The co-authors are blessed with a veritable garden of Roses in their lives. Aunt, niece, grandmother and great-grandmother are all beloved Roses. All have enjoyed the pleasures of afternoon tea. We created this menu as a tribute to our love of afternoon tea and all our Roses. And who doesn’t love this iconic flower, which has brought such beauty, fragrance and romantic inspiration to the entire world for centuries?
The Rose
On a June morning, the innocence is overwhelming--
A single wild rose stands out in the underbrush
Like a small pink planet.
A rock, almost hidden in the Manzanita,
Takes in sunlight in its quiet way.
Nearby, a tiny flow of air
Passes through the lower branches of the eucalyptus,
Sending the down-pointing leaves into a flutter
That almost tinkles,
Like fingers playing some numinous tune.
On a June morning, the innocence is overwhelming--
A single wild rose stands out in the underbrush
Like a small pink planet.
A rock, almost hidden in the Manzanita,
Takes in sunlight in its quiet way.
Nearby, a tiny flow of air
Passes through the lower branches of the eucalyptus,
Sending the down-pointing leaves into a flutter
That almost tinkles,
Like fingers playing some numinous tune.
Menu
Beverages:
Rose Petal Tea
Kir Royale
White Jasmine Tea
Savories:
Radish Petal Sandwiches with Chive Butter on Challah
Deviled Eggs, Dusted with Sweet Paprika
Roses in Clover (smoked salmon rosettes on micro greens atop brown bread rounds)
Breads and Scones:
Almond Scones with Rose Hip Jam
Sweets:
Pink Velvet Rosette Cakes
Napoleons
Rosewater Shortbread
Butter Mints in Rose and Leaf Shapes (in pink and green pastel tints)
Rose Gelee Tart
Victoria Sponge with Sugared Rose Petals (On the Pedestal)
Beverages:
Rose Petal Tea
Kir Royale
White Jasmine Tea
Savories:
Radish Petal Sandwiches with Chive Butter on Challah
Deviled Eggs, Dusted with Sweet Paprika
Roses in Clover (smoked salmon rosettes on micro greens atop brown bread rounds)
Breads and Scones:
Almond Scones with Rose Hip Jam
Sweets:
Pink Velvet Rosette Cakes
Napoleons
Rosewater Shortbread
Butter Mints in Rose and Leaf Shapes (in pink and green pastel tints)
Rose Gelee Tart
Victoria Sponge with Sugared Rose Petals (On the Pedestal)
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Kir Royale Kir Royale is a simple but very pretty cocktail made only of crème de cassis (black currant liqueur) topped with Champagne or sparkling wine. You can start your Rose Tea by offering each guest a Kir Royale in an elegant flute as she arrives for the festivities. Have a chilled bottle of Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple-Grape Cider ready for guests who prefer not to drink alcoholic beverages. The lovely pinkish purple color of the Apple-Grape Cider will echo the same shades in the Kir Royale, colors reminiscent of old roses. To make a Kir Royale, place one tablespoon of crème de cassis in the bottom of a flute and add nine tablespoons of pink Champagne or sparkling wine. It isn’t really necessary to measure the Champagne; just fill up the rest of the flute, and enjoy watching the dark purple Crème de Cassis mingle with the pink or soft golden Champagne. Kathleen likes to make Kir Royale with Francis Ford Coppola Winery’s Sofia Blanc de Blancs. Radish Petal Sandwiches with Chive Butter on Challah These charming radish sandwiches are designed to look like a rose. You will need a three or four inch cookie cutter in a flower shape so the radish slices will look like flower petals. If you don’t have a flower shaped cookie cutter, use the round one that you will be using to make Roses in Clover. You can still place a circle of radish slices on top of the buttered challah to resemble a rose. Deviled Eggs Deviled Eggs are one of the greatest snacks of all time. Although they are a simple food item, they need to be made with patience and meticulous care and eaten as soon after being assembled as possible. The “shelf life” for Deviled Eggs may be very short, but in our experience, they never last long enough at any gathering to worry about leftovers. Roses in Clover (Smoked Salmon Rosettes on Micro Greens atop Brown Bread Rounds) Roses in Clover is the fanciful name for smoked salmon that has been rolled to resemble roses and served on top of brown bread covered with micro-greens, creating the illusion of clover growing out of the earth. For such an imaginative food item, these are actually quite easy to make. If your first effort at rolling a strip of salmon into a rose doesn’t turn out quite right, just re-roll until you are happy with the result. Almond Scones These lovely golden scones are enhanced with almonds and brown sugar. In fact the dough contains almonds in three forms—ground toasted almonds, chopped toasted almonds and almond extract. For your own convenience, you can use whole almonds and toast them in the oven before separating the almonds that will be ground from the ones that will be chopped. Decorate the finished scones with fresh rose petals and serve with rose hip jam. Pink Velvet Rosette Cakelets Pastel versions of the popular red velvet cake, these sweet little cakes are baked in individual rose-shaped cake pans. We purchased our pan from Nordic Ware, the makers of the original Bundt pan, an American company started in 1946. A regular cupcake pan may be substituted, but we think you deserve a bouquet of velvet rose cakelets, so indulge; after all, you’re supporting an American company! Napoleons These delicate, cream filled flaky pastries are widely known throughout Europe and the Middle East. In French, they are sometimes referred to as Mille Feuilles, cake of a thousand sheets. We will use the very thin Greek pastry sheets known as phyllo for our Napoleons; fortunately, phyllo can be purchased at the grocery store. We will fill our Napoleons with a luscious chocolate pastry cream and decorate them with chocolate glaze and icing rosettes. Rosewater Shortbread These sweet, delicate little Shortbread cookies are subtly flavored with rosewater. If you cannot find rosewater in your neighborhood grocery store, it will be easy to find in an Indian or Middle Eastern market. Butter Mints in Rose and Leaf Shapes Butter Mints are charming old-fashioned candies that are surprisingly easy to make. They can be formed into a variety of shapes using candy molds, and they can be tinted any color you want. For our Rose Tea, our Butter Mints will be molded and tinted to resemble pink roses and green leaves. Any kitchen store should sell leaf and flower candy molds at a reasonable price. Once you make that little investment, you can make these lovely candies for all sorts of special occasions, and they also make very sweet party favors. Rose Gelee Tarts Topped with a glossy, rose-scented gelee layer, our creamy and delicate miniature tarts will delight guests as part of our Rose tea. The rose scent comes from fresh rose petals and rose water. Serve garnished with a single perfect rose petal. Victoria Sponge with Sugared Rose Petals This famous Nineteenth Century English dessert is named after none other than Queen Victoria herself, who loved this golden sponge cake at tea time. Victoria Sponge can be served plain or sliced into two layers and filled with jam, lemon curd, berries or whipped cream. For our Rose Tea, we will serve our Victoria Sponge as a layer cake filled with raspberry jam, whipped cream scented with rose water, and edible Sugared Rose Petals scattered over the top. |
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