You can plan a fun tea party based on any of the four seasons. Use the following ideas and recipes to host a “Winter Wonderland” tea party.
Your invitation should be in the shape of a snowflake and coated with white glitter. Ask your guests to come dressed all in white.
Cover your serving table with a white tablecloth and drape a tulle garland around the edge. Use silver candelabras for the centerpiece and sprinkle snowflake confetti over the tabletop.
Serve your treats from silver or crystal serving trays and tiered platters. All your food should be white, such as petit fours with white icing (page 60), Cream Scones (page 24) and Devonshire cream (page 35), Mini Cheesecakes (recipe below), Chicken Salad Puffs (recipe below) and Chive Cream Cheese Cucumber Tea Sandwiches (page 39).
Serve one of the many varieties of white tea that are now available in many grocery stores.
For a fun activity, give each guest a pen and piece of paper and ask them to write down as many items as they can using the word "snow". Award a prize to the guest with the most items on her list.
Guest favors can be large sugar cookies cut out in the shape of snowflakes and iced with white icing, sprinkled with glittery cookie sprinkles. You can also write each guest’s name on a cookie using icing. Place in a clear cellophane bag and tie closed with silver ribbon.
Mini-Cheese Cakes From: If Teapots CouldTalk
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
Filling:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350°. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Mix crust ingredients together and press about 1 tablespoon of mixture into bottom of each cup. Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar, eggs and vanilla extract, blending well. Spoon cream cheese mixture into cups; fill about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until set. Cool before removing from pans. Cover and chill until serving time.
Chicken Salad Puffs Recipe From: If Teapots Could Talk
1 package (17.3 oz.) frozen puff pastry, thawed
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2/3 cup finely chopped celery
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2/3 cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons minced green onion
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped, toasted almonds*
Salt and pepper to taste
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped, toasted almonds*
Salt and pepper to taste
In a medium bowl, combine chicken, celery, green onion, mayonnaise, almonds, salt and pepper. Mix until well blended. Chill for several hours to blend flavors.
To prepare puffs, preheat oven to 400°. Unroll pastry dough onto lightly floured surface. Cut puff pastry into assorted shapes (hearts, diamonds, circles) using 2-1/2” cookie or biscuit cutters. Place 1” apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool on wire racks. Cut puffs in half, horizontally. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of chicken mixture into puffs and replace tops. Makes about 32 puffs.
* Toast almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently until golden brown. Cool before adding to chicken salad mixture.
If Teapots Could Talk has 60 recipes for all the treats you’ll need for an afternoon tea party, plus 15 creative ideas for theme tea parties, with suggestions for invitations, activities, decorations and party favors. Size: 5.5” X 85”, paperback, 108 pages. $8.95 E-Book: $2.99
