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Saturday, October 31, 2015

Legends of Sleepy Hollow Garlic Dinner

Our annual garlic dinner is always such a treat!  Starting with an assortment of tasty Appetizers, followed by a Garden Salad with Honey-Garlic Dressing, James Beard's 40 Cloves of Garlic Chicken, Rice Pilaf and Cheesy Garlic Broccoli and then finishing with the very popular Garlic Chocolate Chunk Pecan Pie, by the time dinner was done, everyone had consumed approximately three heads (not cloves, but heads) of garlic!

Following the meal, we welcomed the Princess of Lamballe, great friend and confident of Marie Antoinette. She explained the great connections between the US, France and England during the time period of 1789 -1793, which is the time period of the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, NY who died from having his head blown off by a cannonball. The Headless Horseman was a Hessian employed by Britain and since his fate was decapitation like Princess Lamballe and Marie Antoinette and most French Aristocrats, Princess Lamballe had this connection to the headless horseman and did a dramatic reading of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the tale of Ichabod Crane.  
Our own Headless Horsewoman won most scary at her recent horse show!
Happy Halloween!




Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Pimiento Cheese Sandwich

Pimiento Cheese Sandwich

16 oz. sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
4 oz. pimientos, with juice
1 c. mayonnaise
3/4 c. pecans, chopped
dash of salt
dash of hot sauce

Place all ingredients in a food processor and combine, being careful not to over process. Refrigerate filling to allow flavors to blend. Spread filling on Pumpernickel bread. Cut into desired shape with cookie cutter, or simply remove crusts and cut into triangles. Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Halloween Tea 2015


Sunday afternoons in October are reserved for our annual Halloween themed teas. The tables are set with fall leaves, miniature pumpkins, glittery spiders and edible acorn candies. Paper shaped coffins hold the variety of sugar packets while petite black paper bats adorn the forks.















We encourage our guests to attend these events in costume. Many played along!

Festive and fun! Mothers and daughters, girlfriends and witches, the costumes delight us all!
The Halloween menu... anticipation...









The Witches Brew of Carrot and Orange Soup was accompanied by Toasted Parmesan Pumpkins.
A plate of tea sandwiches featured Chicken Salad cut out into bat shaped sandwiches and also RIP Pimiento Cheese sandwich coffins with miniature bones poking out..
Ghostly Strawberries, Ghoulish Deviled Egg 'n Olive Eye of Newt, Green Spinach Monsters, and a Witches Cauldron of Brie and Orange Marmalade comprised the next platter of tricks and treats.
Individual servings of an English Cream Ghost Scone (Sweet Cream and Lemon Curd were already at each place setting) was plated alongside a portion of local organic Apple Slices with Caramel Cream Topping.

And dessert included a Gingerbread Ghost, Acorn shaped Pumpkin Bread, and a Black Cat Buttercream candy.

















A few guests summed up their afternoon by proclaiming 'you spoil us'.

Monday, October 26, 2015

Haunted Herb Gardens

The gardens behind The Rosemary House and Sweet Remembrances have been haunted for the month of October. They are decorated for several community events and for the Halloween teas and Garlic Dinner that are held in the tea room this month. Enter if you dare! This festive pumpkin collection can be found on the picnic table. Brings a smile to your face!
This creepy assemblage is tucked in the corner of the side porch of the tea room. There's a theme here.


 The witches have gathered under the new pavilion - lots of interesting little features here. Can you spot the spiders?
The newest addition to the collection of Halloween 'dummies' is this lovely lady. She has been placed on the side porch of the Rosemary House and creeps everyone out with her life size look. She catches your eye and makes you look twice every time you walk past the door and spot her staring at you.
In addition to a Halloween Parade, our community hosts an annual 'Steets of Treats' for the children and adults to visit the local businesses to trick or treat on a Saturday afternoon. It is a fun day, particularly if the weather cooperates! The majority of kids are brave enough to walk through the gardens, but first they must pass this scary dummy that looks right into the eyes of the little kids!

And the gardens are not all creepy - this cheerful little pumpkin head brings a smile to everyone! Ready for the next wave of trick or treaters this week!

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

From the Archives

This 1974 article featuring Bertha Reppert, the founding matriarch of the Rosemary House, appeared in the Metro-West section of The Patriot News when The Rosemary House was only 6 years old. The original metal shelves purchased from Sears and Roebuck served the purpose for a start-up business on a budget.  The metal shelves have since been replaced with large wooden shelves originally used in an old country store. However, we still use the large lard cans for bulk herb storage! And the shelves are still full of fun and flavorful items - including teas, extracts, oils, dried flowers, potpourris and gourmet cooking utensils! Browsers and buyers welcome!

Monday, October 19, 2015

Afternoon Tea with Catherine the Great of Russia

The Afternoon Tea with Catherine the Great of Russia was held this past September. The tea party featured a Russian twist to the menu, and recipes from the Russian Tea Room Cookbook were used as a source for inspiration.
The tables were set with matching china and rose shaped napkins to represent the distinguished atmosphere of the Palace. The menu featured snapshots of the Queen during her reign. She married Peter, the grandson of Peter the Great and is attributed to helping to pull Russia out of the Middle Ages into a modern world.

The samovar was polished and put into service for this special event. Usually it is on display in the tea room, but our guests were able to pour their own cup of strong lapsang souchong tea from the teapot on top of the samovar and then dilute it to their desired strength using the hot water that is in the charcoal heated base. It was a fun and unique experience for many of our guests. 

Sugar cubes and blackberry jam were available to be used as sweeteners for the tea.
The first course featured a House Salad with assorted mixed veggies for toppings. The Russian Tea Room Russian Dressing, a blend of mayonnaise, sour cream and chili sauce with dill pickles, green pepper, onion, horseradish and parsley topped the salad. The fresh taste of a homemade Russian Dressing can't be beat!

Borscht, one of the most famous of all Russian Tea Room favorites was served next. This red beet and vegetable soup topped with sour cream and a sprig of fresh dill is a Russian classic, and another 'first' for many of our guests.

The sandwich plate featured a Chicken Salad (recipe from the Russian Tea Room Cookbook) topped with a pickle slice and tomato half on rye bread, Russian Egg Salad on Brown Bread with a parsley garnish, Sliced Turkey with cranberry and horseradish spread, Cucumber Rounds with Burnet & Chive Spread, and Roasted Red Potatoes with Blue Cheese and Bacon on Puff Pastry.
A savory scone, Black Olive & Rosemary  was served with whipped butter and grape clusters for the next course.

And dessert included a Floral Cupcake, Vodka Butter Cookie, and Strawberries Romanoff a la Russian Tea Room. The berries were first rinsed with white wine and then marinated in an orange liquor with fresh orange zest. Washing the berries in the white wine adds another dimension of flavor. Fun!








As always, we are ever grateful to Alisa DuPuy for sharing her wealth of knowledge and fascinating insights into the remarkable woman behind the legend of Catherine the Great. From the gorgeous costuming and dripping in jewels, to the Russian accent she maintained throughout the program, she becomes the character.



Today we are linking to Bernideen's Tea Time Blog, Friends Sharing Tea. Bernideen shares the most delightful children's tea party in the garden.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Russian Samovar

We recently held a Russian themed event in the tea room. The Russian Samovar was taken off the mantle and polished to a shine for the day. Samovars were originally made in Russia around 1780. This one is from the 1800's. It has a central core that is filled with charcoal to keep it hot throughout the day. Water is added to the bottom unit, the charcoal is placed in the central core, and a very strong concentrate of black tea is placed in the tea pot. The charcoal will also help to keep the tea warm. Samovar means 'self-boiler'. And the samovar and tea pot would be available all day to enjoy tea as you like it. Electric samovars are now available for convenience.

Samovars may be made in copper, brass, bronze, silver or gold. The samovar provided a permanent source of hot water in a Russian home. Once the tea and water were poured from the samovar, to sweeten the tea, the Russians would either put a sugar cube between their teeth and let the hot tea run over it as they sipped the tea, melting the sugar as it passed over it. Or, they would put some jam directly on their tongue, and let the hot tea melt the jam as they sipped their tea. Two clever ways to sweeten tea!
We welcomed Catherine the Great of Russia to the tea room for a special program. Catherine the Great, (1729 - 1796) a powerful woman, married Peter, the grandson of Peter the Great, and is credited with advancing Russia from the Middle Ages into the modern world.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Sweet Sixteen Years of Tea!

The Langham Hotel, Boston October 2015
Las Vegas, March 2004

Civil-a-Tea, June 2001

The Little Teapot, MD, 6,2002


Hantz House, York, PA August 2002


Teddy Bear Tea, January 2003
Sweet Remembrances
Twining Tea Room, Cape May, NJ July 2002

Las Vegas, 2004


The Palm Court, NYC August 2003
Disneyland, FL January 2008

The Biltmore, NC July 2013

Downton Abbey Tea, 2014
Happy Sweet Sixteen, Angelica! 
May you enjoy many more tea party events with your family and friends!