. Add cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until all particles are moistened. Use your hands to form mixture into a smooth ball. Enclose in plastic film and refrigerate until firm (about 1 hour).
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sprinkle pastry board or work surface with confectioners' sugar, rubbing it in evenly. Roll out dough to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Cut out cookies with a 1 1/4- to 1 1/2-inch-diameter cutter. Transfer to lightly greased baking sheets. Use a fork to pierce each cookie in 2 or 3 places.
4. Bake until cookies feel firm when touched lightly (8 to 10 minutes). Let cool on baking sheets for about 2 minutes, then carefully transfer to wire racks to cool.
5. Using a small spatula, spread half of the cookies with Butter-Cream Filling, using about 1 teaspoon for each cookie. Top each filled cookie with a plain cookie and lightly press together.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Butter-Cream Filing
3 tbs. butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 to 3 tsp. whipping cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Method
In a small bowl, combine butter and sugar; beat until well-blended. Gradually beat in cream, then vanilla, until filling is smooth and of a good consistency for spreading.
Lifestyle Media Group/Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
