It is not easy preparing for a tea party. It is exhausting not to mention time consuming but all worth it when you see the eyes of your guests light up in delight. It is an experience one should not miss.
The first Tea Party was last Saturday. The guest of honor was a little girl named, Julianna, so her setting was a "kid" setting.
There were seven colors of bread in different shapes: pink, green, yellow, white, chocolate, beige and brown. The 2 little girls had Hot Chocolate and the adults had Angel's tea.
Tita Portia asked me to make miniature Raisin Scones which she served with clotted cream and strawberry jam. I never realized it was so easy to bake them! Easier than making pancakes. I got the recipe from the Internet and just added raisins. The first time I baked scones, it turned out into giant monster looking clumps! Tita Portia suggested I use the smallest muffin pan and it turned out into cute little scones.
Raisin Scones
3 C. flour
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 t. salt
5 t. baking powder
3/4 C. butter, chilled and cut into cubes
1/2 C. raisins
1 egg, beaten
1 C. milk
1 egg, beaten for the glaze.
Pre-heat oven to 200C. Combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Cut in butter using 2 knives or a pastry cutter. When it resembles cornmeal or peas, add the raisins. Mix the egg and the milk, stir it into the flour mixture using a fork until moistened.
Use a non stick muffin pan or greased muffin pan. Drop one teaspoon of the mixture. Glaze with beaten egg. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
I also cooked Galantina Rolls. It is the filling of Chicken Galantina (Philippine Fiesta Recipes, Belmonte and Del Mundo) but rolled into little logs. To make Chicken Galantina, just marinate 1.5 K. of deboned chicken overnight in 1 t. salt and 1 t. calamansi. Fill with stuffing, wrap in tin foil and steam for one hour. Cool before slicing. Best served chilled.
Galantina Roll
1/4 K. ground chicken
1/4 K. ground pork
1 C. Purefoods Vienna Sausage, chopped
1 C. Purefods Sweet Ham, chopped
3 pcs. Purefoods Chorizo Bilbao, chopped
1 C. white onions, chopped
1 can Underwood Liverwurst
1/4 C. Heinz tomato ketchup
1 t. salt
1 t. msg
1 t. sugar
4 egg yolks
1/2 C. raisins.
Combine all the ingredients. Measure 1 cup of the mixture into an 8 x 8 sheet of tin foil. Roll like a log and steam for one hour. Chill before slicing.
Tita Portia invited my friends for her second tea party.
We had to do a quick run to Rustan's Rockwell to get fresh ingredients yesterday morning. She had to do all the preparations again! I helped her plate the salad and to put all the desserts on the serving dishes.
Celina and Mariger a.k.a "Girlie" (hahaha) helped me bake a fresh batch of raisin scones.
My friends had an impromptu baking lessons. I just supervised and both of them did all the work.
The party started with the opening of the jewel box ...
with a little surprise inside.
Hahahaha It was the most desired "fortune" and everybody wished it was theirs.
The strawberry salad was so ambrosial!
We used Driscolls strawberries, really sweet. Just a simple salad you can prepare everyday. Lettuce leaves, strawberry, cucumber, goat's cheese and finely chopped pistachios drizzled with Dizon's Strawberry Vinaigrette.
Each guest had her own: carafe of sparkling juice,
flute of champagne, scones with clotted cream and jam,
Angel's Tea and Green Apple Sorbet in frozen fresh lime.
We even had tea etiquette lessons. Split the scones into two, spread the jam first then top with the cream. That is the proper way of eating scones!
The little sandwiches were delish! Hehehe The parsley leaves were demarcation line. Meaning = Do NOT crossover and get the sandwiches of your seatmate across!
Egg Salad on yellow oval bread
Jamon Serrano on square wheat bread
Cream cheese with blueberry jam on pink heart bread
Picante Sardines with Wasabi Mayo on green leaf shaped bread
Smoked Salmon formed into rose on pink flower shaped bread with cream cheese
Cheese pimiento on white round bread
Shrimp salad on pink heart shaped bread
Peanut butter with figs on square chocolate bread
Galantina in miniature white bun.
On the side table were the assorted desserts and extra sandwiches. My niece, Gillian, baked the pastel colored cupcakes and my other niece Sophie helped her with the decorations.
The favorite sandwich was the Picante Sardines with Wasabi mayo. We finished the extra plus the helpers made more for us. I also liked the Galantina sandwich.
My favorite dessert was the Chocolate Hazelnut from Dianond Hotel, Rockwell. It had a sans rival kind of wafer with chocolate truffle and chocolate mouse, dusted with cocoa and decorated with hazelnuts.
The party would not be complete with out give aways!
Tita Portia told us to choose any pair of earrings we liked, she designed all of them. It was like choosing a candy from a candy bar!
The Afternoon Tea was a success! All of us enjoyed the experience. It was something we will remember and cherish... something we would talk about for quite a while.
Thank you, Tita Portia for the great happiness you have given us! Nobody can measure up to my Tita's love and flair for entertaining.
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