Tea Time with the Roomies

Back when I was living in Albuquerque, I had a friend who worked at a tea room—it was very small on the inside, and tightly packed with tables. Decorative curtains were hung to give each party a sense of privacy, and everyone spoke in hushed tones so as not to disturb the other guests. The walls were covered in floral motifs, victorian fashion plates, and black & white photos of straight-faced men & women. Servers would come by and describe every single tea, scone, sandwich and cake you were about to enjoy in excruciating detail. It was heaven.

Normally each plate would be $60, but because we had connections (i.e. my friend who worked there), we got to go for half the normal price. Funnily enough, this is actually where I created my first Dnd character! Norm the Gnome. Neutral Evil. He was a retired circus ringleader. I'm getting off topic.

My point is, I have a lot of fond memories of that tea room. So much so, I decided I had to recreate the experience for myself. I started by collecting what I would need from Goodwill. A silver-plated teapot, sugar dish, and cream pitcher; white enamel tea cups and saucers with silver trim; a three tier serving tray. My very first tea party was just me and these very same friends with a bunch of different sandwiches cut into neat(ish) squares. We wore fancy hats. As time went on, I became gradually more obsessed with upping the quality of the food and the table setting. I bought a cookbook called Afternoon Tea: Delicious Recipes for Scones, Savories, and Sweets, published by Tea Time Magazine. 

After talking up my "famous" tea parties to my roommates for months, I finally bit the bullet and hosted my first one in Seattle. I tasked each person with going through the aforementioned cookbook and picking out one or two items they'd like me to make and I narrowed it down from there.

The Menu

Scone
Rosemary Cheddar Scone
Savories
Apple Basil Paninis
Chicken-Artichoke Salad in Melba Cups
Pineapple-Horseradish Glazed Pork Crostini with Slaw
Goat Cheese, Tomato, and Basil Topped Crackers
Sweets
Lady Locks
Apple-Pecan Mini Bundt Cakes
Chocolate-Cinnamon-Pecan Tartlets

The only recipe I didn't get from Afternoon Tea was for the Lady Locks. That recipe is courtesy of my late Grandma Poppy. You can tell it's from the 50s because of the ungodly amount of crisco it calls for. Mmmm saturated fats. Apparently she and other women in the area would make huge batches of them for weddings and other such big events. I had to divide the measurements by quite a bit so I didn't end up making 100 of those things.

Although I called it "Afternoon Tea," I didn't actually finish making everything until evening. I become so full of frenetic energy—taking things in and out of the oven, mixing, assembling, and plating. All I can think about is how long I'm making everyone wait. My roommates offer a hand where they can, but to be honest it sometimes just adds to the chaos. Eventually things are almost done and they go upstairs. To my surprise, when they come back down, they are all decked out in suits! I was so happy that they wanted to dress the part. It made it seem all the more special, plus it made for some great photos!

Unfortunately in all the chaos, I forgot to take any pictures of the food I had spent so long preparing. I only have a couple that my roommate took, which is better than nothing!

This whole thing was honestly exhausting, but I will likely forget the pain soon, at which point I'll host another. Here's hoping I remember to take more pictures next time!