November: A Post Thanksgiving Tea

A large tea party later in the Thanksgiving weekend can be a great way to entertain friends home for the holidays and a lovely antidote to black Friday shopping. We’ve created an easily assembled menu, taking advantage of both turkey day leftovers and recipes that make a large amount, can be made ahead, or purchased. Make double use of fall decorations still fresh from Thanksgiving.

Beverages:

  • Assam Tea
  • Decaffeinated Chai
  • French Press Coffee
  • Mulled Wine

Savories:

  • Ham and Scallion Strata Squares (uses leftover rolls, makes a large amount, and can be made ahead)
  • Turkey on Baguette with Cranberry Cream Cheese (uses leftover turkey, cranberry sauce)
  • Arugula and Pear Salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing
  • Pecan Sweet Potato Scones (uses leftover mashed sweet potatoes)
  • Raisin Bread with Honey Butter (purchased)

Sweets:

  • Best Friend Lemon Bars (have best friend make and bring)
  • Assorted Danish Butter Cookies from a Pretty Tin (purchased)
  • Toffee Brownies or Blondies (makes large batch)

On the Pedestal: 

  • Rum Bundt Cake (make ahead) or Even Easier Rum Bundt Cake
  • Gingerbread Trifle with Leftover Pie

Ham and Scallion Strata
A strata is a layered casserole including bread and a selection of other possible savory ingredients. A strata is truly the hostess’ friend: it can be made ahead, it tastes wonderful warm or at room temperature, it works perfectly for breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea time, and dinner. And it can be varied to fit many flavor profiles. Here is one of our favorites:

Turkey Sandwiches on Baguette with Cranberry Cream Cheese
These tasty sandwiches are easy to make with Thanksgiving leftovers, yet they are elegant and colorful. Soften an 8-ounce package of cream cheese and mix it in a small bowl with about ¼ cup leftover cranberry sauce, whole or jellied. Add more if you want a more intense red color and more cranberry flavor. Thinly slice a baguette and spread a generous amount of the cream cheese and cranberry spread on all of the slices. Add slices of leftover turkey to half of the bread slices, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and top with another slice of bread, cream cheese side down. You can add sprigs of watercress on top of the turkey for color and a charming fresh taste if you wish.

Arugula and Pear Salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing
This fresh and hearty salad will help keep the Thanksgiving spirit alive with an abundance of autumn’s bounty. Pears are at their best at this time of year, and walnuts and cranberries add complex flavor and nutrition. Crumbled Gorgonzola and a bright lemon and poppy seed dressing take this salad far beyond the ordinary.

Best Friend Lemon Bars
Everyone loves lemon bars with their crunchy shortbread crust and tangy-sweet lemon curd topping. And home made Lemon Bars are by far the best. Share this recipe with your best friend, and he or she will be happy to arrive at the Post-Thanksgiving Tea with these very welcome morsels, fresh out of the oven.

Toffee Brownies
These wonderful chewy, chocolaty bars are packed with toasted almonds, chocolate chips and toffee bits, perfect for a brisk autumn afternoon. This recipe makes a large batch and is easy to bake the morning of your Thanksgiving Tea. You can also bake these a day or two early, refrigerate them, and cut them into neat little squares just before serving time.

Variation: Blondies
Blondies are Brownies without chocolate. Their golden “blonde” color comes from the brown sugar and butter that form the foundation of the batter. You can turn these Toffee Brownies into Blondies by simply omitting the chocolate, chocolate chips and toffee bits. Do not melt the butter; beat both sticks of butter with the brown sugar. We recommend keeping the almonds (or pecans) in the recipe and perhaps adding a 12-ounce bag of butterscotch chips, which will keep your Blondies blonde.

Rum Bundt Cake
This all-natural pound cake makes a gorgeous presentation if you bake it in a Bundt pan and serve it on a cake pedestal. You can make it look even more festive by surrounding it with leftover cranberry sauce or candied cranberries. You can make this cake in advance, wrap it tightly and freeze it or whip it up the morning of your Post-Thanksgiving Tea. If you freeze this cake, thaw it the morning of the party and add the warm rum glaze just before serving.

Even Easier Rum Bundt Cake
If you are already exhausted from cooking Thanksgiving dinner and cleaning up, you can make the preparation for your Post-Thanksgiving Tea even simpler by using a boxed cake mix to create a surprisingly splendid rum (or sherry) pound cake which you can bake in a Bundt pan. You will have this cake in the oven in just a few minutes.

Gingerbread Trifle with Leftover Pie
We hope you made the Gosby House Gingerbread, along with several pies, for Thanksgiving. You can find the recipe for this very spicy, dense and sticky gingerbread that the Pilgrims and their Native American friends would have loved in our California Afternoon Tea Menu. This recipe makes a 9” x 13” cake and several extra gingerbread cupcakes. You can use any leftovers as the basis for this very imaginative Gingerbread Trifle. If you have never made a Trifle, you are in for an adventure. Please read our recipe for Christmas Trifle in the Christmas Tea menu that follows this section. You will discover that a Trifle is a spontaneously arranged layering of leftover cake, custard, fruit, nuts, jam and broken cookies limited only by the creator’s culinary vision.

For this Post-Thanksgiving Trifle, we suggest that you incorporate leftover gingerbread with chunks of leftover pie to create anew the spirit of the Thanksgiving Feast. Here are some of our ideas for items that could be included in your Thanksgiving Trifle. Feel free to let your own creativity, and what is left in your refrigerator, guide you.

Vanilla Custard
Custard is a luscious cooked pudding made primarily of milk or cream, egg yolks and sugar. It is not difficult to make at home, and homemade custard is infinitely better than the pudding that is made from the little boxes that you can buy at the store. Custard is also very versatile; it is a key ingredient in Trifle, but it can also be combined with coconut, bananas or chocolate, poured into a baked pie crust and topped with Whipped Cream for a cream pie, or included in any number of fruit or gelatin parfaits.

Custard is wonderful flavored with vanilla, but we have also included the procedure for making Chocolate Custard, and that is only the beginning. Custard can be flavored with brandy, caramel, coffee, nutmeg, or any other taste that appeals to you. 

Whipped Cream
Whipped Cream is a favorite dessert topping that you can make at home in just a few minutes. It is just heavy cream, chilled, and beaten vigorously until it becomes fluffy and doubles in volume. Our recipe includes a little powdered sugar and vanilla, and we have also included a Chocolate Whipped Cream variation. Like custard, whipped cream can also be flavored with a variety of other flavorings or liqueurs.

Be sure to chill the cream, the bowl and the beaters you will use to make the whipped cream. Beat the cream with a hand held electric mixer (or even an old fashioned rotary beater) just until peaks form when you lift the beaters. Soft peaks are perfect for desserts that will be eaten within a few minutes. Stiff peaks are better for toppings that need to hold their shape a little longer, such as pies or trifles that will be refrigerated for a while.

Thanksgiving

The honey sun oozes over this November morning
After a night too chill for an old dog.
He sleeps now in the sweet light
Under golden wisteria leaves.
None have fallen, though the tiny breeze
Toys with them.
Little finches twitter at the feeder,
And out in the manzanita, the quail
Whet their autumn appetites.
Jays feast on acorns
That nestle in toasty oak leaves,
Heaped in generous helpings
At the table we all share.

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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