Christmas Gift Ideas from Teapots ‘n More

Teapots ‘n More Christmas 2010.

Chicken Salad Ribbons

Chicken Salad Ribbon Tea Sandwiches

(makes approximately 36 sandwiches) 

2 large loaves of bakery bread, sliced horizontally (one wheat, one white)
4-5 cups of chicken salad**
2 packages (8 ounce) of cream cheese, softened
1 15 oz. can of crushed pineapple, drained
softened butter or margarine

1. Discard top and bottom slices of loaves. Drain and puree pineapple. Mix together pineapple and cream cheese and set aside, but do not refrigerate.

2. Lightly butter one side of a wheat slice of bread then spread with a layer of chicken salad. Lightly butter one side of a white slice of bread and place on top of chicken salad, buttered side down.

3. Lightly butter other side of white slice then spread with a layer of pineapple/cream cheese mixture. Lightly butter one side of another wheat slice of bread and place butter side down on cream cheese mixture.

4. Cut off crusts on all four sides of sandwich to form a long rectangle. Cut rectangle in half to form 2 squares. Wrap each square snugly in plastic wrap and refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.

5. Continue making sandwiches with remainder of bread slices, alternating wheat and white slices. Remove plastic wrap and slice each square into 6-8 sandwiches, approximately 1/2″ thick.

**See following recipes.

NOTE ON THE BREAD: If you can’t get bread sliced horitontally, you can still make these sandwiches with regular bakery sandwich bread sliced vertically.

Party Tip: If you’re fortunate enough to be near a bakery that bakes their own bread and will slice loaves horizontally for you, ask if they will bake you a loaf of white bread tinted with a pastel color such as pink, green, blue or purple. When paired with an egg or wheat bread, this makes for a delightfully festive ribbon sandwich.

Chicken Salad Recipe
(makes 4-5 cups)

3 cans (10 ounce) of chicken, drained
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
Salt and pepper to taste
Mayonaisse
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

1. Drain chicken. Combine with onion, celery & nuts.

2. Add mayonaisse one large tablespoon (about 1/4 cup) at a time until moist and creamy.

3. Adjust flavor with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Refrigerate for an hour then check again. If too dry, add more mayonaisse. 

German Apple Cake

German Apple Cake
Great apple pie flavor in a moist cake with a “cookie-crunchy” crust. Delicious and easy! Makes 24 bars.

2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup oil (yes, 1 cup!)
2 eggs
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
4 medium sized baking apples: peeled, cored and chopped into 1/2″ chunks

1. Sift dry ingredients together into a bowl and set aside.

2. In an electric mixer, beat oil and eggs until creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix well.

3. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture until combined. The batter will be almost like a paste. Fold in apples with spatula or wooden spoon.

4. Spread batter into a greased and floured 9″ x 13″ pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake cool, cut into 24 bars and dust with powdered sugar.

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Savory Cream Puff Bites

Savory Cream Puff  Bites (or Crab)
They’re not just for dessert!

 30 – 40 Mini Cream Puffs**

2-3 cups of Tuna Salad** or your favorite Crab Salad (no recipe provided) or Curry Chicken Salad

1. Slice tops of cream puffs almost all the way through. Lift top and fill each with 1-2 teaspoons of salad.

Note: Keep cream puffs and tuna salad separate until shortly before serving. This keeps cream puffs from becoming soggy.

** See recipe below.

Cream Puffs (aka Pate a Choux Pastry)
(Makes 30-40 mini puffs)

1/2 cup of butter
1 cup water
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
4 eggs

1. In a medium saucepan melt butter. Add water and bring to a boil. Add flour and salt all at once; stir vigorously.

2. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball that doesn’t separate. (It will pull away from the side.)

3. Remove from heat and cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon after each addition until smooth and glossy, 1-2 minutes. (The batter gets more glossy with each egg you add. Just make sure egg is completely beat into the flour mixture. Even if your arm gets tired, don’t rush this step. Beating the eggs is what makes the cream puffs rise so don’t try to beat them in all at once.)

4. Drop batter by teaspoonfuls (about the size of a quarter) onto a greased baking sheet, approximately 1 inch apart. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Puffs will be golden brown, dry and sound hollow when tapped. Store in an airtight container for 2 days until ready to use or freeze up to 2 weeks. Here’s another good Cream Puff recipe.

Tuna Salad
(Makes 3-4 cups)

3 cans of tuna, drained (6 ounce)
3-4 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
Mayonnaise to moisten (1/2 -1 cup)

1. Mix together drained tuna, lemon juice, relish, onion and celery.

2. Add mayonnaise one large tablespoon at a time until tuna is moist and creamy. Refrigerate until ready to use.

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Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd
(makes 2 cups)

2 teaspoons of grated lemon peel (optional)
1 cup lemon juice
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter, cut in pieces
2 cups sugar

1. Combine lemon peel, lemon juice, eggs, butter and sugar in top of double-boiler.

2. Place over simmering water and stir until completely mixed and sugar is dissolved.

3. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth. (Indirect slow cooking is required so eggs don’t curdle the sauce.)

4. Pour while hot into an airtight, heat proof container. Cool completely and cover. Store in refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.

This is an excellent video for lemon curd technique whether you add the butter at the beginning or end. Start the video at about 5:04 for the Lemon Curd instruction.

SERVING TIP: Lemon Curd makes an excellent spread for scones, but it can also be used as a filling for tarts or between cake layers.

GIFT TIP: Give small jars or containers, either glass or plastice, of homemade lemon curd as a hostess gift or party favor. Your guests will be delighted!

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Penuche Walnut Fudge

Penuche Walnut Fudge
Delicious Maple Walnut flavor…another great recipe from Julie in California!

Penuche Walnut Fudge

3 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. Bourbon vanilla**
1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, salt and cream. Sitr until dissolved. Cook until temperature reaches 235 degrees on a candy thermometer, or soft ball stage.

2. Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Cool to 110 degrees, or lukewarm. Add the vanilla and beat vigorously by hand until mixture loses its shine.

3. Quickly stir in the nuts and spread into a greased 9″ x 12″ pan. Chill before cutting into small squares. Store in the refrigerator in a sealed airtight container with wax paper between layers. Keeps for one week.

** Bourbon vanilla is a richer tasting vanilla extract. You can find it online at  King Arthur Flour.com.

Serving Suggestion: For a pretty treat, cut the fudge slab with a very small cookie or candy cutter like the butterfly used in the picture above.

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Tips for Tender, Tasty Scones

Cinnamon Chip Scones

It’s early morning and I’m making mini scones (about 6 dozen) in preparation for a meeting…pumpkin, cinnamon chip and golden raisin. A good flavor combination considering the season. Crunched for time, I’m resorting to my favorite box mix, Iveta Gourmet, which has me out of the kitchen and on my way  in an hour. I love that mix!

As I’m patting and cutting 4 bowls of dough, I find my inspiration for this post. How many times have I served scones only to hear this comment, “These are scones? But they taste so good!”?

While I appreciate the compliment, scones aren’t difficult to make. The appeal of a good scone is in the texture as well as the taste. It should be a little crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. So without further comment, here are my tips for tasty, tender scones.

– Use cold butter or margarine and cold milk.

– Scones are basically a sweet biscuit, so follow the same rules: Don’t overmix and handle the dough as little as possible.

– When rolling out the dough, use as little flour as possible and roll to about 1/2 inch thick. Remember to handle the dough as little as possible. I’ve found that patting out the dough with my hand allows me to use less flour.

– Cut out small scones instead of large. I use a 1-2 inch round cutter. It’s a great size that your guests will appreciate.

– Don’t overbake! I know this is obvious, but still important.

– Make your scones the morning of your event. Remember, scones are basically biscuits, and therefore, will get stale more quickly.

Turbinado Sugar

– For extra table appeal, sprinkle your scones with coarse sugar before andafter baking. You can use raw sugar, demerara sugar, turbinado sugar or decorative sugars. I pick up decorative white sugar crystals from our local cake decorating shop and keep a vanilla bean in the sugar for extra aroma and flavor.

– If you’re crunched for time, don’t be afraid to use a mix. I’ve got a favorite scone recipe, but there are some good mixes on the market. As I mentioned, my favorite is Iveta. With a mix, you can have scones and tea ready in about 30 minutes.

If you’re looking for a good scone recipe instead of a mix, I recommend this one: The World’s Best Scones. As always, we’d love to hear your comments or questions.

Happy Baking!                                                                                                            Michelle in Customer Service

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Making Chai Tea

As the weather in Southern California is finally starting to hint at autumn (a cool 78 degrees!), our thoughts around the office are turning gratefully to rainy days, good books and a good cup of hot tea! It’s funny what you miss when you don’t have it. In the middle of January, I’m sure we’ll be looking fondly toward Summer having forgotten the sweltering heat.

With those thoughts in mind, it occurs to me that now might be a good time to post a refresher on making that spicy good tea, Chai. Much has been written on this cold weather favorite, so let’s just share the brewing basics.

Brewing Chai:  Place 1 heaping teaspoon of tea for each cup into your teapot. Pour boiling water into teapot. Cover and let steep for 5-10 minutes – yes, this is more tea and a longer steeping time for a good strong brew.  While the tea is brewing, put 1 teaspoon of sugar in each of your cups – this can be adjusted to taste, artifical sweetner also works fine. Adding sweetner helps open up the exotic flavor of this spicy blend. Add milk to your cups (about 20% of the cup’s volume). When the chai is ready, strain into cups and enjoy.

Personally, I use one packet of Splenda – yes, I know it might kill me. AND I do use cream instead of milk because I like the added body and that “slickery” feeling the cream offers.

If you like a full bodied tea with strong flavors, we highly recommend Chai tea. It’s a terrific brew for Autumn & holiday gatherings. We have an exceptional Vanilla Chai available in our store, should you like to indulge yourself. As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts!

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Paper Doilies: The Decorating Wonder!

Party Decorating on the Cheap
Need a cheap, versatile decorating idea? Two words: Paper Doilies!

We had an epiphany shopping at the local Walmart, which judging from the information already on the internet was late in coming! We needed doilies for store use and purchased a 24 pack of round paper doilies in three size (12″, 8″ & 6″) by Wilton for $2.00.  Such a deal! That’s when we realized the awesome, cheap decorating power of the paper doily.

Think about it. Need to decorate a cake? Paper doilies and powdered sugar. Decorate a table? Paper doilies. Place cards? Doilies. Invitations? Doilies!

So, with a doily in hand for inspiration, here is a list of basic ideas as a springboard for your imagination and some links to ideas from other creative people. Please share your great ideas as well. If you’ve got a Walmart nearby, go for the Wilton Cakes display. I’ll bet you find paper doilies…the decorating wonder!

If you can’t find paper doilies, here are some online resources:  from Create For Less – 32 Assorted Round White Doilies for $1.94, from Kids Crafts Plus – 96 Assorted Round White Doilies for $7.45, from Sur La Table – 48 Assorted Square White Doilies for $9.95. We also noticed some good deals on Ebay and Etsy searching under Paper Doilies.

Paper Doily Ideas:

1.  Decorate a cake with doilies.  Lay a doily or doilies in  a pattern on top of a dark cake such as chocolate,  gingerbread or even brownies. Sift with powdered sugar and carefully lift doilies. For the prettiest look, be sure to use a doily that does not have a solid circle of paper in the middle.

2.   Use large doilies as place mats under table settings. This is most effective on a colored tablecloth.

3.   Dress up serving plates/trays with doilies or set off a special dessert with a doily.

4.   Arrange different sized doilies on a colored tablecloth and cover with sheer fabric or tulle netting.

5.   Take the same idea as above but make a doily table runner.

6.   Use a doily as an invitation.

7.   Dress up a paper napkin by folding it inside a doily. My thought here is to fold a square napkin in half lengthwise and fold a round doily in half. Then place the now rectangular napkin in the now half-round doily and give it all a good crease.

8.   Use 4″ round doilies as place cards at each table setting.

9.   Decorate small favor boxes with small doilies.

10. Make a luminary table decoration with white paper bags, candles, sand, paper doilies, glue and scissors. While your bag is still folded up, scallop the top edges with a scissor. Glue doilies on the inside of your bags making sure to glue all edges to the bag. When dry, add 1-2 inches of sand and votive candles or battery operated votive candles. Remember the safety of your guests: never leave a burning candle unattended.

11. Make a Paper Lace Garland – a charming idea from Project Wedding!

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Potato Chip Cookies

Potato Chip Cookies
Buttery, rich with a light crunch…Bet you can’t eat just one!
Makes 2-3 Dozen.

3/4 cup butter (not margarine)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup crushed potato chips (We recommend the kind with ridges.)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup roasted, salted cashew nuts, chopped

1. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolk and vanilla. Mix well.

2. Add flour. Mix well. Add potato chips and cashews.

3. Roll into 1″ balls and flatten with a fork.

4. Bake at 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes, until light brown. Remove to a cooling rack and store in an airtight container for 1 week, if they last that long!

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