Happy Mother's Day - Afternoon Tea - 2026

Our Mother's Day Afternoon Tea took place this past Sunday in the tearoom. With roses for love, and the menu on the table, everything was in place. As our guests arrived, they placed their tea orders from the extensive tea list. Individual pots of tea were provided for each guest. 

The salad was a base of spring greens and romaine lettuce, various veggie toppers including broccoli, cauliflower, green pepper, and tomato, topped with Parmesan cheese, crispy croutons, and a Curry Orange Marmalade Dressing (a mix available at The Rosemary House).

The sandwich selection featured an Herbed Veggie Bar topped with a turnip cut into a heart shape, the Tomato Parmesan Muffin had a slice of roast beef, a tomato slice, and horseradish mayonnaise, the open-faced round sandwich was a Cucumber & Radish with garlic chive butter, the layered Goldenrod Sandwich had a layer of pimiento cheese like filling, wheat bread, and a thin layer of a sweet apricot cream filling between the two layers of white bread. The little bundle was a warm Chicken Sandwich with a crispy breadcrumb topping, and in the center, there was a melted Pimiento Cheese in a miniature phyllo cup.

The scone course included our Traditional English Cream Scone alongside a Lavender Sage Scone. The toppings included sweet cream, lemon curd, and strawberry preserves. The fresh fruit with orange and pineapple also featured a strawberry half topped with a chocolate fudge filling.

The dessert medley featured White Cake with a delicate pink frosting Rose, the crispy Phyllo Shell held Passionfruit Cream, and the little cookie was a Peppermint Meltaway.

                                     Happy Mother's Day!

Holiday Craft Class and Afternoon Tea

Our annual Holiday Craft Class and Tea is a tradition that has been enjoyed by many of our guests over the years. Susanna is tasked with finding a fun and easy craft that can be completed in under an hour and can be created at the limited table space. This year's craft featured a wooden ornament, a blank slate to be painted as desired. Susanna offered a few suggestions, some guests googled for other ideas, and the painting session began. Many thanks to Terri & Adrienne for gifting Nancy the little grinch teapot that they painted.  

This sweet little snowman was designed and created by Carla. Carla has been attending teas here over the years, making teatime memories with her mother.  

And the Christmas Tree and Snowman were crafted by a mother and daughter duo that have attended the Holiday Craft Class and Afternoon Tea for at least 20 years. Tea orders are taken before the crafting begins. As the craft session is underway, the kitchen is a hustle preparing individual pots of tea. Once the crafting session is completed, all supplies are quickly removed from the tables, and each table is set with assorted Christmas teacups, napkins and silverware. When everyone is ready, the tea service begins. 

Up first, a Holiday Honeycrisp Apple Salad with Honeycrisp apples, craisins, sugared pecans, parmesan cheese and a honey vinaigrette.

When she's not pouring tea, Claudette helps to plate and serve the various courses. The scones included the Traditional English Cream Scone and a White Chocolate Apricot Scone served with Sweet Cream and Apricot Preserves alongside fresh pineapple and orange. 

Gail can be found taking tea orders, preparing tea, and serving all the courses. The sandwiches for the Holiday Tea included a Cranberry Pistachio Chicken Salad Triangle, warm Cheesy Pumpkin Tartlets, warm Ham & Swiss Cheese Cordon Bleu Crostini, Roast Beef & Water Chestnuts on Pumpernickel, and Cranberry Pecan Orange Marmalade on Raisin Bread.

Angelica has grown up in the tearoom and has stepped into whatever role she is asked to perform. The dessert course included Glazed Toffee Bonbons, a Chocolate Cup filled with Eggnog Cream and White Cake with a Spirited Topping.

Without the help of Claudette, Gail, Angelica, and Susanna, the tearoom would not function. Their cheerful presence is a blessing and their willingness to complete whatever task is most urgent is greatly appreciated. Many thanks to all of them!

Silver Dove Tea Room, Boston, MA

Our journey into New England this summer took us to the Silver Dove Tea Room in historic downtown Boston. This locally owned English style tea room offers afternoon tea Wednesday thru Sunday, with online reservations.

The menu card for the Summer 2025 menu was at each place setting. An extensive list of teas are available to order, with each guest receiving their own pot of tea, hot or iced. In addition, they have a variety of cocktails, and since it was our last stop after a long day, we selected the Pimm's Cup, a reminder of our time in England a few years back.

Once we had our tea, a plate of Currant Scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream was served. Of special note, this tea room is fully gluten free. As was the case at most of the restaurants we visited, they do ask about any allergies or vegetarian requests also.

Cheers! With our Pimm's cup (above) and with the tiered trays (below).

The savory selection included a Cucumber Sandwich with lemon & herb cream cheese and dill. The Coronation Chicken salad was vadouvan (a French curry), crème fraiche, and apricot. Ratatouille Canape with chickpea socca (a French flatbread made with chickpeas), and Shrimp & Mango Lettuce Cup with avocado crema and saffron aioli.

The sweet selection included Peach Cake (white peach mousse, tarragon pound cake), Sweet Corn Panna Cotta (almond sbrisolona, an Italian cake), Hazelnut Macaron (cassis jam, chocolate ganache) and Chocolate Pavlova (dark chocolate cremeux and mixed berries). Such a colorful and tasty array of sweets and savories.

A Christmas Carol Afternoon Tea

One of our holiday teas in December features the songs of the season performed by a local artist. This year, we welcomed Jeff Greenawalt as our strolling minstrel. He performed a selection of traditional Christmas carols as he moved throughout the tea room while our guests were enjoying their afternoon tea. At the end of the event, everyone joined in for a chorus of Jingle Bells and Silent Night. A video has been posted on our Facebook tea room page.

The afternoon tea began with a Cranberry Pecan Salad topped with craisins, sugared pecans, goat cheese, red onion, and a Raspberry vinaigrette.

The sandwich plate included a Veggie Confetti Round topped with a turnip cut into the shape of a Christmas tree, a Cucumber Square on Whole Grain Bread, Cranberry Bread with mascarpone filling, a Turkey and Havarti rollup on a spinach wrap, warm Brie & Apple Crostini and a Pistachio Cranberry Chicken Salad.

Freshly baked scones, lined up in the kitchen ready to be served next, included Traditional English Cream and White Chocolate Apricot Scone served with sweet cream and apricot preserves and a serving of fresh fruit.

The trio of petite desserts included a Raspberry Almond Puff, an Eggnog cookie, and a miniature chocolate cheesecake with a chocolate ganache topping. Yum!

Special thanks to Jeff Greenawalt for sharing his musical talents with our tea room guests.

Thanks also to Carla for sharing some of her photos for this post. 

Holiday Greetings to all!

 

Election Day Afternoon Tea

This past Sunday we celebrated an early Election Day Tea in Sweet Remembrances coupled with a program on Fashions and Fads of Elections presented by April Thomas of Fashions Revisited. The tea room set the scene with red-white-and-blue place settings and floral arrangements.

The menu quietly announced the coming courses. "By Popular Vote, the winning Salad is a combination of cherry tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, Feta cheese, and Chef Tim's Dressing."

"Celebrate Election Day and Afternoon Tea Sandwiches 

with high spirits and great positivity!" 

The sandwiches included an Apricot and Apple chicken Salad on a party roll with a flag, a triangular Sliced Turkey with Parsley Shallot Mayonnaise, Veggie Confetti Rounds with a turnip cut in the shape of a star, Chutney Pear Sandwich on pumpernickel, and Toasted Apple and Swiss Cheese Melt.

"Voting is our right and our responsibility. Please Vote!" 

This course featured a slice of Lemon Blueberry Bread and an Apple Cinnamon Scone with Sweet Cream. There was a medley of red-white-and-blueberries (strawberries, bananas, and blueberries) topped with caramel cream and red Pineapple Sage blossoms in full bloom in the garden now.

And for dessert, "Your Vote Counts! Vote for One!"

We offered a Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake (I), a Donkey Shortbread Cookie (D), and an Elephant Sugar Cookie (R).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

It's Election Day today! Please Vote!

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.

Apprentice Scone Making

Over Christmas break, Angelica mentioned that she wanted to learn how to make scones with the underlying implication that Nancy wouldn't always be around to make them. Holiday break ends much too quickly, and the scone lesson never took place. Now that we are in lock down, with plenty of time on our hands, this seemed like an opportune time for cooking lessons. We devoted a late morning learning to make White Chocolate Apricot Scones. And then, an early afternoon to enjoying them fresh from the oven.

She set about gathering all the ingredients - mise en place, which is a culinary expression that refers to gathering all the ingredients in place, having them prepared and organized, ready to use in the recipe. Lining up flour and sugar, butter, baking powder, apricot pieces, white chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream. The oven was preheated, the scone tray was covered with parchment, and the instruction began.

Not a novice to cooking, Angelica jumped in and began following the recipe. Only on a few occasions did 'the instructor' take over and offer guidance on improving her technique. Cutting the butter into the flour and determining when the pieces were fine enough. Kneading the dough, using the right amount of strength, but not overworking the dough. The rolling pin, belonging to her great grandmother, still does the trick for rolling out the dough. It's using the proper method that requires a bit of demonstration.

Above, she is preparing an egg wash and sugar coating the tops of the scones before baking them. To the left, checking the baked scones, testing to see if they can be removed from the oven.

The family seemed to know exactly when to show up. We sat in the tea room, and enjoyed the labors of this new found skill. There was a tub of mascarpone cheese in the fridge so that worked as our cream. A friend had sent some pineapple sage jelly which we decided would be a lovely complement to the scones. In addition, apricot jam was another option. Pots of tea were brewed, and we gathered around the table,  savoring freshly baked scones and quality family time where we reminisced about vacations taken over the years, including many tea room visits.

The recipe we followed is from Pat Hartman. She served these in her Gettysburg tea parlor, Civil-La-Tea, many years ago. She graciously granted permission to share the recipe, which we posted in a previous blog post here: White Chocolate Apricot Scones.

Tea & Honey: An Evening Tea & Tasting

Lori Stahl. owner of BeeBees All Naturals joined us for a special event earlier this month. Lori maintains several apiaries in Lancaster and southeastern York County, and is an enthusiastic advocate about ways to help the bees, both for the general public and beekeepers. In addition, she is a vendor at the PA Tea Festival. We were pleased to welcome her to the tea room for an Evening Tea that featured honey and tea pairing.


The tea began with a salad of Spring Greens topped with sliced red onion, fresh strawberries, feta cheese and a
Creamy Poppyseed Dressing .
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. white balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
1 c. olive oil
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
Add the first 4 ingredients to a food processor. With the processor running, slowly add the olive oil to create a thick and creamy dressing. Add the mayo and poppy seeds and pulse a few times to blend. Store in fridge.

The sandwich medley included Loaded Egg Salad with Honey Mustard, Pepper Ham with Gruyere Honey Muffin, Honey Chicken Salad Sandwich, Pistachio Mascarpone Crostini with Basil and Honey Drizzle, and Apricot Pecan Sandwich on Whole Wheat. (Can you spot the little bee shaped cutout on this sandwich?)

The next course featured an Apple Scone served with Cinnamon Honey Butter and a bowl of Orange Blossom Honeyed Grapes. Both the cinnamon honey and the orange blossom honey were from Lori's wide range of delicious natural honey.                                                                   Orange Blossom Honeyed Grapes To prepare the grapes: Mix 2 lbs. grapes, washed & pulled from stems with 2 Tbsp. Orange Blossom honey, 1 tsp. brandy and 1 - 2 Tbsp. freshly chopped mint. Toss together and allow to blend several hours or overnight.                  

Dessert included a medley of treats: Wildflower Honey Pecan Bar, Bee Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookie, and Apple Pecan Baklava. Follow the links for two of the desserts, recipes from the National Honey Board.

Following the tea, there was a sampling of a variety of teas paired with flavorful honeys. Our guests sampled Chunmee Green Tea paired with Vanilla Honey. The Lemon Herbal Tea was paired with a Lavender Vanilla Honey. Eight Treasures (black and green tea blend with strawberry and pineapple flavor) was paired with Orange Blossom Honey while the Blue Lady (black tea with strawberry, kiwi, and coconut) was paired with Raw Honey, and finally, the Peaches and Ginger was paired with a Cinnamon Honey. Special thanks to Lori for supplying the honeys to be paired with this variety of teas from The Rosemary House. In general, the addition of the honey sweetened the tea and highlighted a more pronounced flavor to the teas.