Ladies' Fashion Couture Tea: June, 2012

A sampling of goodies from our Ladies' Fashion Couture Tea

American-style iced tea is the perfect drink for a hot, sunny day.  It's never really caught on in the UK, probably because the last time we had a hot, sunny day was back in 1957.  ~Tom Holt


Salutations, dear Reader!  I hope my little post finds you well and enjoying this first, roasty day of summer.  After all, what is 93 degrees between friends? 

What's that you say? Nearly-triple digit temps may not be your cup of tea? (So to speak.)  Well, then I have good news!  June is National Iced Tea Month!  So, in honor of this cold counterpart to our favorite, steeped beverage, my coworker and dear friend, the lovely Ms. H & I threw a fashion-inspired iced tea soiree last weekend.

H and I dressed to go with our theme.

We decided our Ladies' Fashion Couture theme should be black and white so that each of our guests--decked out in their favorite colorful fashions--would "pop" against a neutral background, like so many delightful jewels.  So, it seemed quite fortuitous as I rummaged through the house for black and white fashion accessories & party-ware to come across a plethora of appropriate items.  In fact, I found so many ideal black and white pieces for a tea party that it turned out we only needed to buy the black and white monogrammed napkins (found 'em on clearance at Old Time Pottery) and a few ingredients for whipping up culinary deliciousness.

Shopping Cart Napkin Holder & Candlewick Luncheon Trays

The Buffet with Fashion Accessory Vignettes

Black & White Hat Vignette

High-heeled Gouda, Sprout & Tomato Tea Sandwiches

     























































Ah, let's talk about the menu!  H & I poured over our go-to issues of Teatime and Victoria magazine for weeks, deciding which of the gorgeous recipes we were going to try next (see the post on our March Spring Tea & Garden Party for more recipe ideas).  Firstly, I refuse to throw a tea party without tea sandwiches.  Not only are they delicious, but they provide the perfect culinary vehicle for taking your theme and making it edible.  This time, I used a high-heeled cookie cutter to cut out slices of whole-grain white bread.  I suspect this technique would also work for pita chips, certain types of scones and maybe even themed cut-out desserts.

The Menu for our Ladies' Fashion Couture Tea:

• 2 types of scones: Chive and Chevre (goat cheese) & fresh Blueberry

 

• Mini Carmelized Onion Pizzas

 

• Mini Poppyseed Chicken Salad Phyllo Cups

 

• Mini Phyllo Chocolate Coconut Bites

 

• White Chocolate-Marscapone Stuffed Strawberries

 

•  Fresh-brewed Black & Green Iced Teas with a choice of three homemade syrups: mint, lemon or pomegranate.

 We also invited our guests to bring a bite-sized dish to pass, if they liked.  They arrived with all kinds of gorgeous, delectable goodies from printed chocolates and mini fruit tarts to a cheese sampler and a refreshing pea and cucumber salad.

Another novelty is the tea-party, an extraordinary meal in that, being offered to persons that have already dined well, it supposes neither appetite nor thirst, and has no object but distraction, no basis but delicate enjoyment.  ~Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, The Physiology of Taste

And enjoy, we did!  Here are a few shots of my lovely guests living it up!  

All in all, our fashion iced tea soiree was a smashing success!  Cannot wait until our next swanky tea party!  Looks like it might be a Mystery Tea in late October...will keep you posted...


A Proper Tea is much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards.  ~A.A. Milne

Tea quotes courtesy of The Quote Garden.