MAKING TEA SANDWICHES

If you're making more than one kind of sandwich, be sure to vary textures and colors for visual
interest.  Use one light bread and one dark.  Or make some open-faced sandwiches and some
"lidded" ones.

You can get creative and invent new sandwiches, or you can use popular fillings like tuna,
ham, chicken or egg salad and dress them up with special breads, shapes, and garnishes.  (No
big chunks of celery and pickles in the chicken salad, please, because you'll be spreading this
stuff on thinly-sliced bread and cutting tiny sandwiches that can be consumed in about
three bites.)

Avoid overpowering flavors like onion, garlic, and hot peppers.  Those foods don't really work for
tea, which is meant to be a light refreshment.  Freshly-snipped chives are a good choice for
adding subtle flavor and color to your tea sandwiches.

Here's my very favorite sandwich, the embarassingly easy, classic cucumber.  I can never resist
wolfing down several of these as I make them:

Start with one or two "seedless" cucumbers, peeled and sliced thinly.  Spread them out on a
linen tea towel and salt them.  This will draw out some of their moisture, so after a few minutes,
blot them in the towel.  Now spread  your very thin white bread (I like Pepperidge Farm's thin
sandwich bread for this) with soft, unsalted butter.  Arrange cucumber slices on the bread, then
cut or trim the sandwiches as desired.  Yeah, it sounds like a really boring sandwich, but try it. 
Sometimes simple things are the best.

One sandwich I really like is crumbled smoked salmon with a little cream cheese mixed in. 
Spread on dark bread, leave open-faced, and garnish with snipped chives and maybe a couple
of  black olive slices.

Here's another one to try:  turkey with a slice of avocado.  You'll want to spread a bit of
mayonnaise on the bread, both for taste and to hold the sandwich together.

BRENDA'S CHERRY SCONES

These are a bit lighter and not as crumbly as traditional scones, but they're my favorite.  I
"invented" this recipe.

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 to 1-1/4 cups heavy cream
Optional:  a good handful or two of dried cherries or other fruit, chopped.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet.  Combine the dry ingredients
and the fruit, then add 1 cup of cream, or more, until you can gather a soft dough.  (Depending
on the humidity in your kitchen, you might not need all of the cream.)  Knead on a lightly floured
board for about half a minute, then pat to about 3/4-inch thick and cut.

I usually make two balls of dough, pat into circles, then cut each circle into eight wedges.  But
you might prefer larger, round scones, and that's okay.  Plan on getting a dozen out of this
recipe.
You'll want to bake these for about 15 minutes.  Considering that it will take you less than ten
minutes to stir up the dough and cut the scones, this is an easy last-minute recipe.  But the
scones can also be made a couple of hours ahead, then served at room temperature.

Serve these with strawberry preserves and a generous blob of very thick, unsweetened whipped
cream.  (Or splurge and buy a little jar of Double Devon Cream, which you'll read about a couple
of paragraphs from right now.)

CLOTTED CREAM

In the British Isles, scones are frequently accompanied by something called "clotted cream." 
The rich treat that Cornwall and Devon are famous for can't really be duplicated here in the
United States, because it involves gently heating unpasteurized cream (not easy to find, unless
you're related to a dairy farmer) and then waiting for hours and hours, until a thick,
yellowish crust forms on the top.  I have come across several recipes that claim to approximate
clotted cream, but I imagine that's about like trying to find a perfect substitute for table sugar or
for chocolate--it can't be done!

I have found two things that taste great on scones.  Unsweetened heavy (or "whipping") cream,
whipped well past the usual "soft peak" stage until it almost turns into butter.  (Very easy to do if
you chill your cream, your glass or stainless-steel mixing bowl, and your beaters beforehand.) 
Or you can purchase a product called "Double Devon Cream."  That can be very expensive and
difficult to find, but look for it in specialty markets.

By the way, the traditional British "cream tea" is  not tea with cream in it.  "Tea" in this instance
is a reference to the meal, not the beverage.  The "cream" is, of course, the  clotted cream
which is slathered onto scones along with a generous dollup of good jam.  Whenever you serve
scones with jam and cream, that's a "cream tea."

LEMON CURD

I've heard a lot lately about people spreading lemon curd on scones.  But in my reading I have
found that the British, who love lemon curd, have never eaten it on scones.  I must admit that
the idea is not very appealing to me, but why shouldn't you serve it with scones if you want?

Traditionally, lemon curd has been a filling for tarts.  (Make or purchase small tart shells and fill
with the curd just prior to serving.)  I also like serving it on small squares of gingerbread.  And
the Brits often spread it on their morning toast.  (I've never done that because I never seem to
have any lemon curd left by the time morning rolls around!)

Grated zest of 2 large lemons

6-7 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 pound butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs

Put everything but the eggs into the top of a double boiler (or in a bowl over a pan of
simmering--not boiling--water.)  Give it an occasional stir.  Meanwhile, beat the eggs, then
spoon a little of the hot lemon mixture into the eggs (to "temper" them so they don't curdle.) 
Slowly pour the egg mixture into the lemon mixture, stirring constantly, and cook until the curd is
thick.  (It could take 15-20 minutes.)  Cool it to room temperature, then refrigerate the curd until
needed.

PEPPERMINT POUND CAKE

This is a wonderfully large, dense cake that my mom's been making for more than thirty years.  I
have no idea where she got the recipe.  The directions aren't very specific, but if you're an
experienced baker, you won't have any trouble.

A couple of hints:  After you've poured your batter into the pan, sprinkle several drops of red
food coloring on top of it, then cut through it with a sharp knife to make a swirly effect.  I usually
top this cake with a simple powdered-sugar-and-cream cheese frosting, then decorate with
crushed peppermints.  But you needn't frost this cake at all, because it's beautifully moist.

2-3/4 cups sugar

1-1/4 cup butter, softened
5 eggs
2 tsp. peppermint
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup evaporated milk

Cream sugar and buter, add peppermint.  Add eggs and beat for about five minutes.  Combine
dry ingredients and stir in alternately with milk.

Pour into a greased and floured 12-cup bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. 
(Check near the end of cooking time.)

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED FRUIT 

Melt a good-quality chocolate over a double-boiler and have some fun.  I like to dip strawberries
or Bing cherries, but you may have some better ideas.  Leave the "greens" on your washed-
and-dried strawberries, and do not dip the fruit all the way--they'll look prettier with a bit of red
peeking out.  If you use cherries, the stems are very handy for dipping.  They also serve a
subtle notice to your guests that the pits are still inside the cherries!

After dipping, lay the fruit on a cookie sheet covered with waxed paper.  (Do these the night
before your tea party and refrigerate them.)

If you have any leftover chocolate, dip some pretzels, too.  And when you can't dip any more,
dump some raisins or peanuts into the pan and use up every bit of that good chocolate.  Drop
the raisins or nuts in little clusters on waxed paper.

BRENDA'S PARTY PUNCH

For a large tea party, you might wish to serve punch along with the tea, especially if there will be
youngsters in attendance.  A sticky-sweet punch with floating blobs of sherbet won't go very well
with tea sandwiches and cookies, so try this light, refreshing drink:  Mix equal parts cran-
raspberry juice and 7-Up.  The punch will be a lovely pink, and it will look even better if you
float an ice ring decorated with fruit or flowers in it.