Foodie Friday - Afternoon Tea at the Library

After much planning, and an aborted attempt last spring, our local library hosted its first afternoon tea this past Sunday, and I must say that it was exceptionally well received. Some red hat ladies told us that it was the best tea they've ever attended, even better than those given at a large local hotel! We're exhausted so we'll take the praise. I think we've earned it...

We've spent months collecting mismatched china, and teapots to set our tables. Small fresh flower arrangements graced each table, (I even got to use the pink birds that I wrote about last March!), and each guest received a beautifully decorated teapot cookie and one of the chocolate purse favors that I showed you in a post in October. A keepsake menu was also placed at each seat.
I didn't have my camera with me, because I knew that I wouldn't have time to snap pictures. Luckily, a friend who came to help serve brought hers and shared the following shots.
Here's the main room almost ready for guests... and one of our place settings. The place card you see is actually a bit of 'tea trivia.' Different facts and legends about tea were printed on cards and scattered about the tables. All of the tables were covered in lace, and there were embroidered linen and cutwork napkins.
We set up a dessert table and decorated it with an antique tea set filled with flowers. In this shot, desserts are still being brought out from the kitchen. Every square inch of this table was covered with goodies...
And then our guests arrived and began their mini feast by nibbling on scones with lemon curd, Devonshire cream, and raspberry jam. Next came the tea sandwiches...chicken salad en petits choux, Branson pickle, sharp cheddar and leaf lettuce on whole wheat fingers, cucumber bites with seasoned cream cheese and fresh dill, ham and pickle salad on rye flower rounds, and cream cheese and green olive on country white. Scones and sandwiches were plated and brought to table, as were steaming pots of Earl Grey. The dessert table was self serve, and available all afternoon.

Chances were sold on baskets, and drawings were held for door prizes. My friend's little one drew the chances...
and then she drew her own name for the coveted basket that held a tea set. She immediately ran to her mother repeating, "I didn't look Mommy, I really didn't." It was pretty funny.

And here's the happy winner and her mom. They really enjoyed a nice mother-daughter outing.

So the tea is over, and everyone is asking if we'll have one next year. Probably...but we need a larger committee, more help, more bakers, etc. Lots of women told us that they're going to bring all of their friends...What have we gotten ourselves into???

BTW: Since Monday night I've been drinking lots of tea and only tea. Pretty sure that this is the flu. The fact that I could stay awake long enough to publish this post just amazed me.

If you're able to stay awake, and wish to be tantalized by amazing food, please visit Designs by Gollum. Our hostess, Michael Lee, will have Mr. Linky ready to escort you around the blogosphere.

Books + Food = Books Appetit!

There are usually several very important things hanging on the bulletin board in my office, but yesterday, nothing was more important than this:

In what could only be considered a stroke of genius, the annual "Books Appetit" benefit at our local library was scheduled for Fat Tuesday this year! Be still my heart! Sumptuous food,(don't let the 'light refreshment' tag on the ticket fool you), was going to be consumed in my favorite place, on a day whose sole purpose on God's green earth is to over indulge? Surely, this was my admission ticket to heaven!

When we arrived at the library, we were given Mardi Gras beads.

Then, the ticket ladies took our tickets.

Other ladies sold us more tickets...

so we had a chance to win one or more of these gift baskets.

The circulation desk was converted into a very decent bar, and wine, beer, soda and water were liberally dispensed. Hey, that's my sweetie in the dark gray blazer getting me a drink! He's going to be surprised that he's on my blog. Thanks dear.

I just noticed that the computers are missing! Smart move to tuck them out of the way with the libations flowing so freely, and isn't that a lovely ice bucket?

Now experience is the best teacher, and we've been to this event before, so our next stop was the food area. Good food disappears fast here!

The pizza table was cleared and reset several times. I noticed that most of the men headed there first.

My personal philosophy is, why bother with pizza, (even though it came from excellent pizzerias), when you could head for the table with the gourmet delights???
I tried to get pictures of the glorious food array on this table, but a swarm of locusts, err...I mean patrons, were in my way. If you can't beat them you have to join them, so I grabbed a plate and got in line. I'll just list what I sampled:

-Heavenly crab cakes with a piquant tartar sauce

-Delicate, perfectly seasoned, stuffed mushrooms

-Ravioli with a sweetened ricotta filling that was gently kissed with nutmeg and cinnamon, then bathed in a light bechamel sauce studded with raisins

-Chicken tenders and spinach in a divine Parmesan cream sauce

-Potato/cheese pirogi, gently sauteed with onions in butter

-Feather light miniature rolls, generously filled with your choice of shaved ham or roast beef

There were other items on the menu, but I was pacing myself for dessert. There were tables that looked like this...

and then there was my favorite table. A local chocolatier was offering the most ethereal creations.

The handmade chocolate cups were filled with a lighter than air mousse, and topped with whipped cream. Surely, this was food for the Gods. But wait...what were marbles doing on a table full of sweets? I had to ask. "They're truffles," came the reply.

Truffles??? "Those can't be edible," I exclaimed. "Surely they're works of art!" I immediately told them that I needed three in different colors, because I just had to photograph them! Alas, because of my weak will, only 2 1/2 made it into the photo. I must, however, state for the record that I have no regrets. They were exquisite.The evening's entertainment was about to begin, and everyone began to gather near the stage.

The choir from our middle school gave a stellar performance. Impressive? You bet! And this is coming from an ex-stage mother!
The evening started to wind down and there were many happy people.

There were happy patrons, because they had been wined, dined and entertained.

There were happy circulation clerks, because they weren't working and didn't have to search for one of the gazillion books that I've placed on hold.

There was a happy library director, who was in perpetual motion. (I took 5 photos of her and this is the least blurry!) Tomorrow she's probably going to be written up in the Journal of American Medicine for having survived the highest sugar rush ever recorded.
And there was one happy me, because these are the remains of my day, which I tried to hide in the children' s section.

Shortly after I took this last shot, I melted into a puddle of chocolate ecstasy in the reference stacks. My husband scooped me up and poured the molten me into the car. My food adventure had come to an end.

Today is Ash Wednesday, and we will fast. Bread and soup is all that's on the menu, but I do believe that it will be easy to cope with fasting after experiencing my first truly decadent Fat Tuesday.