As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, I recently hosted nine ladies for a Snowman ⛄️ Tea ☕️.   It was a lovely afternoon and fun to put together.  Besides the sweet treats covered in the previous post, I also made several savory items.  I’ll include those items below.

The table was easy and kind of unusual.  I started with a large red tablecloth from Spode (old).  Over that I placed two fake fur pelts to mimic snow.  Then I put out hammered silver chargers, white linen napkins, lots of white tea lights, and Crate and Barrel flatware.

I found these gorgeous red water goblets as well as these fun ceramic tea bag caddies all on line. 

The red polka dot teapots were from HomeGoods.  The tea stands were easy to assemble and will be making an encore appearance in my upcoming closet organizer blog.  Stay tuned…  The red creamer and sugar bowl were from HomeGoods.  My red and white snowmen dessert plates were the real inspiration for the tea.  They are at least 15 years old, from Crate and Barrel and though some are a bit worse for the wear, I LOVE THEM⛄️⛄️⛄️!

My neat retro red polka dot apron was found online as well my sweet Bubba’s 🐶 snowman ☃️ bandana.  Aren’t they great!  I wore a crisp white Talbots blouse with a black pencil skirt (old).  For sparkle I wore my new silver and rhinestone necklace that was reminiscent of snowflakes ❄️ (in case my guests hadn’t picked up on the theme ⛄️).

Snowmen High Tea Recipes

Recipes for Cucumber 🥒 Tea ☕️ Sandwiches 🥪 

Ingredients:

-One loaf of really fresh white bakery bread 🍞, ideally sliced thinly the day of the party 

-1/2 of an English cucumber 🥒 sliced really thinly, ideally with a mandoline, then allowed to drain for an hour on a paper towel 🧻.

-8 ounce package of Philadelphia cream cheese, softened to room temperature 

-4 T fresh dill chopped finely 

-Juice and zest of one lemon 🍋 

-Salt and pepper 

Steps:

1. In a small bowl, or food processor combine the cream cheese, dill, lemon 🍋 juice and zest.
2. Stir in the salt 🧂 and pepper to taste.  (I did this several days before the party and put the mixture in an airtight container in the frig.)
3. One hour before serving, spread the white bread slices with the cream cheese mixture.  Lay on a layer of cucumber 🥒. Top with another piece of bread.
4. Trim off the crusts.  Cut the sandwiches into bite-sized pieces on a diagonal.

5. *** Cover the sandwiches carefully with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out.

6. Enjoy!

Recipe for Deviled Eggs:

Ingredients:

-12 already hard-boiled eggs from Trader Joe’s

-1/2 cup mayonnaise 

-1 T yellow mustard

-2 T Dijon mustard 

-2 tsp white vinegar

-Paprika 

Steps:

1. Halve the eggs 🥚 and remove the yolks.
2. Set whites aside.
3. Place yolks in a food processor with all the ingredients except the paprika.
4. Pulse until very smooth.  (I did all this three days before the party.  Then I put the mixture in an airtight container until the day before the party.  I put the egg whites in this very neat clear collapsible plastic deviled egg transporting container.  I love it because it doesn’t take up lots of space in the frig.)
5. On the day before the party, put the egg yolk mixture in a disposable piping bag and pipe it into the egg whites.
6. On the day of the party, put the eggs on serving pieces and sprinkle on the paprika garnish.
7. Enjoy

Recipe for Chicken 🐔Salad 🥗on Lettuce Leaves

Ingredients:

-One store-bought rotisserie chicken 🐔 

-1/2 cup mayonnaise 

-1/2 cup sour cream

-Salt and pepper

-Baby gem lettuce 🥬, washed, drained and separated into individual leaves.

Steps:

1. Remove the chicken meat 🐔 from the carcass.  Discard all bones and skin.
2. Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
3. Mix the chicken 🐔 with the mayonnaise and sour cream.
4. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.  (I did this two days before the event and put it in an airtight container.)
5. I also washed, dried and wrapped the lettuce leaves in dry paper towels and plastic.
6. On the morning of the party, I put small scoops of the chicken salad on the lettuce 🥬leaves.
7. I garnished with a thin slice of green grapes 🍇!
8. Enjoy!

Recipe for Gravlax, Pommes Gaufrettes (or Potato Chip with Salmon Appetizer).  This recipe is compliments of Chef Rhonda Kite.

Ingredients:

-Trader Joe’s salt and pepper ridged potato chips

-4 ounces of smoked salmon sliced into bite-sized pieces

-4 ounces of Creme fraiche

-Juice and zest of one lemon 🍋 

-Dill sprigs, for garnish 

Steps:

1. Several days before your party, cut the salmon into pieces as well as the dill sprigs and wrap them separately in plastic wrap.
2. Also several days ahead combine the lemon zest, juice and creme fraiche in the food processor.  Pulse to combine and then store in an airtight container.
3. The day of the party put the creme fraiche mixture in a disposable piping bag.
4. The morning of the party, pipe a ribbon of creme fraiche onto each salmon piece.  One hour before serving, put the salmon on a chip and garnish with a dill sprig.
5. Enjoy!

6. NB. This delicious recipe from Chef Rhonda Kite (Instagram: rhondakitecooks) was my favorite savory treat of the tea!  Liked by all!!!

P.S.  Many thanks to my wonderful friend Gail Margarites for taking the photos.  Weren’t they great!!! I hope you enjoy these Snowmen High Tea Recipes!