What better way to get your girlfriends together than with those dainty cucumber sandwiches, pastries, tartlets, and more sweets?
The beauty of working from home for me is the flexibility of entertaining, so once a week I try to invite a different set of friends over for lunch. Sometimes it's just one-on-one, other times are with a couple of friends. Last week, I thought it would be fun to mix my church friends, work friends, and some school moms over for a very girly Valentine's tea for 12.
Rather than setting tea and goodies in my living room with random seating, I set the dining table as I would for a dinner party. Don’t let a fancy dining table intimidate you—it’s easier than you think. I layered pink, red, and white fabric (I go to places like Hobby Lobby that sell curtain materials) on the table arranged in angles so each color peeked through, then placed gold chargers on top lined with very flowery pink luncheon plates. Each place setting was decorated with white damask napkins, gold dessert forks, and pink roses in silver mint julep cups.
Now to the best part. I served cucumber dill, smoked salmon, and egg sandwiches cut into triangles; spinach tartlets; lemon thyme bread; rose petal scones; madeleines; heart sugar cookies; chocolate raspberry tartlets; and pound cake with fresh strawberries. I know it sounds like a lot of food, but I only made one batch of each. Variety is key to a delectable tea. Surprisingly, we were all happily stuffed and satisfied with grown-up conversations among old and new friends. I packed leftovers in individual paper boxes, and sent them with my friends. You can’t go wrong with that kind of treat bag!
Naam Pruitt is a local food expert and author of lemongrass & limes, a Thai cookbook.
