Tea Time Part 1

I have a wonder group of people I meet up with every Sunday for a no kidding actual teatime. I know it sounds old fashioned and even a little silly, but it’s a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon, decompressing before starting the week all over again.  I look forward to Sunday’s very much.

Originally the people who came to Sunday tea was myself and two of my neighbors Andy and Mac, but since there was a shake up in our dynamic, tea turned into just myself and Andy with a roving cast of characters that has seem to stabilize into the following:  Andy, Annie, Jenn, Kevin, Buzz and myself. This cast of characters is a pretty good mix of personalities and interests and we have a lot of fun together.

This past Saturday night our little group had what has been termed “Midnight Tea”, with the main component booze since we don’t start until midnight. Our Midnight Tea is something that we’ve since decided needs to be a monthly occurrence, with each tea having a theme.  Our inaugural teas theme was Tarts and Vicars. The girls dressed like a tart (British slang for ho) and the boys dressed as Vicars (British clergy)

The tea was a resounding success, everyone had fun, the food was delicious and everyone looked amazing.  It was completely worth the weeks of menu planning and all day cooking Saturday and stressing out that even though I’d planned all the cooking down to the last minute to be ready by the time everyone arrived. The phrase “went off without a hitch” comes to mind.

Our drinks menu read as such: Earl Grey Martinis, Lemon Drops, Absinthe and whatever various sipping drinks we desired. The goal was to have our normal enjoyable teatime, but an adult booze enhanced tea.

Please don’t read that as saying we need alcohol to have a good time, not this group, but libations of this sort didn’t hinder the fun any either. Being responsible adults, no one went anywhere after the tea since we had all be drinking.

The food, now I am very pleased with how the food turned out. I tried out several new recipes, which always makes me nervous. I always want the food I serve to my friends and family to be good, I’m Italian and that’s how we show affection, we serve our loved ones lots of good food.  On tap food wise we had: Beer Battered Pickles, Pineapple Upside Down Jell-O shots, Earl Grey Crème Brule, Salted Whiskey Caramels, Mocha Kahlua Mascarpone Dip, Guinness Beer Dip, Jack Daniels Turkey Meatballs, French Vanilla Kahlua Meringues, Chocolate Rum Cake, Chocolate Chili & Chocolate Mint Chocolates, and Chocolate Guinness Pudding.

I know seems like so much food and drink for just 6 people to consume and to be fair, it was, however there were many leftovers and they were enjoyed over the following week.

Recipes will be following in the next posting I just wanted to lay the groundwork for perhaps what will be a deluge of pics and recipes. I just love new recipes and sharing!!!

An Intro

I’m starting a few new ventures in my life and I’m not going to sugar coat it, it’s a bit daunting to me on several levels, so please bear with me if I go a bit off track or jump around a bit.  Sadly my thought process can be like a hyper child who just ate a pixie stix, man I loved those things as a kid.

I’m starting a new chapter in a my life, one I honestly never thought I’d even see in the book, the chapter entitled “Single Motherhood”, but I’m a bit into the chapter already and it’s been a tough read, but also worth it. Side note, I’m a huge reader and bibliophile, so there will be lots of book references as well as cooking and baking references. I won’t even try to explain my music references even I don’t always understand them.  

Also, this blog is another new and scary venture. I’ve always told stories and given my perspective on things and shared my recipes and sometimes they all come out at the same time, usually when I’m in the kitchen, which is where I feel the safest.

It’s a commonly held theory that the kitchen is the heart of a home that the hearth is what makes a home and I fully subscribe to that theory, the kitchen is where I have my best ideas and share the love I have for my family and my friends.

That’s what this blog is going to be: a series of stories, recipes, and pictures of what’s going on in life, also advice and help if it’s asked for.  I hope everyone enjoys it as much I’m sure I will enjoy writing it.