A Rose Tea

The co-authors are blessed with a veritable garden of Roses in their lives. Aunt, niece, grandmother and great-grandmother are all beloved Roses. All have enjoyed the pleasures of afternoon tea. We created this menu as a tribute to our love of afternoon tea and all our Roses. And who doesn’t love this iconic flower, which has brought such beauty, fragrance and romantic inspiration to the entire world for centuries?

The Rose
On a June morning, the innocence is overwhelming–
A single wild rose stands out in the underbrush
Like a small pink planet.
A rock, almost hidden in the Manzanita,
Takes in sunlight in its quiet way.
Nearby, a tiny flow of air
Passes through the lower branches of the eucalyptus,
Sending the down-pointing leaves into a flutter
That almost tinkles,
Like fingers playing some numinous tune.

Menu

Beverages:
Rose Petal Tea
Kir Royale
White Jasmine Tea

Savories:
Radish Petal Sandwiches with Chive Butter on Challah
Deviled Eggs, Dusted with Sweet Paprika
Roses in Clover (smoked salmon rosettes on micro greens atop brown bread rounds)

Breads and Scones:
Almond Scones with Rose Hip Jam

Sweets:
Pink Velvet Rosette Cakes
Napoleons
Rosewater Shortbread
Butter Mints in Rose and Leaf Shapes (in pink and green pastel tints)
Rose Gelee Tart
Victoria Sponge with Sugared Rose Petals (On the Pedestal)

 

Kir Royale
Kir Royale is a simple but very pretty cocktail made only of crème de cassis (black currant liqueur) topped with Champagne or sparkling wine. You can start your Rose Tea by offering each guest a Kir Royale in an elegant flute as she arrives for the festivities. Have a chilled bottle of Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple-Grape Cider ready for guests who prefer not to drink alcoholic beverages. The lovely pinkish purple color of the Apple-Grape Cider will echo the same shades in the Kir Royale, colors reminiscent of old roses.

To make a Kir Royale, place one tablespoon of crème de cassis in the bottom of a flute and add nine tablespoons of pink Champagne or sparkling wine. It isn’t really necessary to measure the Champagne; just fill up the rest of the flute, and enjoy watching the dark purple Crème de Cassis mingle with the pink or soft golden Champagne.  Kathleen likes to make Kir Royale with Francis Ford Coppola Winery’s Sofia Blanc de Blancs.

Radish Petal Sandwiches with Chive Butter on Challah
These charming radish sandwiches are designed to look like a rose. You will need a three or four inch cookie cutter in a flower shape so the radish slices will look like flower petals. If you don’t have a flower shaped cookie cutter, use the round one that you will be using to make Roses in Clover. You can still place a circle of radish slices on top of the buttered challah to resemble a rose.

Deviled Eggs
Deviled Eggs are one of the greatest snacks of all time. Although they are a simple food item, they need to be made with patience and meticulous care and eaten as soon after being assembled as possible. The “shelf life” for Deviled Eggs may be very short, but in our experience, they never last long enough at any gathering to worry about leftovers. 

Roses in Clover (Smoked Salmon Rosettes on Micro Greens atop Brown Bread Rounds)
Roses in Clover is the fanciful name for smoked salmon that has been rolled to resemble roses and served on top of brown bread covered with micro-greens, creating the illusion of clover growing out of the earth. For such an imaginative food item, these are actually quite easy to make. If your first effort at rolling a strip of salmon into a rose doesn’t turn out quite right, just re-roll until you are happy with the result. 

Almond Scones
These lovely golden scones are enhanced with almonds and brown sugar. In fact the dough contains almonds in three forms—ground toasted almonds, chopped toasted almonds and almond extract. For your own convenience, you can use whole almonds and toast them in the oven before separating the almonds that will be ground from the ones that will be chopped. Decorate the finished scones with fresh rose petals and serve with rose hip jam.

Pink Velvet Rosette Cakelets
Pastel versions of the popular red velvet cake, these sweet little cakes are baked in individual rose-shaped cake pans.  We purchased our pan from Nordic Ware, the makers of the original Bundt pan, an American company started in 1946. A regular cupcake pan may be substituted, but we think you deserve a bouquet of velvet rose cakelets, so indulge; after all, you’re supporting an American company!

Napoleons
These delicate, cream filled flaky pastries are widely known throughout Europe and the Middle East. In French, they are sometimes referred to as Mille Feuilles, cake of a thousand sheets. We will use the very thin Greek pastry sheets known as phyllo for our Napoleons; fortunately, phyllo can be purchased at the grocery store. We will fill our Napoleons with a luscious chocolate pastry cream and decorate them with chocolate glaze and icing rosettes.

Rosewater Shortbread
These sweet, delicate little Shortbread cookies are subtly flavored with rosewater. If you cannot find rosewater in your neighborhood grocery store, it will be easy to find in an Indian or Middle Eastern market.

Butter Mints in Rose and Leaf Shapes
Butter Mints are charming old-fashioned candies that are surprisingly easy to make. They can be formed into a variety of shapes using candy molds, and they can be tinted any color you want. For our Rose Tea, our Butter Mints will be molded and tinted to resemble pink roses and green leaves. Any kitchen store should sell leaf and flower candy molds at a reasonable price. Once you make that little investment, you can make these lovely candies for all sorts of special occasions, and they also make very sweet party favors.

Rose Gelee Tarts
Topped with a glossy, rose-scented gelee layer, our creamy and delicate miniature tarts will delight guests as part of our Rose tea. The rose scent comes from fresh rose petals and rose water. Serve garnished with a single perfect rose petal.

Victoria Sponge with Sugared Rose Petals
This famous Nineteenth Century English dessert is named after none other than Queen Victoria herself, who loved this golden sponge cake at tea time. Victoria Sponge can be served plain or sliced into two layers and filled with jam, lemon curd, berries or whipped cream. For our Rose Tea, we will serve our Victoria Sponge as a layer cake filled with raspberry jam, whipped cream scented with rose water, and edible Sugared Rose Petals scattered over the top.

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THE TEA BOOK
The Road Back to Civilization
A Brief History of Tea
  Philosophy of Tea
     Harmony
     Humility
     Respect
     Creativity

Guidelines for the Host/Hostess

  Gathering and Greeting
  Sharing Stories
  Sharing Food
  Sending the Guests Home

Guidelines for the Guest

  Respect your Hostess/Host
  Bring a Gift if You Wish
  Practice Humility
  Monitor Your Conversation
  Arrive With a Grateful Attitude
  Help if Help is Needed
  Do Not Criticize
  Leave Gracefully
  Send a Thank you Note

A Checklist for Planning a Tea Party
Teas of the World and How to Make Tea

  A Sampling of Teas
  Herbal Teas and Tisanes
  How to Make Tea
  Making Iced Tea
  Tea Concentrate
  Brewing Tea for a Crowd

Tea Utensils and Accessories

  Tea Kettle
  Tea Pot
  Tea Cozy
  Teacups
  Plates
  Silverware
  Teacart
  Tea Strainer
  Tea Infuser
  Three-Tiered Server
  Cream Pitcher and Sugar   Bowl
  Cake Pedestal
  Trifle Bowl
  Jam Pots
  Serving Dishes, Platters, and Trays
  Silver Tea Set or Silver Tray
  Linens
  Kitchen Equipment for Food Preparation

Tea Menu Basics

  Sandwiches and Savories
  Savory Spreads and Dips
  Scones and Tea Breads

About Lemons

  Afternoon Tea and the Four Seasons

     A Spring Tea
     An Outdoor Summer Tea
     A Winter Afternoon Tea
     An Autumn Afternoon Tea

A Calendar of Tea Parties

  January:A Japanese New Year’s Tea
  February:Valentine’s Day Tea
  March:A St. Patrick’s Day Irish Tea
  April:An Easter Tea
May:Mother’s day Tea
  June:A Wedding Reception Tea

Lemon Yogurt Wedding Cake

  July:A Picnic Tea
  AUGUST:A FAMILY REUNION TEA

A North American Family Reunion Tea
  An Eastern Mediterranean Family Reunion Tea
  A Kosher Family Reunion Tea
  A Scandinavian Family Reunion Tea

  September:An Ozark Farm Harvest Tea
  October:A Tea to Honor   Our Ancestors(Dia de los Muertos)
  November:A Post Thanksgiving Tea
  December: A Christmas Tea

  In Defense of Fruitcake:Fruitcakes and Candied Fruit

A World of Tea Parties

  A Chinese Dim Sum Tea
  A Portuguese Tea
  A Classic British Afternoon Tea
  An Indian Chai Party
  A California Tea
  A Hawaiian Tea
  An Italian Tea
  An American Southern Tea
  A Russian Tea
A French Afternoon Tea
  A Kosher Teawith  Traditional Jewish Foods

Afternoon Tea for Special Occasions

An Afternoon Tea for Children
  A Tea for Our Elders
  A Honey Bee Tea in the Garden
  An Urban Tea on the Go
  Tea for One
  Afternoon Tea For a Large Group
  A Vegan Tea
  A Rose Tea