October: A Tea to Honor Our Ancestors (Dia de los Muertos)

The Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos, is the festival that Halloween was intended to be. Halloween, the shortened word for All Hallows’ Evening, occurs on October 31, the night before the Feast of All Saints, which falls every year on November 1. Another important celebration, All Souls’ Day, follows immediately on November 2. On this day, in traditional Christian cultures, people remember and celebrate the lives of their dead loved ones. Indeed, in most cultures throughout the world, people set aside special times to honor the dead. The Dia de los Muertos celebration is still alive and well and true to its original purpose in Mexico

The Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico with a frank and even humorous recognition that death is indeed a part of life and that the dead remain our friends even after their time on earth has ended. For this celebration, Mexican families create an altar in their homes, elaborately decorated with skeletons, coffins and other reminders of death, but also with photographs of dead loved ones, religious symbols and images of favorite saints. Sometimes these festivities even take place in graveyards where family members are buried. The Day of the Dead also includes music and naturally, delicious snacks.

Our Dia de los Muertos Afternoon Tea is an upbeat recognition of the precious brevity of life and a fond remembrance of our friends who are no longer among the living. It is also a time to enjoy the creativity and variety of Mexican cuisine and the abundance of the autumn harvest season. We encourage you to repurpose some of those Halloween decorations into a sacred space, which might also include candles, marigolds, the traditional flowers of Dia de los Muertos, fresh loquats and a few photographs of your beloved ancestors. Visit your local Mexican market for the Day of the Dead Bread, Horchata, Mexican sodas, sugar or chocolate skulls and Dulce de Leche.

Menu

Beverages:
Orange Spice Tea
Mexican Hot Chocolate
Horchata (a Refreshing Mexican Rice Beverage)
Mexican Sodas such as Lemon or Tamarind

Savories: 
Mini Fish Tacos
Sweet Pepper Miniature Corn Muffins with Chili-Cumin Butter
Pickled Carrots and Jalapenos, Fresh Radishes

Breads and Scones:
Pan de Meurtos  (Day of the Dead Bread, a Sweet Egg Bread Available in Mexican Markets)
With Butter and Dulce de Leche (Mexican Milk Caramel)
Pumpkin Empanadas

Sweets: 
Tres Leches Cake
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Mexican Chocolate Cookies with Chili,
Molded Sugar and Chocolate Skulls

Recipes Included:

Mexican Hot Chocolate
Everyone loves Hot Chocolate, and this Mexican version, almost like spicy liquid chocolate custard, rises above the ordinary cocoa more familiar to Americans. Serve this frothy treat with cinnamon stick stirrers instead of marshmallows along with Mexican Wedding Cookies. If you have a chocolate pot or even an earthenware teapot, now is the time to use it.


The key ingredient in Scandinavian cookies is good quality butter. All three of the recipes we offer here will produce simple but delicate and delicious little butter cookies. Buy the best butter you can find, and under no circumstances substitute margarine or shortening. Also, the dough for the Danish Butter and Cardamom Cookies will need to be rolled into cylinders and refrigerated before you slice and bake the cookies, so manage your time accordingly. If you want to make all of these cookies in a single day, we suggest you start with the Danish Butter Cookies, which call for cold butter. Meanwhile, the butter for the Sand Tarts and the Cardamom Cookies can come to room temperature. Next, make the dough for the Cardamom Cookies and refrigerate it, along with the Danish Butter Cookie Dough, while you whip up the Sand Tarts, which do not require refrigeration. All of these cookies can be mixed fairly quickly in a food processor, though you can also use a mixing bowl and an electric mixer. You do not need to clean the food processor between making the Danish Butter Cookies and the Cardamom cookies, but you might want to clean your equipment before starting the Sand Tarts so none of the cardamom flavor finds its way into the tarts.

Mini Fish Tacos
Fish Tacos are one of Mexico’s many generous gifts to the world, and now they can be enjoyed anywhere good fresha fish can be found. We recommend quickly stir frying the cubes of marinated fish just before serving time and inviting your guests to make their own Tacos.

Pico de Gallo (Fresh Mexican Salsa)
Pico de Gallo is the ubiquitous fresh tomato based salsa that we find in every Mexican restaurant. This is the salsa that is brought to your table along with a bowl of corn chips for you to enjoy while you are reading the menu. This uncooked summery salsa is also good as a topping for tacos, quesadillas and other Mexican favorites. Because it is made with fresh garden vegetables, it is best the day it is made, but it can be refrigerated overnight to be enjoyed the next day.

Sweet Pepper Miniature Corn Muffins
These Sweet Pepper Miniature Corn Muffins with Chili-Cumin Butter will pair well with both the zesty Pickled Carrots and Jalapenos and the unadorned Fresh Radishes on your Mexican inspired menu. The chopped chives and minced red bell peppers in these little golden bites add a festive appearance and a fresh flavor.
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Chili-Cumin Butter
Serve this spicy seasoned butter with the Sweet Pepper Miniature Corn Muffins for an intriguing flavor combination. Mix ¼ teaspoon chili powder and ¼ teaspoon ground cumin with ½ cup (1 stick) very soft butter until the spices are well distributed. Place in a small attractive bowl with a butter knife and serve next to the muffins.

Chili-Cumin Butter
Serve this spicy seasoned butter with the Sweet Pepper Miniature Corn Muffins for an intriguing flavor combination. Mix ¼ teaspoon chili powder and ¼ teaspoon ground cumin with ½ cup (1 stick) very soft butter until the spices are well distributed. Place in a small attractive bowl with a butter knife and serve next to the muffins.

Pumpkin Empanadas
Empanadas are little individual turnovers, formed in the shape of half moons and eaten as finger food. Empanadas can be either sweet or savory, and we offer you a recipe for each. You can decide whether your guests would prefer sweet or savory Empanadas. The sweet version reminds us of Pumpkin Pie while the savory version features fresh herbs and Mexican cotijo cheese. Either would be appropriate for this autumn celebration.

Pan de Muertos (All Souls’ Day Bread)
This aromatic yeast bread is the foundational food of the Dia de los Muertos celebration. While it is readily available in Mexican bakeries, you can bake this bread yourself using this easy recipe adapted from the September 1977 edition of Better Homes and Gardens. Pieces of the dough are used to decorate the loaf with a skull and crossbones pattern, and the whole thing is sprinkled liberally with bright pink colored sugar. Our recipe calls for crushed aniseed, but if you think your guests might be squeamish about anise, just leave it out. You can start the dough the day before your party, as it can rest in the refrigerator overnight. The dough will also need 30-40 minutes to rise before you bake it, so schedule your time accordingly.

Dulce de Leche
Dulce de Leche, or Sweet Milk, is a rich caramel sauce made from milk. Ice Cream manufacturers have discovered this tantalizing flavor, and you can buy Dulce de Leche ice cream, which is vanilla ice cream swirled with dulce de leche caramel. This versatile sauce is also good on bread, puddings, or as a filling for sandwich cookies or cakes. You can buy this addictive sauce ready made, but it is easy to make your own by simply baking two cans of sweetened condensed milk. Our recipe makes perfect Dulce de Leche, but you can make a rum flavored version by adding the optional ingredients after the baked sauce has cooled completely.

Tres Leches Cake
This delight of the Spanish-speaking world is called Tres Leches Cake because three kinds of milk are poured over the hot sponge cake after it is baked—whole milk, canned evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk. The result is a luscious, moist, pudding-like cake that will please everyone. We top our version with mounds of toasted coconut. This cake is also glorious at Easter with a few decorative chocolate eggs nestled in the coconut.

Mexican Wedding Cookies
You may have discovered after perusing some of the menus in this book, that Mexican Wedding Cookies and Russian Tea Cakes are in fact identical twins. This cookie, one of the best ever invented, appeals to many cultures and is appropriate for any number of special occasions. Your guests will love these cookies as you celebrate Dia de Los Muertos together, as they are especially good with Mexican Hot Chocolate. But we also recommend them for our Easter Menu, our June Wedding Reception Tea, and of course our Russian Tea. Mexican Wedding Cookies/Russian Tea Cakes are a lovely combination of simple butter cookie dough with ground nuts—either almonds, pecans or hazelnuts. The dough is quite flexible and can be rolled into logs, refrigerated and sliced or shaped into balls and baked without refrigeration. This recipe follows the latter and simpler procedure.

Mexican Chocolate Cookies with Chili
These innocent looking drop cookies pack a triple punch with chocolate, cinnamon and chili pepper, three flavors that will always be popular in Mexico. Do no over bake these little marvels, as they are intended to be chewy, chocolaty and spicy in the middle. You will be amazed at how quickly they disappear.

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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