Last week I hosted a Valentine's tea for a couple of my friends.I recently fell in love with and bought a vintage tea set that was perfect for the occasion. There were two things that really made me fall in love with this tea set, the shape of the teacups, and the painted flowers on the inside of the cup. Most of my tea ware is blue (my favorite color) so I also liked that these had painted pink flowers, something different. I don't often splurge on these types of things for myself but I couldn't resist this set.
My only disappointment was that I wasn't able to get the teapot. Or so I thought! I was completely shocked when my friends gave it to me as a gift at the tea!
Since I was having a small tea party, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try out some new recipes. So I started off the tea with a champagne cocktail that consisted of a sugar cube, a couple dashes of bitters, a 1/2 an ounce of brandy, and about 4 ounces of champagne.
I made tarragon chicken salad on croissants, cucumber sandwiches, tomatoes filled with couscous, and smoked salmon with sprouts on endive. I served a special peach-ginger tea -- that my aunt gave to me before she died -- with the sandwiches. 
The second course was orange cream scones made with oranges picked from my parent's backyard. They were accompanied by homemade strawberry jam, and cream.
The tea pastries included chocolate covered strawberries, heart-shaped sugar cookies, raspberry-almond financiers, and chocolate mousse tartlets. 
It was a lovely afternoon shared with my closest friends and tea-mates. A special thank you to Steph for helping with preparations, and for also taking these awesome photos!
4 comments:
My goodness, what a lovely tea party!! Everything looks heavenly and your new tea set is beautiful! I'm sure your friends had the best afternoon! I didn't get to have a Valentine tea this year, V-Day just came up on me too fast... bummer. But I'll be having a spring tea soon.
Thanks for sharing~ Lisa
p.s.
Oh, I love your pretty pasisly tabecloth too!
No fair... looks gorgeous! You have always been the hostess with the mostess. I love that your friends bought you the teapot... good work! Where did you purchase this vintage masterpiece? My favorite antique mall in Bloomington is now gone... I was SO sad to learn that. When I get back, you will have to teach me some of these fabulous recipes. I still make your Chinese salad often... YUM!
It was really, really beautiful and delicious - a perfect respite. Thank you!
Here is the piece that Amy read: http://stephcupoftea.blogspot.com/2010/02/guest-blogger-esmerelda.html
Your vintage tea set is lovely and has such an elegant shape. That was sweet of your friends to give you the matching teapot. The tea party food looks delicious and the presentation was very nice. Must have been quite an enjoyable Valentine tea.
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