High Tea

The genteel ladies’ tea, at which guests wore hats and white gloves and nibbled tiny sandwiches, was very much a part of home entertaining during the thirties. Borrowed from the British, it was a trend that flickered and then died out, but has now come back in homes and hotels across the country.

Goat Cheese and Watercress Tea Sandwiches
Bedeviled Eggs
Kiwi-Cream Cheese Tart
Flourless Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ginger Scones
Petits Fours
Black and Herbal Teas


GOAT CHEESE AND WATERCRESS TEA SANDWICHES

These modern tea sandwiches are more savory than sweet, and would go well with a glass of Sherry if you’re in need of something a little stronger than Earl Grey.

2 5 1/2-ounce logs soft fresh goat cheese (such as Montrachet), room temperature
1/2 cup chopped watercress leaves
16 thin slices cinnamon-raisin, date or whole wheat sandwich bread, crusts trimmed
5 tablespoons (about) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup finely chopped toasted pecans Watercress sprigs (for garnish)

Mix cheese and chopped watercress in medium bowl. Season with salt. Spread mixture evenly over 8 bread slices. Top with remaining bread. Butter edges of sandwiches. Cut sandwiches diagonally in half. Place pecans on plate. Dip buttered edges of sandwiches into pecans. Arrange sandwiches on platter. Garnish with watercress sprigs. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover sandwiches tightly; chill.)
Makes 8 servings.


BEDEVILED EGGS

The seeds of the Mexican tabasco chili were planted on Avery Island, Louisiana, in the mid 1800s, and in 1868, former New Orleans banker Edmund McIlhenny began experimenting with them. He created Tabasco sauce by mixing mashed chilies with salt, letting them age in oak barrels, then adding vinegar. Tabasco is so popular today that it often appears on restaurant tables right next to the salt and pepper.

A good dose of the stuff puts the devil in these eggs.
8 hard-boiled large eggs, peeled
1/4 cup purchased tartar sauce
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard (such as Gulden’s)
1 1/4 teaspoons Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce Paprika

Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Scoop out yolks; place in small bowl. Add tartar sauce, mustard and Tabasco; mash with fork. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into egg white halves, dividing equally. Sprinkle with paprika. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover; chill.)
Makes 8 appetizer servings.


KIWI-CREAM CHEESE TART

Frieda Caplan, doyenne of the produce company Frieda's, introduced the U.S. to the kiwi in the sixties. It took a few years, but in the seventies, the green fruit with the fuzzy brown skin really took off.

Crust
3/4 cup all purpose flour
6 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon (or more) ice water
3/4 cup dry roasted and lightly salted macadamia nuts, chopped
Filling
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
2/3 cup chilled whipping cream
5 ripe kiwis, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds

For crust: Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter. Using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1 tablespoon ice water and blend until moist clumps form. Add more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Transfer dough to floured surface. Gently knead nuts into dough. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Freeze crust 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line crust with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake crust until sides begin to set, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake crust until cooked through and pale golden, piercing with fork if crust bubbles, about 10 minutes longer. Cool crust completely.

For filling: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, lime juice and lime peel in large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Beat whipping cream in medium bowl until firm peaks form. Fold into cream cheese mixture. Spoon filling into crust; smooth top with knife. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
Arrange kiwis in concentric circles atop filling, overlapping slightly. (Can be prepared up to 4 hours ahead. Cover with plastic and refrigerate.) Cut tart into wedges and serve.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.


FLOURLESS PEANUT BUTTER AND CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

A couple of the best convenience foods of the century undoubtedly are peanut butter (introduced at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair) and chocolate chips (first sold by Nestlé in 1939). Separately, they are the basis of two of the nation’s favorite cookies. Together, the ingredients are an unbeatable team.

1 cup super chunky peanut butter
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips (about 6 ounces)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Mix in chocolate chips. Using moistened hands, form generous 1 tablespoon dough for each cookie into ball. Arrange on 2 ungreased baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.
Bake cookies until puffed, golden on bottom and still soft to touch in center, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to racks; cool completely.
Makes about 24 cookies.


GINGER SCONES

Candied ginger turns this traditional cream scone into a spicy and addictive treat.
You need this special item: 3-inch round cutter
2 1/4 cups unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon zest (about 1/2 lemon)
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
4 1/2 ounces candied ginger, finely chopped into 1/4-inch pieces to equal 2/3 cup
3/4 cup heavy cream, plus extra for brushing the tops of the scones

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 400°.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder, and pulse or mix on low to incorporate. Add the lemon zest and butter, and pulse on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is pale yellow and the consistency of fine meal.

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the ginger. Make a well in the center and pour in the cream. Using one hand, draw in the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.

Wash and dry your hands and dust them with flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently knead a few times to gather it into a ball. Roll or pat the dough into a circle about 3/4 inch thick. Cut out the circles, cutting as closely together as possible and keeping the trimmings intact.

Gather the scraps, pat and press the pieces back together, and cut out the remaining dough. Place the scones 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Brush the tops with the remaining cream.
Bake for 12 to 16 minutes, until the surface cracks and they are slightly browned.
Yield: 8 scones