Holiday Afternoon Tea 'To Go'

With a mandate from the Governor, restaurants (tea rooms, too) in PA were officially closed down Dec. 12th through Jan 4th. Having supplies on hand for Afternoon Tea to be served on both Saturday the 12th, and Sunday the 13th, the tea room staff had to transition to Plan B. Everyone with reservations for the weekend was contacted and Afternoon Tea 'to go' was offered for pick up on Sunday. 

The Apple Cranberry Salad featured leafy green lettuce, red and green apples, craisins, sugared pecans, all topped with feta cheese. A small container of cranberry apple dressing was included in the box. The festive holiday doily lined container featured fresh fruit and the sandwiches: Sliced Turkey & Havarti Cheese with Basil Pesto Mayonnaise, Roast Beef with water chestnuts,  onion and mayo on pumpernickel, Olive Pecan Squares, Brie Tarts with Raspberry & Pecans, and a Triangular Ham & Chicken Salad Sandwich with orange curry butter.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Scones, prepared and baked fresh in the morning, included traditional English Cream Scones alongside Cinnamon Chip Scones with a small tub of raspberry preserves and sweet cream.

 

The dessert variety included Peppermint Meltaways, Spice Cake decorated with a holly leaf, Pound Cake with cream cheese frosting and green sprinkles, a petite Chocolate Cup filled with Strawberry chocolate sauce and mascarpone cheese, and a layered Chocolate Coconut Bar. Yumminess! It was a morning full of prepping, baking, packaging, and more packaging. Once everything was in the little to go containers, the Afternoon Tea; placed in a large bag (as shown above), along with a sample of loose leaf tea, was ready to be picked up and enjoyed in the safe confines of home.

One of the tea party 'to go' recipients shared this beautiful photo of their very special tea party set up at home using the holiday china. What a fabulous way to make this holiday Afternoon Tea Party 'to go' extra special. 

It's a Tea Themed Tree!

The table top tea themed Christmas tree has been in place for a few weeks as the tea room is decorated just before Thanksgiving. The little tree is adorned with a myriad collection of miniature themed tea pot ornaments, some collected during vacations in far away places, others received as stocking stuffer gifts through the years, and even more are pieces of tea themed jewelry acquired at gift shops; all with the purpose of sharing our love of tea!

If you look closely, you will see that the tree is stuffed to the gills with miniature treasures. This is my favorite tree! I love setting it up, and I'm saddened when it's time to take it down.

To add to the joyful spirit of the tree ,the small cloth nestled underneath is a piece of teapot themed material with gaily colored teapots, a Mary Engelbreit design. In keeping with the theme, holiday teapots are placed around the base of the tree because they make me smile. 

A very Festive Afternoon Tea

December is a month for holiday teas, although we scheduled fewer events this year, we held our popular annual Holiday Craft and Festivi-Tea this past Sunday. As our guests arrive, they place their order for tea. While they are creating their craft, guided under the tutelage of Susanna, the kitchen crew is busy brewing pot upon pot of tea, ready to pour when the craft is completed. The tea began with a Holiday Coleslaw laden with green cabbage and savoy cabbage, green apples, pecans, craisins, red onion, and a delicate dressing.

Sandwiches included a Cranberry Pecan Triangle. Sliced Turkey with orange marmalade on rye bread, toasted Crostini with Apple and Brie (oh, yum!), Sweet & Savory Pimiento Cheese on Pumpernickel with a thin layer of strawberry jam, Sliced Prosciutto with homemade fig preserves, and a Benedictine Sandwich with cucumber and onion, parsley garnish and a cutout tree topper.

Oven fresh scones featured our Traditional English Cream Scone (always!) and White Chocolate Apricot Scone served with sweet cream, apricot preserves and a portion of fresh fruit including pomegranates.

A dessert medley included Pumpkin Cheese Cake, White Chocolate Shortbread Cookie, and a Chocolate Cup filled with mascarpone cheese and a chocolate raspberry sauce in the bottom of the cup. Fresh raspberries were added to this festive trio of desserts.

The tearoom is decorated for the holiday season with festive touches here and there. Holiday events are scheduled throughout the month, although not as many as past years. Covid decided we needed to limit the number of guests at our teas this year, and although social distancing and mask wearing change the festive atmosphere ever so slightly, the joy among our guests attending the holiday events is still evident.

December!

Today we turn the calendar to the last month of 2020. December brings frigid temps amid eager anticipation of the holiday season. This holiday teacup is a souvenir of our memorable visit to the Butchart Gardens near Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada. It always brings forth a wave of memories of a glorious garden, beautiful flowers around every turn, colorful blossoms in every corner each garden more beautiful than the previous one. We also enjoyed Afternoon Tea in the library, another fond memory! This teacup is full of lovely memories!