http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agfZ3eD_jnE
Shostakovich wrote this adaptation of Tea for Two in 45 minutes. Sheer genius and one of my favorite versions of popular tune.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
tea cup organization
Note to self: Always re-sort the tea china immediately after each catering job, otherwise you WILL spend hours sorting hundreds of bloody tea cups and saucers.
Which is precisely what I've been doing all afternoon.
Right now if I were bloody Martha Stuart I'd be fixing myself a Teatini, but I'm not, so I'm slugging back a large glass of vodka and pomegranate juice. In theory the pomegranate juice has some redeeming qualities. But it's the vodka that really gets me where I need to go after an afternoon of mind numbing, china matching madness.
Which is precisely what I've been doing all afternoon.
Right now if I were bloody Martha Stuart I'd be fixing myself a Teatini, but I'm not, so I'm slugging back a large glass of vodka and pomegranate juice. In theory the pomegranate juice has some redeeming qualities. But it's the vodka that really gets me where I need to go after an afternoon of mind numbing, china matching madness.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tea party rentals
A new shipment of china arrived today from the UK - all purchased while I was there a few weeks ago. I'd forgotten exactly what I'd bought, so it was like opening a gift that someone had sent me! I found most of it at a junk store in a tiny village in Suffolk called Hatcheston, which is truly in the middle of bloody nowhere, but what a treasure trove of beautiful tea sets were hidden there! Now it all needs to be washed, sorted, packed and stored. We now have enough china for 200.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
A rainy day scone day
It's pissing down with rain here in Malibu. No catering duties today and I gave the LA marathon a wide berth this year... Running in the rain does so not appeal. I'm English, I've had more than my fair share of running in the rain, usually for a bus or a train and it's not fun.
So I've done what any sensible person should do to counteract a piss awful day and baked up a batch of cherry, almond scones. Time to brew a pot of tea, put my feet up, eat and read the Sunday paper. Bliss.
Tip for making feathery light scones: Don't maul the dough. Treat it almost like pastry dough. The less you touch it with your hands the better. Use either a pastry blender or a kitchen aid mixer with the paddle attachment. And make sure the butter is icy cold. Same goes for the eggs & buttermilk. Also I find that if you let the crumb mixture chill for an hour or so before adding the wet mixture you get a much lighter final product.
Cherry Almond Scones:
Ingredients:
2 cups almond meal (Trader Joes is fab)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I love King Arthur flours)
1/2 tsp salt (kosher) God I sound like Ina Garten.
1 Tbsp & 3/4 tsp of baking powder
2 sticks icy cold butter (keep it in the freezer)
1 1/4 cups chopped dried bing cherries
3 large eggs (chilled)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp almond essence
3/4 cup buttermilk (chilled, but shake to combine)
1 egg (well beaten for your egg wash & a little extra sugar for sprinkling)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Combine almond meal, flour, baking powder, salt in a large mixing bowl
3. Cut the butter into small pieces. Add to dry ingredients. Blend until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (Use a kitchen aid mixer with the paddle attachment - the secret is to not man handle the dough - kind of like pastry - keep it light and don't get it all hotted up)
4. In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, buttermilk & almond essence.
5. Add the chopped cherries to the dry mix & combine - make sure you don't get great clumps of cherries.
6. Add the wet mix to the dry and stir until combined. Don't overmix!
7. Pull it all together with your hands, again, don't manhandle. If it all looks a bit sloppy add a little more flour. You should have a dough that's fairly sturdy and can be rolled out.
8. Flour your pastry board, dump the dough out of the bowl and roll to about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut with a very sharp pastry cutter - 1/2" is good, but don't make them too big. You don't want hockey pucks.
9. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment. Brush with your egg wash, sprinkle each scone with a little sugar.
Bake on the middle rack for about 15 minutes.They should be golden brown and cooked through. Let them cool for as long as you can restrain yourself.
Enjoy!
So I've done what any sensible person should do to counteract a piss awful day and baked up a batch of cherry, almond scones. Time to brew a pot of tea, put my feet up, eat and read the Sunday paper. Bliss.
Tip for making feathery light scones: Don't maul the dough. Treat it almost like pastry dough. The less you touch it with your hands the better. Use either a pastry blender or a kitchen aid mixer with the paddle attachment. And make sure the butter is icy cold. Same goes for the eggs & buttermilk. Also I find that if you let the crumb mixture chill for an hour or so before adding the wet mixture you get a much lighter final product.
Cherry Almond Scones:
Ingredients:
2 cups almond meal (Trader Joes is fab)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I love King Arthur flours)
1/2 tsp salt (kosher) God I sound like Ina Garten.
1 Tbsp & 3/4 tsp of baking powder
2 sticks icy cold butter (keep it in the freezer)
1 1/4 cups chopped dried bing cherries
3 large eggs (chilled)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp almond essence
3/4 cup buttermilk (chilled, but shake to combine)
1 egg (well beaten for your egg wash & a little extra sugar for sprinkling)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Combine almond meal, flour, baking powder, salt in a large mixing bowl
3. Cut the butter into small pieces. Add to dry ingredients. Blend until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (Use a kitchen aid mixer with the paddle attachment - the secret is to not man handle the dough - kind of like pastry - keep it light and don't get it all hotted up)
4. In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, buttermilk & almond essence.
5. Add the chopped cherries to the dry mix & combine - make sure you don't get great clumps of cherries.
6. Add the wet mix to the dry and stir until combined. Don't overmix!
7. Pull it all together with your hands, again, don't manhandle. If it all looks a bit sloppy add a little more flour. You should have a dough that's fairly sturdy and can be rolled out.
8. Flour your pastry board, dump the dough out of the bowl and roll to about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut with a very sharp pastry cutter - 1/2" is good, but don't make them too big. You don't want hockey pucks.
9. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment. Brush with your egg wash, sprinkle each scone with a little sugar.
Bake on the middle rack for about 15 minutes.They should be golden brown and cooked through. Let them cool for as long as you can restrain yourself.
Enjoy!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Why is a good scone so hard to find?
Surely I'm not alone in thinking that a good scone is hard to find!
Have you ever tasted one of those hideous objects that dares to masquerade as a scone in Starbucks (the worst offender) or Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (easily first runner-up)? And don't even get me started on the "low fat" abominations. Come to think of it - have you ever seen anyone actually buy one of those incredibly dry, stick to the roof of your mouth, just about impossible to swallow, monster size hockey pucks? There always seem to be plenty of them left at the end of the day.
I say the time has come to revive the tarnished reputation thrust upon the unfortunate scone by corporate tea and coffee factories and allow it to take its place atop the culinary pedestal. Cupcakes are so yesterdays news. Pies (thanks to my friend Beth Howard ) have definitely earned their place in the spotlight and rightfully so. But now it's time for the nation to treat their collective taste buds to the joys of a beautiful, light, buttery, fruity scone! Join me in my crusade!!!
Recipe ideas to follow...
Have you ever tasted one of those hideous objects that dares to masquerade as a scone in Starbucks (the worst offender) or Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (easily first runner-up)? And don't even get me started on the "low fat" abominations. Come to think of it - have you ever seen anyone actually buy one of those incredibly dry, stick to the roof of your mouth, just about impossible to swallow, monster size hockey pucks? There always seem to be plenty of them left at the end of the day.
I say the time has come to revive the tarnished reputation thrust upon the unfortunate scone by corporate tea and coffee factories and allow it to take its place atop the culinary pedestal. Cupcakes are so yesterdays news. Pies (thanks to my friend Beth Howard ) have definitely earned their place in the spotlight and rightfully so. But now it's time for the nation to treat their collective taste buds to the joys of a beautiful, light, buttery, fruity scone! Join me in my crusade!!!
Recipe ideas to follow...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)