Madly in Love With: Tea

Maybe it is because of hours spent pouring over Alice in Wonderland when I was a child, but I’ve always been a gal who enjoys a good cuppa tea. From the delicate cups to the pomp and circumstance of an English high tea service, what’s not to love?

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found a whole world of tea drinks that would make the Mad Hatter proud. Why not stray from the usual offerings at showers and receptions with some of these nifty tipples?

For the spring shower:

Gin Tea & Lemon Fizz

1 cup water

4 teaspoons black tea leaves or 4 tea bags (such as Darjeeling)

1 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed

1 cup gin

2 cups sparkling water

Ice cubes

In small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to boil. Add tea leaves. Remove from heat. Cover and let steep 15 minutes. Chill overnight. Strain tea mixture into pitcher; discard tea leaves. Add lemonade concentrate and gin, then sparkling water to pitcher; stir to blend. Serve over ice.

For the post-wedding pre-dinner mix and mingle:

Sage Advice

Tea simple syrup:

1 cup brewed black tea

3 tablespoons honey

For the Cocktail:

3 fresh sage leaves

2 dashes Peychaud's bitters

3/4 oz. fresh orange juice

1 1/2 oz. rye

1/2 oz. Averna bitters

Make the syrup: Combine the tea and honey in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Reduce until syrupy, about 10 minutes, then let cool.

Make the cocktail: Combine 1/2 ounce tea syrup, 2 sage leaves, the Peychaud's bitters and orange juice in a cocktail shaker. Gently muddle the sage with a muddler or the handle of a wooden spoon. Add the rye and Averna and fill the shaker three-quarters of the way with ice. Give it a short shake, then strain into a martini glass and garnish with the remaining sage leaf. Serves 1.

For you, when putting stamps on the invitation envelopes:

Green Tea Martini

1 1/2 oz. Charbay green tea vodka
1 1/2 oz. Zenn green tea liquor
1 oz. ginger vodka
1 oz. soju or sake
1/2 oz simple syrup
Juice of half lemon
1 dash habanero Tabasco sauce
Crystallized ginger for garnish

Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker that has been filled with ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a sliver of crystallized ginger. Serves 1.

Recipes from:

http://teapreneur.blogspot.com/2010/04/white-tea-martini-or-gin-tea-lemon-fizz.html

http://www.saveur.com/article/Wine-and-Drink/Green-Tea-Martini

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/sage-advice-recipe/index.html

Beer cookies for a casual wedding

Froo froo and fancy is not my style.  I prefer jeans and ponytails.  For couples that prefer a relaxed wedding reception I've got a very yummy cookie to be served along with a pint.
 Beer cookies:

1 cup salted butter, at room temperature

• 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting hands
• 1 cup pecans, chopped into very small pieces
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate morsels 
• 24 Snyder's pretzel snaps
• 
  
• -Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar at low speed until it is smooth. Beat in the vanilla. At low speed gradually add the flour. Mix in the pecans and chocolate morsels with a spatula. With floured hands, take out about 1 tablespoon of dough and shape into a ball. Continue to dust hands with flour as you make more cookies. Place onto prepared cookie sheets. Press pretzel into the top of each ball flattening the ball a little. Bake for 40 minutes.  Cool on wire racks.

Parts of this receipe are compliments of the Food Network and Paula Dean,  I have doctored it into "beer cookies"

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/mexican-wedding-cookies-recipe2/index.html

ENJOY!

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Here are some amazing ideas for wedding reception centerpieces. It always amazes me how the strickenly beautiful ones are always the most simple as well.