A Tarts & Crafts Tea

Friends, it has been a minute. Okay a few years. But when our site went down recently, and we got requests for emergency pie recipes, we were inspired. We’ve been creating, but not posting. My baddd. So to get us all caught up I’ll start by filling you in on our Tarts & Crafts tea party!

Surprise! We told our good friend Javonni that it was my birthday… she was so confused. When she walked in and realized that it was a high-end tea party in her honor, she was speechless.  We gathered around the golden chargers and fine china… but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Let’s rewind to hours earlier when Joanna and I arrived at my sister’s reclaimed mansion.  The sunroom was cold and dusty, so we set the main dining table, but then thought better of it.  I’m glad we did. There is something almost epic about afternoon tea out in a sunroom with floor to ceiling windows on 3 sides.  We were surrounded by a peaceful backdrop of tall grasses swaying gently in the breeze and ombre shades of sunset. 

 After a bit of sisterly debate (I can admit that Joanna was right), the dining table and plush white dining chairs were moved to the sunroom alongside the existing full-sized table and rustic benches. Cobwebs were dusted, patio furniture carried away, and highboys were set in the corners to hold boxes of tea, kettles, and decorative touches. Space heaters were used to take the edge off the late November chill, and the table was set for tea.  First, white tablecloths, then a teal peacock-themed runner, then teacups filled with splashes of lime-colored chrysanthemums, fuchsia carnations and yellow sunflowers. The perfect punch of fall colors. 

Since the goal of a Tarts & Crafts tea is to encourage guests to slow down long enough to have real conversations and make authentic connections, we kept the centerpieces small and low.  It’s hard to chat over a huge vase and masses of flowers.

First Course: Soup

As the guests trickled in and the guest of honor arrived, the meal unfolded in 6 courses. To start, we had butternut squash soup; a creamy, savory puree served just hot enough to warm the insides through.  Our sister Julie, the soup queen, added a dash of curry. Bowls would be too big, so a teacup-sized serving worked perfectly as a starter. We restrained ourselves from licking the teacups clean.

Second Course: Salad

Next, the salad. As we ran out of prep time, we wondered was it worth the effort to cut open the fresh pomegranate to harvest those stubborn little seeds?  We decided it was. Those crunchy little kernels added a pop of deep color and a juicy explosion of flavor. We sprinkled them over a bed of peppery arugula – topped it with feta, diced pears, thinly slices scallions, and a drizzle of sweet-savory balsamic vinaigrette. In the past, we have also added caramelized pecans. The salad was intentionally healthy and light so we could save space for more treats.

Third Course: Sandwiches

For the third course we served up our ‘famous’ turkey sandwiches. I say famous because we feel compelled to serve them at every tea party (we’ve done a good many), and they get rave reviews every time.  Sidebar: I don’t know about you, but I always feel so disappointed when I go to a tearoom and my 1-inch-square sandwich comes with only a thin spread of cream cheese and one flimsy cucumber.  Maybe that is satisfying to someone, but I just want to scream, “where is the rest of my sandwich?”.

You can’t say that about this one. It’s got flavor, and it’s not microscopic, so that’s already a win. But let’s discuss the bread. Pumpernickel might surprise you, but a café at my first job on Wall Street used to serve something like this sandwich on Wednesdays. You better believe I was there every Wednesday (well, almost) for my turkey, cucumber, watercress, and herbed mayonnaise on pumpernickel. Did I say herbed mayonnaise? Yes, child. It’s a delicate seafoam green due to a blend of fresh dill, onion, and pinch of salt.

Fourth Course: A Bite-Sized Entree

We must now turn our attention to the pinnacle of this meal; the fresh baked individually served curried chicken mini pot pies. Served fresh out of the oven. You all know we’re Jamaican American, so we added fresh thyme, all spice and Jamaican-style curry to the chicken, plus fresh carrots and peas.  Plain chicken pot pie is nice, but this has so much more flavor. Add this filling to a crisp, buttery handmade crust (you know how we do) and it’s a little bite of heaven. 

We had to serve a round of seconds on the curried chicken pot pies. There would have been thirds but we had to save space for the scones.

Fifth Course: Scones

Fluffy mounds of freshly whipped salted cream and fruit preserves smeared over lightly sweetened pastries that were baked that morning. Julie is also the scone queen. 

Oh! And don’t forget to have a spot of tea! For me, it’s almost an afterthought. This meal was all about being surrounded by people we love, eating food we love (note: this must include pie), in a beautiful space we love. The tea is just an excuse to be fancy (no offense to all the tea connoisseurs). If it makes anyone feel better, we did serve some lovely teas imported from England. Javonni’s favorite.

Final Course: Dessert

But we saved the best for last, y’all. For the pumpkin tiramisu trifle recipe, I pulled out my fave pie book, and it never fails me. I roasted the pumpkin. I added the pumpkin spice. I baked the pound cake. I mixed the mascarpone with homemade whipped cream. I combined the sweetened, black coffee with Kahlua and drizzled it over the cake. I sound like Chicken Licken. 

But I must confess to recruiting my teen and preteen to help me assemble (don’t judge. I did ALL the prep. And I paid them in cake). We may have lost some of the defined layers (thanks, kids) but none of the decadent goodness. Sumptuous fall flavors served in a cute, compact glass jar. Yes. Yes. Yaaasss. 

The perfect sweet ending to a perfect tea party for a sweet friend! I’ll drop the recipes in an upcoming blog!

Peace,

Marissa

PS. It occured to us that some of you might be interested in joining us for tea. If we have a tea party with with a seasonal menu every few months, would you attend one? Let us know.