High Tea Dinner Party

Well readers, if you have been reading my blog for any time at all you'll know that Nate and I love to throw a good dinner party! I love planning, decorating, dressing, conversing and feeling like the hostess with the mostess. 

Tonight's theme is high tea and as such, we have a three-course meal with accompanying teas (and dressing to the nines). 

The first course will be cranberry orange scones with "clotted" cream and lemon curd. 

Cranberry orange scones 

I got this recipe from Ina Garten, while I generally dislike her slightly conceited and pretentious demeanor on television ("if you can't find unsalted butter churned by virgin Latvian milk maids, store bought is fine") I must admit, the woman can cook and make some damn good recipes. 

4 1/4 C flour

1/4 C granulated sugar, plus some for sprinkling 

2 Tbsp baking powder 

2 tsp salt 

2 tsp fresh orange zest 

3 sticks unsalted butter, chilled 

4 eggs 

1 C heavy cream 

1 C dried cranberries 

1 egg beaten with 2 Tbsp water (for egg wash) 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest and cut in cold butter until the butter is cut into pea-sized chunks. 

In a 2 cup liquid measuring cup, combine 4 eggs with 1 C heavy whipping cream, slowly mix into the dry ingredients; the batter will be lumpy and sticky. 

Once combined, fold in dried cranberries and 1/4 C flour. 

On a well-floured surface, knead dough into a ball and roll out to 1/4 inch thick. Once rolled out, cut dough using your favorite biscuit ring and place on a silicone mat or a pan lined with wax paper. 

Brush the scones with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops of the scones are hard to the touch and golden brown. 

To accompany these fluffy and delicious  scones, I bought some lemon curd at Harris Teeter in the International Section and made some fresh "clotted" (whipped) cream. 

"Clotted (Whipped) Cream

1 pint heavy whipping cream  

The key to a good whipped cream is a very cold bowl. I always use a glass bowl and stick it in the freezer for at least half an hour prior to use. 

Once your bowl is cold, pour 1 pint of heavy whipping cream into it. Using your favorite hand mixer fitted with the beater attachment, beat until peaks form. This shouldn't take more than 10 minutes. 

This course was served with a Lady Grey tea (black tea), cream and lemons. 

For the second course, I decided to make a quiche with Jarlsberg and Gruyere cheeses. 

Quiche Au Fromage 

Of course I used my tried and true Julia Child recipe from Mastering the Art of French  Cooking, because Julia is queen. 

I began with the crust: 

2 C flour

1 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp sugar 

1 1/2 sticks of butter, chilled 

4 Tbsp shortening, chilled 

1/2 C cold ice water 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Combine flour, salt, sugar, butter (cut into 1/2 inch pieces) and shortening in a big mixing bowl.

Using a hand cutter (or food processor) cut in the fat until the butter forms small pea-sized balls. 

Add in the ice water and knead the dough until it just comes together. 

On a floured surface, knead fhe dough into a ball and roll out to the appropriate size for your tart or springform pan; however work quickly because the dough is difficult to manage the warmer it gets. 

Once dough is the desired size, place in pan and crimp the edges. Pierce the bottom of the dough with a fork to prevent it from puffing up. 

Using a piece of foil, line the unbaked crust and fill with rice or dried beans to weigh down the crust while par-baking. 

Bake the crust for 8-9 minutes to stiffen it up enough to handle the filling. 

Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 48 hours. 

The filling: 

4 eggs 

2 C heavy whipping cream 

1 1/2 - 2 C shredded Jarlsberg and Gruyere cheeses 

1/2 tsp salt

Pinch of pepper

Pinch of nutmeg 

In a bowl, whisk together eggs and whipping cream. 

After combined season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. 

Whisk in cheeses until combined. 

Pour into prepared crust. 

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and set (doesn't jiggle when you move the pan). 

To compliment the richness of the quiche, Nate made a salad with fresh cherry tomatoes, basil and blackberries topped with a balsamic glaze. The freshness of the salad perfectly offset the rich decadence of the quiche. 

This course was served with Bouquet of Flowers (black tea), cream and lemons. 

The third and final course was a pumpkin spice cake topped with chocolate ganache. It was moist, rich and flavorful. Unfortunately we were all very full by this course so no one finished their piece. 

This course was served with Van Gogh Smiling (herbal tea) and lemons. 

Well readers, I hope you enjoyed reading about our High Tea dinner party and will be inspired to have one of your own! Happy eating!