Recipes Included:
Miniature Artichoke Quiches
By all means use miniature heart-shaped tart pans, if you have them. These versatile tarts are easy to make and work well in a variety of menus, from appetizer spreads, to teas, and luncheon buffets.
Prosciutto and Parmesan Pinched Heart Palmiers
With a bit of dough handling work, traditional Palmiers can be molded into heart shaped appetizers for our St. Valentine’s Day
tea party. The method is a little finicky, so you may want to practice before the party day. They’re a fantastic accompaniment to everything from beer and champagne to soup and salad. Your taste-testers will love you!
Variations: Replace mustard with prepared pesto, tapanade, or pureed oil-packed, drained sundried tomatoes
Green Gables Inn Cream of Tomato Soup
This luscious, ultra creamy tomato soup is served in small cups in the Pacific Grove landmark bed and breakfast inn, the Green Gables. The cool, foggy summers of Pacific Grove can take inland tourists by surprise. By late afternoon, guests return to the inn from a day of shivering in the ocean breezes to a welcoming teatime buffet and are revived by this rich soup.
Smoked Salmon Horns
These sculptural smoked salmon creations are both a miniature work of art and a delicious savory bite. A smoked salmon horn hides a trove of lemon-caper filling and features a lush garnish of caviar and dill, all resting atop rye toasts. Arrange to have a friend help with the last minutes construction, as these are at their best when freshly made.
Classic Cucumber Sandwiches
For your special Valentine’s Day Tea, Classic Cucumber Sandwiches will be on the menu along with all sorts of other traditional favorites. The key to really outstanding Cucumber Sandwiches is freshness. Make them as close as possible to the time when your guests are expected to arrive, and make sure to use the freshest cucumbers and soft white bread available. Cut these cute little sandwiches in heart shapes with a cookie cutter if you wish.
Hot Buttered Crumpets
Few of us get the opportunity to eat real, home-made Hot Buttered Crumpets, but Valentine’s Day is the perfect time, as these little treats are so comforting on a cold winter day. Served with bright red raspberry jam, this colorful presentation will add to the romantic mood. Be advised that you will need a set of Crumpet Rings to keep the batter from spreading in the skillet, where you will cook the Crumpets like pancakes. Also, Crumpets are made from a yeast batter, which will require about an hour to rise, so manage your time accordingly.
Cream Scones
For our Valentine’s Day Tea, we offer traditional Cream Scones, which are surprisingly easy to make. With this recipe, you can produce warm, lightly browned little wedges with soft, fluffy centers, ready to be slathered with butter, bright red raspberry jam or sweet, tart lemon curd.
Lemon Curd
You will want to serve Lemon Curd with the Cream Scones on your Valentine’s Day Tea menu. Although you can buy commercial Lemon Curd in import shops and grocery stores, homemade is better. It won’t take you long to create this sweet and tart combination of fresh lemon juice, sugar, butter and eggs to spread on the warm, fluffy scones. You can make the Lemon Curd a day or two in advance and store it in the refrigerator until time for your tea party. If you have any left over, you can use it to fill Thumbprint Cookies, or as a delicious topping for you toast at breakfast time.
Pink Stack Bars
Kathleen became fascinated with a photograph of these pink bars but was disappointed by the recipe. She reimagined the pretty bars to feature a brown sugar shortbread crust, a layer of decadent caramel and cheesecake, all topped with a smooth pink frosting! Cut these in small squares, no bigger than a 1” by 1,” because low cal or low sugar, these are not.
Cherry Coconut Pom Pons
This triple coconut recipe is adapted from a wonderful 1970 cookbook put together from home economics teachers’ recipes. Though not too sweet, it is very deeply coconut flavored and makes a pretty addition to the cookie plate. The bright red maraschino cherries add to the St. Valentine’s Day theme.
Variation 1: Flaked coconut may be colored before being used. Add flaked coconut to a one gallon zip-top bag. Add a few drops of desired liquid food coloring, seal bag, and knead and shake until the desired color is reached. Proceed with rolling the cookies.
Variation 2: To make pistachio flavor, replace pudding with pistachio flavored instant pudding and replace almonds with chopped pistachios.
Pretty Pastels
These fun, colorful cookies provide a little zing to your cookie plate. Flavored gelatin gives these crisp cookies a fruity flavor and pretty color. Rolling the dough in matching pastel sparkling sugar enhances the shimmer and the crunch factor.
Variation: Use other colors of gelatin and matching colored sparkling sugars for other events, such as lemon or lime for spring.
Chocolate Heart Sandwich Cookies with Sour Cherry Filling
You’ll see dark chocolate and tart cherries being paired several times throughout this book, as it is one of Kathleen’s favorite combinations. These dense, chocolaty cookies marry perfectly with the slightly tart cherry filling. If you adore chocolate-cherry too, go ahead and treat yourself to a bottle of European cherry liqueur, kirsch, and use it with all your cherry desserts.
Battenberg Cake
Legend has it that this pastel checkerboard cake was created in 1884 in honor of the marriage Queen Victoria’s granddaughter to Prince Louis of Battenberg. Whatever the origin, it is a lovely, tasty loaf cake that marries vanilla cake with apricot jam and marzipan. The recipe makes two cakes, so both can be served or one can be frozen for another event.
Strawberry Charlotte
If early strawberries are available, use a couple of baskets to make this pretty pink mousse-filled dessert. Ladyfingers edge the cake and fresh strawberries peek over the top of billows of whipped cream. Present the cake on your highest cake pedestal, tied with a shimmery ribbon.
