It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Teatime

This holiday season has been a busy one! In addition to making a peacoat for my partner, and an advent calendar for the gift exchange, I have decided to prepare a whole christmas day tea party for my partner's family🎄

Because we are hosting this year and everyone made the long journey to come stay at our new place, I really wanted to pull out all the stops. I can be a bit of a show-off at times, and I was both anticipating all the words of praise I would receive, while at the same time dreading how awkward it would make me feel if it went on for too long. Making a good impression on my partner's family also wasn't a small part of it.

For the menu, I really tried to pick flavors that embody the winter season, so a lot of pumpkin, apples, oranges, almonds, dates, raisins, baking spices, etc. Most of my recipes came out of Clair Saffitz's cookbooks, while others came from my trusty Afternoon Tea book by Teatime Magazine.

The Menu

Scone
Stollen Scone with Orange Curd
Savories
Gorgonzola Stuffed Dates on Polenta
Mini Creamy Greens Pie with Baked Quail Eggs
Curried Smoked Turkey Salad Sandwiches
Sweets
Mini Blood Orange Pudding Cake 
Pumpkin Creme Brulee 
Baked Frangipane Apple

I assume many of these recipes are copyrighted in some way, so I can't share them, but luckily Claire provides a lot of them on her YouTube channel, which I have linked above!

Because of differing bake temps and times, I really had to plan ahead. I could do some prep in the days preceding, but the bulk still fell on Xmas day so things tasted as fresh as possible. The Schedule:

Friday, December 22
Grocery Shopping

Saturday, December 23
9:00 am Make Orange Curd
10:00 am Make Pumpkin Creme Brulee Custards & Cover

Sunday, December 24
7:00 am Make Creamy Greens pie crusts & bake, then refrigerate
8:00 am Make scone dough, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 
9:30 am Make Turkey Salad filling
10:15 am Make Blood Orange Pudding Cakes
8:00 pm Make Polenta, cover in plastic wrap
8:45 pm Make Creamy Greens Filling, cover and refrigerate

Monday, December 25, 3:00 Christmas Day
8:00 Assemble Frangipane Apples and refrigerate
9:00 Assemble turkey salad sandwiches. Cover & Refrigerate
10:00 Make Bacon wrapped, gorgonzola stuffed dates & grill w/ polenta

11:00 Break for Xmas gifts

12:30 Bake Frangipane Apples
1:30 let Blood Orange Pudding Cakes come to room temp and cover with blood orange slices
1:45 Bake scones
2:00 fill Creamy Green Tartlets and bake w/ quail eggs
3:00 Caramelize tops of Pumpkin Creme Brulee

The original creamy greens pie recipe actually makes a single, regular-sized pie, but since I think individual tartlets are much more appropriate for a tea party, I made some small adjustments (like baking the crusts in tartlet pans, topping them with quail eggs, and reducing the bake time).

I've actually made the mini creamy greens pies before, at a tea part I hosted a couple years back, and they were a huge hit! I only have a single photo to remember that event by, unfortunately. The sheer scale was so grand—I had to make enough servings for 10 people—the largest I'd ever done before or since. Because I want people to eat things while they are still warm, I had them dig in before I could even think to take close-ups of the food. This time, however, I tasked all my guests with taking photos for me, so I wouldn't have to worry about it. And they took their job very seriously. I mean, just look at these:

My unexpected faves were actually the baked frangipane apples. I don't own an apple corer, so I had to use a weird tool for creating tufting holes in upholstery foam, which was decidedly not meant for apples. It was such a bitch getting the core out after running it through the apple. But man. WORTH IT. 

To see other tea parties I've hosted, check out my Afternoon Tea Gallery!