Black Hat Tea Recipes: Part I, Savory Course

Sorry for the delay. I've been swamped co-ordinating a Medieval Islamic banquet. I hope to get caught up soon. This is the first post for the Black Hat Tea, putting up the recipes for dishes served in the Savory Course. There will be following posts for the Scone and Sweet Courses.

Recipes

Cold Apple Soup with Apple Schnapps Cream

10 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 quart apple juice
1 cup moscato
1 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 whole cloves
1 cup whipping cream
4 tbsp. sour apple schnapps

Place all ingredients except cream ans schnappes in a soup pot over medium heat. Simmer until apples are very soft. Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon stick and cloves. Using a immersion blender, process soup until smooth. Let cool, then refrigerate over night.

Place cream in the bowl of a stand mixer with the schnapps. Beat at medium speed, until cream is a little fluffy, but stop before peaks form.

To serve, place soup in bowl. Add a dollop of cream to the center of the bowl.

Pumpkin Bread with Walnut Butter and Pear

For the Pumpkin Bread:

2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves

In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together brown sugar and shortening. Add eggs, beat until well combined. Add pumpkin and milk. Mix well. Slowly add flour mixture, mixing until all is combined, and batter is smooth.

Turn batter into a well greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes.

For the Walnut Butter:

1 lb. shelled walnuts
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil (approximately)

Place walnuts in the bowl of a food processor with the salt. Process, slowly dribbling in oil, until they become the texture of peanut butter.

To assemble sandwiches:

Refrigerate bread over night. Using a serrated knife, trim loaf until it is rectangular. Slice thinly. Spread slices with a thin layer of walnut butter, then add a thin slice of ripe pear.

Open Faced Canadian Bacon and Swiss Sandwiches

4 English muffins, split
8 slices Canadian bacon
8 slices Swiss cheese
1/4 cup chipotle jelly
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard

On each half of an English muffin, spread a thin layer of the jelly. Add a piece of Canadian bacon, and place a slice of swiss cheese on top. Spread a thin layer of brown mustard on the cheese. Place under a hot broiler until cheese is melted, bubbly, and just starting to brown, about 3 to 5 minutes.

For the tea, we quartered the sandwiches, since we wanted just small bites.

Stuffing Rounds with Roast Turkey and Cranberry Mustard

For the Stuffing Rounds:

2 cups small peices of dried bread
1 small white onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cups milk
4 eggs
2 packages Knorr homestyle chicken stock
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
15 large fresh sage leaves, chiffonaded
Sweat onions and celery in olive oil until tender. Set aside.

Beat together eggs, milk, stock base, salt, oregano, and basil.

Grease a muffin tin. Place a small layer of bread peices in the bottom. Scatter a little onion, celery, and sage in each cup. Ladle in just enough custard mix to cover. Bake in a 350 degree oven until custard sets, about 15 minutes. Remove disks, let cool on racks. Makes about 36 rounds. 

For the sandwiches:

Place a thin slice of turkey breast on a round. Spread a thin layer of cranberry mustard on the turkey slice.


Happy Eating!