A Tea Party

A few years ago I had the pleasure of spending 2 weeks in London on vacation with my family. It was truly the most amazing city I've ever been to (and I don't even like cities!) and my heart aches to go back. The history, the architecture, the museums, the culture, the people, the FOOD everything about that city is amazing.

One of the traditions that my family and I really embraced while in London was tea time. Every afternoon at 4pm or so, we'd go have tea at our hotel or a neighboring one. What a beautiful tradition that is steeped in history. I am a *huge* Jane Austen fan, and to read in her novels about such a historic tradition that is still present in today's society is so amazingly wonderful to me.

So my mom and aunt were saying how they'd like us all to get together and for Christmas my best friend got me the Williams-Sonoma London cookbook with many tempting tea-time recipes. I was anxious to try out some of the recipes so I offered to have a tea party at my house! There were 6 guests total, and it was the perfect number. Small and intimate, a tea party is the perfect party to have for your best friends and family.

The Menu:

Tea:
Earl Grey
Green
Green Jasmine
Indian Chai
Oolong

Sandwiches:
Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
Egg and Sprout Tea Sandwiches

Scones:
Cream Scones with Lemon Curd
Ham and Cheese scones with Butter

Sweets:
Chocolate Fairy Cakes
Strawberries dipped in semi-sweet chocolate