Time For Tea, A Great Way to Thaw Out!

Wow, the weather outside is frightful, but inside Rolling Pin it was so delightful! I know I should not be complaining about the cold snap that has hit Florida, especially looking at some of the other temperatures from around the country, but it is darn cold out there! We had a frost last night, and they are calling for another tonight, and if conditions are just right this weekend.....snow! I thought we moved to Florida to escape all that!

The only good that has come out of our colder weather, it was the prefect day to have an Afternoon Tea titled "A Snowflake Afternoon". Dave West, the owner of Rolling Pin, and I decided that since the teas have become so popular, we would try 2teas every month. Our teas will now be on the first Wednesday and the third Thursday. Today, we had the prefect number of students, 12. We began the class with a wonderful pot of English Breakfast Tea and a piping hot Cream Cheese Walnut Scone drizzled with Cream Cheese Frosting. Since the scones were hot, I decided make the frosting very thick. That way by the time they were all served, the frosting had melted to a wonderful glaze. Everyone voted these the best scones so far! While everyone was enjoying their scones and another pot of tea was poured, I began making our tea sandwiches.

Today our selection of tea sandwiches included
Roasted Beef Sandwiches with Kalamata Mustard Butter
Caviar and Egg Tea Sandwiches and
Waldorf Tea Sandwiches
I must admit, everyone seemed very skeptical about the Caviar and Egg, but they all tried them and everyone said they loved them.
Just a quick note about the caviar. Traditionally the designation caviar is only used for sturgeon roe, namely from the wild sturgeon species from the Caspian Sea, in most cases from Russia or Iran (Beluga, Ossetra and Sevruga caviars). This caviar varies, according to their quality (flavor, size, consistency and color), and are associated with gourmet and Haute cuisine environments. Presently, depending on specific national laws, the name caviar may be used by a variety of far less expensive products, substitutes and imitations of caviar, such as salmon roe (sometimes called red caviar), trout roe, lumpfish roe, etc. Since we were using the caviar as a light garnish, I elected to use the must less expensive lumpfish roe. The lumpfish roe is much smaller than than the Beluga roe, making it a perfect "pop" for our tea sandwiches. After the tea sandwiches were served, I began to prepare my favorite part of tea, dessert! Today, we enjoyed Winter White Tea Cookies and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies!
My next Afternoon Tea will be Tuesday, January 19 "A Traditional Afternoon Tea" what a great way to celebrate National Hot Tea Month! There are still a couple of seats available, we would love to have you come join us!

I had to show off some of my Christmas Presents! The frame was from one of my favorite students at Rolling Pin, Karen. Thanks you so much Karen, I LOVE IT!! The little chef was a stocking stuffer from my parents, they said it looked like me, minus my usual glass of wine. What fun I have had with both of these gifts!



Frosted Cream Cheese Walnut Scones
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter -- chilled and cut into small pieces
5 ounces cream cheese -- chilled and cut into small pieces
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
1 cup walnuts -- coarsely chopped
Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Baking sheets may be ungreased, or lined with parchment paper or silpat

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar; whisk together to mix.

With a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter and cream cheese into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, stir the buttermilk and egg together. Add the liquid mixture and walnuts to the flour mixture; stir just until mixed. The dough will be stiff and slightly sticky. If necessary, turn the mixture onto a lightly floured board and knead gently until the flour is combined. Do not over-knead as this will make a tougher scone.

On a lightly floured surface, shape and pat the dough into a circle or rectangle about ¾ inches thick. Cut into wedges, squares or circles with a floured knife and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

Note: Scones can be cut into any shape you desire. Use a drinking glass to make circles, or cut into squares or wedges with a knife. Dip the edges of the cutter in flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Do not pat the edges of the scone down; instead leave the cuts as sharp as possible to allow the scones to rise in layers.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until the scones are lightly browned. Remove scones from baking sheets and cool on wire racks.

Cream Cheese Frosting
3 ounces cream cheese -- softened
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until soft. Add confectioners sugar and vanilla extract; beat until smooth. Add enough milk to make a good spreading consistency. Frost the scones while they are still warm.

Caviar and Egg Tea Sandwiches
20 slices pumpernickel cocktail bread
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 hard boiled eggs -- peeled and sliced
Creme Fraiche
caviar
fresh chives

Preheat oven to 400°.
Cut pumpernickel slices into triangles; place on baking sheet. Brush with olive oil, and bake 8 minutes or until toasted; set aside to cool. Place one egg slice on each toast point. Spoon or pipe Crème Fraiche on egg slice; top with caviar and fresh chives.