Amaryllis and Afternoon Tea

Afternoon Tea with friends on a Sunday afternoon.  Winter's golden sunlight spilling in through a window, your favourite music, beautiful flowers, good food and great conversation - a perfect afternoon!

Traditional Afternoon Tea is so much more than a cup of tea, which is why it deserves capital letters. It is a refined lunch, served in three courses.  A three tiered tray is often used for serving a creative assortment of finger sandwiches, in a variety of bite-sized shapes.  Some sandwiches are triangles, some are rectangles, some are double decker, and others are pinwheels.  Tea sandwiches are followed by scones with clotted cream and jam, and Afternoon Tea finishes with cakes and pastries. Port, Sherry or Champagne are often found on menus for Afternoon Tea. Although we think of it as a British tradition, the accent flavours are Indian.  After all, tea doesn't grow in London.

Depending on the menu, the tea selection may include a delicate Jasmine, a traditional Indian tea such as Assam or Darjeeling, a bergamot scented Earl Grey, or a smokey Lapsang Souchong. Traditionally, the tea is served hot, never iced. It is served in a large teapot, and poured into pretty teacups of fine china.  Milk, cream, sugar or honey are served alongside the tea.

If all you have are mismatched coffee mugs emblazoned with "I heart New York" slogans, and Toronto Maple Leafs logos, do not let that stop you from sharing tea and great food with friends and family!  Doilies don't create memories.    

Amaryllis Afternoon Tea

-Tea Sandwiches- 

Cucumber and Herb Butter on White Bread
Smoked Cheddar and Apple on Raisin Bread
Bombay Chicken on White Bread
Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese on Dark Rye Bread
Ham and Whole Grain Mustard on Multi-Grain Bread

-Scones-

Classic Scones with Clotted Cream
Strawberry Jam
Apricot Jam
Lemon Marmalade

-Cakes and Pastries-

Lemon Tarts
Petit Fours
Chocolate Eclairs
Brandy Snaps

-Tea-

Darjeeling           Earl Grey

The British call it Coronation Chicken, and Canadians call it Bombay Chicken.  Whatever the name, it is a curried chicken sandwich filling, and very popular on tea trays.  Raisins, and fresh cilantro leaves are often added to the chicken. Sometimes mango chutney, or apricots are used in place of raisins.  Cilantro leaves are part of the same plant that produces cumin seeds, a key ingredient in curry powder. The bread may be white, whole wheat or raisin. 

Start with cold chicken.  I have poached chicken breasts the night before, and chilled the meat for sandwich fillings the next day.  I've also used roast chicken, and deli counter rotisserie chicken. As long as it's chicken, and it's cold.  The chicken breasts are chopped into small pieces.

The curried mayonnaise dressing is basically mayonnaise, and curry powder to taste.  I often add a squeeze of lemon juice, and even a touch of honey to brighten the flavour.  The curry flavour should be strong, without being overpowering. Salt and pepper, and a dash Cayenne pepper are added. 

Toss the chicken with the curried mayonnaise, add finely chopped green onion, finely chopped cilantro, finely chopped parsley, and whole raisins.  Spread the moist filling over buttered bread, and top with another slice of bread.  Slice the crusts off of all four sides of the sandwich, and cut into four triangles, or three rectangles.  Assemble on a serving tray, along with other tea sandwiches. 

The Smoked Cheddar and Apple is another lovely tea sandwich.  Simply grate the cheddar, grate a little peeled apple, and combine the two with mayonnaise.  An option would be to add finely chopped walnuts, creating a smokey Waldorf tea sandwich.  Although not on the menu above, watercress sandwiches, and egg salad sandwiches are also traditionally found on Afternoon Tea trays. 

Creative sandwich fillings are a hallmark of Afternoon Tea.  The idea is to offer a variety of little sandwiches, rather than one with "the works".  There's no place for a Dagwood sandwich at Afternoon Tea.  Tea sandwiches are finger food, and meant to be eaten in two or three bites. Do not overstuff the sandwiches, so that the filling spills out all over your guests' clothing.  One other word of advice, make sure the sandwich fillings are moist, and the bread is not soggy. 

    

The Amaryllis plant, so popular from Christmas to Valentine's Day, brings welcome colour to a mid-Winter table.  Native to South America, Amaryllis grows very tall, much like an Easter Lily, and the weight of the blossoms cause the stalks to bow. One of my wonderful neighbours thought of me when she was trimming the blossoms from her Amaryllis plants, and the photo shoot was born. The blossoms look so lovely in individual bud vases!

Amaryllis plants will flower for weeks.  The blossoms are red, white, pink, salmon and orange, and come in solid, striped and multi-coloured blooms.

While it grows outdoors in South America, on this side of the Equator, it is a house plant.  Here in the Northern Hemisphere, it is a little late in the year to begin growing Amaryllis. Planting is usually done from October until the end of April, however, after Christmas, it is hard to find the bulbs.  So, put this information away until late Fall.  

When selecting bulbs for planting, remember that larger bulbs produce more flowers.  Once home, place the base and roots of the bulb in lukewarm water for a few hours.  Next, plant the bulb up to its neck in potting soil, pat down the soil to stabilize the bulb.  Place in a warm, sunny spot, and water lightly until the stem appears.  Once the bud and leaves appear, begin watering more frequently.  In about two months, you'll have a gorgeous flowering plant.  

For those fortunate enough to have several bulbs, rather than plant all of them at once, and have them all bloom at the same time, you can stagger the plantings every two weeks.  This way, you'll have spectacular, continuous blooms for months.  

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.