A Proper Tea Party

Yesterday I threw a tea party bridal shower for my best friend. I've spent almost six weeks planning it. Invitations went out a month ago and said that dresses and skirts were mandatory, but hats and gloves were optional. I had three types of drinks and five different foods.

The first drink was hibiscus mint iced tea. The recipe is easy enough- I bought hibiscus tea bags and boiled two quarts of water and soaked about ten tea bags for about ten minutes. Then I let it cool in the fridge over night. In the morning I cut and washed several sprigs of mint that were growing in my little garden and stuck them in. Poof! Done.

The next drink was red iced tea. This one I boiled six cups of water and then steeped eight bags of red zinger tea. I let it cool in the fridge overnight and then before the party I added half a container of apple cider and sliced orange and lemons. This tea was much lighter in flavor than the hibiscus, but both were good and neither needed any sugar added.

The last drink was lavender lemonade. Since a whole pitcher of real lemonade takes about 20 lemons and I don't have a juicer I just bought organic lemonade made up and added a couple sliced lemons and the long stems of lavender that were growing in my garden. It looked beautiful and tasted great.

All the food was either pink or had tea in it. First I made fresh raspberry scones. The recipe said to make the scones and then fold in the raspberries and it would look like this:

 

(http://www.marthastewart.com/336222/fast-raspberry-scones)

But for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to take delicious, tender, Oregon berries and fold them into the flour and butter mixture and then add the liquid. First, all the berries got smushed. Second, it took far too long to get the liquid incorporated into all the flour. Third, because all the berries had burst they were far too wet and didn't bake correctly. But luckily, they still tasted great and looked pretty good too.

Next I made strawberries and cream tartlets from Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts (my new favorite cookbook). The crust is pate sucree which has sugar, cream, and egg yolk added to the plain pie crust to make it a tart crust. They were rich and sweet and still just a flaky. The cream was pastry cream which is like a custard but using only milk, cornstarch, egg yolk, and sugar. I think I would rather have made a custard with egg yolk, butter, and sugar instead because I could taste the cornstarch a bit even after cooking it. Then simple Oregon strawberries on top. One bite wonders that had everything you needed.

These tomato puff pastry tarts did not turn out anything like they were supposed to. I bought the frozen puff pastry because I didn't have time to make my own and usually it works out fine. I let it come to room temperature and when I took it out of the box to unfold it all the layers had melted together. So I had to roll it out to the thickness I needed, and with it's elasticity it didn't stay. Then I found out the house I was at didn't have a biscuit cutter wider then two inches, and my beautiful tomatoes were definitely bigger than that. So after placing tomatoes over the puff pastry I added a little salt, pepper, parmesan, and cooking spray before baking. They would have turned out beautiful if the tomatoes hadn't been falling off the pastry, but they still tasted good.

Two items I made were gluten free because the guest of honor has recently had to eliminate that from her diet. So the tea sandwiches I made were red pear, blue cheese, and white gluten free sandwich bread I found at the grocery store. Then the cake was a chai tea bundt cake from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. I used Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour with xantham gum added to help it stay together. I have never used gluten free flour and now I know why people don't recommend it. It's made up of all sorts of different vegetable flours and I could TASTE them. It was supposed to be a sweet and spicy cake but it was dry and had a strange aftertaste. And the second the wet and dry mixtures met the dough turned into glue because of the 1/2 teaspoon of xantham gum I added. I think when I make the wedding cake I'll use rice flour and more fat and eggs, less chemical adhesives to keep the cake moist and in one piece.

For the favors everyone went home with a little package of earl grey tea cookies. Every time I tell people what these are they sound a bit disgusted. Yes I take tea bags, cut them open, and pour the tea into the flour mixture before mixing it with butter and a little powdered sugar. These are like icebox cookies that you roll up and chill before cutting into rounds and baking them, but because of the powdered sugar they just seem to melt in your mouth. Every time someone actually eats one of these cookies they go on and on about how great they are. There's just a hint of tea, it's not overpowering or chunky. They are a delicious little treat for the end of a fantastic tea party.

A Heathly Breakfast Muffin

Majority of muffins that are sold in grocery stores and coffee shops should not be considered a suitable breakfast food. They are closer to a cupcake without frosting, and some of them even have frosting! I'm on the hunt to create a recipe for a breakfast muffin that is healthy AND good for you. I've had three tries so far, and I think I've almost got it.

Blueberry bran muffins by Lucinda Scala Quinn's cookbook Mad Hungry. I love this cookbook, I bought it a couple weeks ago and have already made several things out of it. The entire book is about making good, wholesome food and bringing families together. In this recipe she uses maple syrup to cut down on plain sugar needed, and the addition of wheat bran or germ adds fiber. When I made them they were very moist, but not too sweet. Just make sure not to use old frozen berries like I did and they'd be delicious.

Banana breakfast muffins were a complete invention of mine. Adding banana to anything breakfast is great because they have so many good nutrients, add healthy sugars, and make baked goods moist. These muffins were just a bit too hearty. I used whole wheat flour and wheat germ (which I've decided has a very strong flavor and should only be used in small amounts and it should always be toasted first). I used all the old bananas I had in the fruit basket (2-3) and honey as a natural sugar so I didn't have to use too much plain sugar. And just a bit of lemon juice to react with the baking soda since I used regular milk and not buttermilk (my favorite).

And the best of all three, my healthy breakfast muffins. The recipe was a combination of several different ones on MarthaStewart.com, and some things I threw in all on my own. The first additive was ground almonds mixed with whole wheat flour and regular flour. There were mashed bananas and honey and some buttermilk. The topping was a regular streuselwith brown sugar, oats, and butter. Next time I'll add just a bit more warm spices, and they have to be eaten the day they're made otherwise the topping gets soggy from the moist muffin. But these are healthy, hearty, and will give you a great start to your day.

A New Type of Chocolate Cake

The trouble with chocolate cake is that it is too easily a dry cake. I've been on the hunt for a new type of chocolate cake that is MOIST and CHOCOLATEY. To acheive both is difficult. My first attempt was Alton Brown's recipe for fudge cake (pictured above). It was extremely moist, but I thought it was a little lacking in chocolatey-ness. His recipe: only one stick butter, 2 1/4 cups brown sugar, 3 eggs, 3 oz baking chocolate squares, 2 1/4 cups flour, 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup boiling water. What's different about this recipe? The high amount of brown sugar, the low amount of fat (butter), the choice of chocolate (no cocoa powder), and the boiling water at the end.

So on my next try to get more chocolate flavor I melted chocolate chips and reincorporated the cocoa powder mixed with boiling water. I made a milk chocolate reeses cake for Uncle Randy's birthday. It was a hit, partly because everyone loves reeses and the cake was one step closer to the perfect chocolate cake. This recipe: 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, 2 sticks butter, 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, 3/4 cup sugar, 4 eggs, 6 oz melted milk chocolate chips, 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup boiling water. Then with the addition of peanut butter frosting and rich chocolate frosting and some chopped reeses you have my cake.

The recipe isn't 100% perfect, yet. I'm still adjusting trying to find the best combination of ingredients, but I'm getting closer with every cake.

Banana Oat Smoothie

I saw this recipe a long time ago in Martha Stewart's Everday FOOD and I've been dying to make it ever since, so today I finally did. This is the heartiest smoothie I've ever had in my life, and of course I changed the recipe some. So, in a blender combine:

1/4 c old fashioned oatmeal (not instant)
1/2 c peanut butter
1 banana chopped
1/2 c milk (cow's or soy or almond or hemp or whatever you like)
2 t honey
1/4 t cinnamon

Blend until smooth. Makes one serving. Drink immediately or store in the fridge until ready.

It took me maybe 5 minutes from start to finish including cleanup. For a breakfast or snack that's completely healthy and filling this is perfect. And it tastes great too! The banana really comes through so make sure you use a ripe one so your whole smoothie isn't bitter. And since there's nothing frozen in here it won't melt. Enjoy!

The Biscuit Method

Alton Brown's cookbook I'm Just Here For More Food is broken up in chapters by baking method, not by types of baked goods like cookies, cakes, pies, and breads. He has the muffin method of throwing everything in a bowl, the creaming method (a recipe I'll write about later this week), plus others including the biscuit method. The difference here is that you mix all the dry ingredients together and then cut in the butter, also like a pie crust, then mix in the wet ingredients. Pat it out, cut it up and bake it.

Last week I made two different things using the biscuit method. The first was for Father's Day- cheddar chive biscuits. The recipe was a combination of about five of Martha Stewart's recipes for different types of biscuits, but I knew I wanted herbs and cheddar and there wasn't one that combined the two the way I wanted. So I mixed the flour, salt, baking powder like a normal recipe then added a little smoked paprika, chile powder, shredded cheddar cheese, and chopped fresh chives. Then I cut in the butter and mixed in buttermilk. I patted it out and cut it up and baked it just until they started to brown. They were so good! Perfect to go with a savory brunch or any kind of dinner. They were slightly salty, cheesey, oniony, and spicy. And they were a delicious moist biscuit.

The second thing I made was this past weekend, I whipped up some lemon poppy seed scones for a couple bridal functions I was going to. Again, I couldn't find a recipe from Martha that was exactly what I wanted so I used the recipe from http://www.marthastewart.com/341387/lemon-cream-scones for lemon cream scones and added a couple tablespoons of poppy seeds to the dry goods. And I don't think I added as much zest as the recipe called for so I added half a lemon's worth of juice. I know the acidity of the lemon juice would cause a chemical reaction with the baking powder and it would make them rise more and be fluffier inside. They turned out pretty good. The recipe called for eggs, which is a little odd for the biscuit method, so they turned out a little cakey but they tasted good and looked great.

The biscuit method is super easy, always quick, and the only way you can really mess is up if you follow the directions is by mixing it too much. I even whipped up a pie crust yesterday and it only took 10 minutes max.

Father's Day Present

For holidays and birthdays I like to give people a gift that is affordable and something I know they'll enjoy. I almost always bake something. For Father's Day this year I made my dad sesame soy cashews from Martha Stewart Living December 2003. It was pretty simple to whip up, I just had to bake it and stir it for almost an hour. But then end result is something amazing. I made this once before for a poker night party and my best friend and I made ourselves sick because we couldn't stop eating them they were so good.

The Recipe:

1/4 cup (abbreviated c. from now on) soy sauce

2 T (tablespoons) sugar

1 t (teaspoon) sesame oil

1 t fresh grated ginger

3/4 t ground ginger

4 c roasted cashews

1/4 c sesame seeds

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and then pour it out on a baking sheet or silpat. Bake at 250 for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes until they're dry.

All these ingredients I already had, besides the nuts, even the ginger, which I've had fresh for a long time. I learned somewhere (probably from Martha) that when you buy a whole piece of ginger root at the store you usually only use a small portion. Keep it in a ziploc in the freezer and use a microplane zester (or very small holes on a cheese grater) while it's still frozen every time you need it. I don't even bother trying to scrape of the paper coating. You can't tell when it's all grated together. Then you can spend a couple cents on something and add a little bit of great flavor to many meals and make it last months.

The label came from Marthastewart.com

Gradutation Cupcakes

My little sister Faith graduated from high school this month and for her present I made 60 cupcakes, three different types. The first one she requested was a chocolate cake with mint buttercream frosting. I had made these before for a birthday party we went to and she loved them. Her second request was a mocha cupcake. The third one she let me pick. I called this one "surprise cupcakes."

I feel like every time I make chocolate cake it turns out dry. I don't have a single chocolate cake recipe I'd want to make again. Randomly, as I was thinking about this, I was talking to my best friend and she mentioned some chocolate cupcakes she had made that were the best she'd ever had, so I asked for the recipe. She googled it and found a recipe called better than sex chocolate cupcakes. But she told me to add a little bit of flour because hers was too thin. So I made them with 1 cup of flour instead of 3/4 cup and they were not too thin, on the contrary they were a little thick so I added a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil to the mix. They baked nicely, but were still a little dry. Turns out hers were thin because she used melted butter instead of softened butter, which makes a world of a difference. Next time I need chocolate cupcakes I'll try the recipe again but with only 3/4 cup flour.

For the mocha cupcakes I used Martha Stewart's recipe from her cupcake cookbook. It is almost impossible to find instant espresso powder, the grocery store had 100 kinds of instant coffee but no instant espresso, which I find surprising. So I got some that was a hispanic brand of instant espresso coffee, at least it had the word I was looking for. The cupcakes baked up beautifully, the most rounded dome on every single one, I almost didn't want to frost them! But again they were a little dry, even though I added a couple tablespoons of oil to these also. I think I'm going to have to start making my own cupcake recipes with a ton of oil in them so they actually stay moist like they're supposed to.

For the mint and mocha frostings I started with the same base- Swiss meringue buttercream. This is a more elaborate frosting, and I was trying to avoid doing it but Faith had specifically asked for the mint frosting that tasted like a cloud, and for that I had to use egg whites. This buttercream starts with whisking egg whites and sugar in a bowl set over a pan of boiling water, so it acts like a double boiler, but as soon as the sugar dissolves you put the bowl into the electric mixer and let it whip for 5-10 minutes until it's not hot anymore. Then you whip in an entire pound of butter. Frosting basically is just sugar and butter, but with the egg whites it is so light and fluffy, and it's firm to it'll keep any shape you pipe it in. I divided this mixture in half; one part I added peppermint extract and green food coloring, the other half I added more instant espresso powder. Both turned out perfectly.

Now onto my surprise cupcakes. With two kinds of chocolate cupcakes already I wanted to do something fruity, but Faith rejected most of my ideas. So then I thought of doing a cupcake like a jelly filled donut. I made yellow buttermilk cupcakes using the recipe from Martha's cupcake cookbook again (I use it almost any time I need to make any kind of cake). They actually baked the worst out of the three I was making. I made twice as many of these at one time so maybe the heat didn't circulate in the oven like it should have, but they all had muffin tops and spilled over the edges and none of them had beautiful domes like the other two batches. They still tasted pretty good, I think buttermilk makes anything taste better. After they had cooled I cut cone shapes out of the middle of each cupcake and filled it with my favorite raspberry jam. Then I made simple fluffy vanilla frosting- just butter, powdered sugar, and a little vanilla- and piped it onto the cupcakes to cover the filling so no one knew it was there. I thought these turned out great, exactly what I wanted and the twist Faith had asked for.

Overall it was a successful catering job for a party, although I didn't get paid I also didn't have to buy a present, because the ingredients and the time it took were expensive enough. And I'm always pleased when people like what I've made.