Afternoon tea at Bergdorf Goodman is one of my favorite places in the city. The elegant dining room overlooks Central Park. The presentation and service is impeccable.
Cassatt Tea Room at Rittenhouse Hotel
I always loved this area in Philadelphia. The Cassatt tea room is beautiful, and the servers here are very friendly. They managed to be formal, but not stuffy (something New York servers can't quite achieve). Their standard tea service (about $25) included lovely sandwiches of pate, egg salad, smoked salmon, melon and chicken salad that were very fresh. Their current scone was accompanied by lemon curd, clotted cream and strawberry preserves.
Desserts included a blueberry tartlet, profiterole, layered cake and this rather obscene-looking strawberry mousse confection:
Cafe Escapes Tasting
Keurig's collection of Cafe Escapes has a bunch of indulgent new flavors. I was lucky enough to be invited to an event where they paired each one with a delicious amuse-bouche.
There was a fig/prosciutto/flatbread combo paired with Cafe Caramel..
Quiche with grilled sausage to accompany Cafe Vanilla...
Cinnamon Creme Brulee with their Chai Latte...
The list went on and on...
Jennifer Sbranti, (aka The Hostess with the Mostess) was on hand to demonstrate the fantastic decor of the event. As gorgeous as they were, the projects were surprisingly easy and affordable. Check out her DIY instructions at her blog!
Cherry Confetti Icebox Cookies
I can't help it, I am a sucker for holiday programming. I have a need for brightly colored cookies every day through the month of December.
I made these over the weekend with an adapted version of Joy of Baking's Icebox Cookies. I loved the thought of little bits of glowing red fruit in a buttery cookie. I just switched out vanilla for almond extract (I love the combination of cherries and almonds) and added 1 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch to the mix to improve the texture.
When making any type of butter cookie, the quality of the butter is important. I like to use Plugra European-style butter for this.
Cherry Confetti Icebox Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) white granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
2 1/2 cups (345 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (175 ml) candied red cherries, finely chopped
In
the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and
sugar until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes). Add the egg and almond extract
until incorporated. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cornstarch and salt
and then add to the butter and egg mixture. Mix just until the ingredients
come together and barely form a dough. (Do not overmix!) Stir in the cherries by hand until evenly
distributed throughout the dough.
Divide
the dough into thirds. Place each third of dough on a large piece of parchment.
Smooth and shape the dough into a consistently shapes round or rectangle that
is about 7 inches long. Wrap the shaped logs in the parchment twists the ends
of the paper to seal the logs, and place in the refrigerator to chill for at
least three hours.
Preheat
oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) with the rack in the center of the oven.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using
a thin bladed knife, slice the logs into 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick slices. Place
the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
Bake for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove
from oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
Store
at room temperature for about five days or baked cookies can be frozen for a
couple of weeks.
Makes
about five dozen cookies.
(The dough logs can also be frozen for about one
month. If freezing, it is best to let the logs stand at room temperature about
15-20 minutes before slicing.)
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Bosie Tea Parlor
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Don't be fooled. Bosie Tea Parlor has one of the better full tea services in the city. Their standard tea service is $51 for two and includes your choice of tea sandwiches, your choice of exotic or seasonal macarons, a selection of tea cakes, scones with clotted cream and jam. The sandwiches range from the expected cucumber or egg salad, to cheddar and chutney, or chicken with curry mayonnaise and raisins. If you want an upgrade, there is a special champagne tea and the mother of all tea services, the Chef's tea.
The Chef's tea includes 24 canapes for two guests. This includes things like quail eggs with black truffle, duck breast and pastries from the big display case in addition to all the other goodies. Don't worry, there are many a la carte menu options if you're not good with commitment.
I like the cozy, tucked away location of this tea parlor. I feel I could sneak in here during the day and gorge myself on sandwiches and cakes without anyone seeing me to judge me.
10 Morton Street, New York NY 10014
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