Afternoon Tea with Eyrleigh and Me-7/29/09

Just a few days ago, Richard was reading the weekly updates we receive from Babycenter.com, a online site with helpful hints for parents. One of the suggestions of things to do with a young toddler was to have a tea party. Naturally, Eyrleigh is a bit young for tea but she sure enjoyed the scones I made to go with the tea. This month's Gourmet had a wonderfully simple recipe for currant scones on page 13. These scones were light and moist, almost like a cookie. I'm not a fan of the dry, hard scones and these were a perfect blend of sweetness and texture.

Dinner was a refreshing change. Gourmet is not a hot dog kind of magazine but tonight's recipe was as close as it gets. Tonight's recipe was basically a dressed-up hot dog and called for any type of of fully cooked sausage. I choose a Chicken and Apple Sausage by Bruce Aidells to make the Sausage, Arugula, and Piquillo Pepper Sandwiches on page 63. This sausage was a good match for this recipe as its mild flavor didn't interfere with the strong olive flavor. I found the olive flavor a bit overwhelming but I liked the idea of a cheap and easy meal with gourmet sausages.
I had a tough time finding Swiss chard but I finally found it at Publix. I made the Wilted Swiss Chard with Garlic, Lemon, and Parmesan. This dish had some very strong flavors and I don't think I'd make it again. It wasn't that I didn't like the dish, its flavor was just so strong that I can't picture it with many other dishes.
For dessert, I made the Maple-Blueberry Parfait on page 33. I've been really good at reducing recipes but for some reason, with this recipe, I forgot. This picture at left in actually 3 servings, whoops! This was a simple dessert with layers of blueberries, whipped cream, and crumbled ginger cookies sweetened only by maple syrup. Eyrleigh loved it and helped us finish off the giant parfaits.
Currant Scones-A
Sausage, Arugula, and Piquillo Pepper Sandwiches-B
Wilted Swiss Chard with Garlic, Lemon, and Parmesan-C
Maple-Blueberry Parfaits-A-

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