The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Tea Party/Book Club: Turkish Delight

So last October, every Wednesday, I have been a part of a Tea Party/Bible Study/Book Club. We started on The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis, and when we finished moved on to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This is different from my book club and the Book Club Picks I have been reviewing (and desperately need to catch up on). 

The second week we were inspired by the time Edmund spends with the White Witch. 

“Perhaps something hot to drink?” said the Queen. “Should you like that?”

Yes please, your Majesty,” said Edmund, whose teeth were chattering.

The Queen took from somewhere among her wrappings a very small bottle which looked as if it were made of copper. Then, holding out her arm, she let one drop fall from it on to the snow beside the sledge. Edmund saw the drop for a second in mid-air, shining like a diamond. But the moment it touched the snow there was a hissing sound and there stood a jewelled cup full of something that steamed. The Dwarf immediately took this and handed it to Edmund with a bow and a smile; not a very nice smile. Edmund felt much better as he began to sip the hot drink. It was something he had never tasted before, very sweet and foamy and creamy, and it warmed him right down to his toes.

‘It is dull, Son of Adam, to drink without eating,” said the Queen presently. “What would you like best to eat?”

‘Turkish Delight, please, your Majesty,” said Edmund.

The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle on to the snow, and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of the best Turkish Delight. Each piece was sweet and light to the very centre and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious. He was quite warm now, and very comfortable.

Of course as that only mentions one thing to eat, we ended up adding other recipes that sounded good. We decided to go with: Rose Petal and Green Tea, Rose Petal Earl Grey Tea, Blueberry Rose Petal Scones, Radish Ruffle Canapés, Zuppa Toscana Soup, Meatloaf, and Turkish Delight.

One thing I will be doing differently here than in my earlier posts, is that I will be sharing discussion questions that your group can discuss as you read and eat. I didn’t post discussion questions in the previous posts on The Magician’s Nephew, as I wasn’t in charge of that book. For discussion questions, click on this link.The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Discussion Questions Chapter 4-6.pdfDownload

This recipe comes from Oh The Things We’ll Make.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/8 tsp. citric acid or lemon juice or cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup water
• 5/8 cup cornstarch
• Rose flavor to taste- rose water, syrup, or oil
• Red coloring (optional)
• extra cornstarch for dusting

Directions:

1. Line pans with greased wax or parchment paper. (The final candy will be sticky, and that will help with the unmolding process.)
2. Begin by mixing together the first 3 ingredients (sugar, 3/4 c. water, and citric acid) in a heavy bottom pan, and bring to a slight boil before lowering the heat.
3. Heat, without needing to stir, over low to medium heat until you reach 260ºF. You can occasionally use a spatula to wipe down any sugar crystals from the side of the pan throughout this process.
4. Meanwhile, mix together the solution of cornstarch and water.
5. When the sugar syrup has reached the right temperature, temporarily take it off the heat source and ladle in a bit of the sugar syrup into the cornstarch mixture to warm it.
6. Slowly drizzle the cornstarch mixture into the sugar syrup while continuously stirring them together.Once all of the cornstarch solution has been completely incorporated, begin to stir the mixture over low heat.
7. You will notice that the mixture should get quite thick almost immediately.
8. Despite the fact that the mixture is quite thick, you will want to reduce and thicken it even more before adding in your flavorings. Keep the mixture over a low heat so that the sugar won’t caramelize on the bottom, affecting the flavor of the final product.
9. As you heat and stir, you should notice that the gel becomes quite transparent. It will also reduce slightly in volume.To determine the point when you should add your flavoring, test the consistency of your candy by dipping a spoon into the gel, and then dipping the gel covered spoon into a glass of ice water.
10. As the candy cools, you can judge the consistency and stop when you are happy with it. The longer you cook the candy at this stage, the chewier it will become and the more it will hold its shape at room temperature.
11. Add in your flavorings and colorings. Use a combination of 2 Tbsp. rose water, and 2 Tbsp. rose syrup.
12. Once you’ve incorporated all of your flavorings, check the texture once more to make sure that the addition of any new liquids hasn’t affected the consistency of your candy too much.
13. If necessary, slightly mix and warm your mixture a little longer at very low heat to help evaporate a little water, but be careful and take into account that doing this for too long can alter and diminish the flavorings you have added.
14. When you are happy with your result, pour the mixture into your prepared molds and spread it out as best you can with a spatula. It should be very thick and sticky.
15. Let cool for several hours. Cut into small squares, using cornstarch to keep the candies from sticking to one another.
16. If you do choose to use powdered sugar for dusting, keep in mind that the candy may sweat and the sugar coating may end up “melting” off of the candy so you may have to add in more cornstarch or reapply the coating before serving your candy.

So to be honest with you guys, I don’t get what Edmund was going on about. I mean I know they are magical/enchanted but Turkish Delight is not worth betraying your whole family for. I found it to be too sweet and not something I could ever find myself wanting. The rest of the group loved it, but I just was not a fan.

I guess I’m just not angry and envious enough? Maybe I’m too much like Lucy? All I know is Turkish Delight was not the thing for me.

For more from our The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe teas, go to Zuppa Toscana

For more recipes, go to Radish Ruffle Canapés

For more desserts, go to Snickerdoodles

For more tea posts, go to Jane Austen Birthday Party Music & Party Review

The Magician’s Nephew: Snickerdoodles

So every Wednesday, starting in October, I have been a part of a Tea Party/Bible Study/Book Club on The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis. This is different from my book club and the Book Club Picks I have been reviewing (and desperately need to catch up on). This week was the last for TMN and we had Chai Tea, Cranberry Chai Scones, Cucumber Canapés, Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus, Mini Shepherd’s Pie, and Snickerdoodles.

I though it would be able to post these faster, but I have really fallen behind. I’m trying though!

So I will not be sharing the Shepherd’s Pie recipe as my sister made it and made it up without writing down how to recreate it. Instead I will be jumping straight to snickerdoodles. This recipe comes from The King Arthur Flour Cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (184g) shortening
• 1 1/2 cups (298g) sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 3/4 cups Flour
• Cinnamon Sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
3. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the shortening and sugar until smooth
4. Then beat in the eggs, again beating until smooth. The mixture will become lighter, and lighter-colored, as you beat; this is the result of air being absorbed.
5. Beat in the vanilla, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
6. Then add the flour, mixing slowly until combined.
7. Place about 1/2 cup cinnamon-sugar in an 8″ or 9″ round cake pan.
8. Drop the soft dough by tablespoonfuls into the pan with the sugar, about 6 to 8 balls at a time. Gently shake the pan to coat the dough balls with sugar.
9. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2″ between them.
10. Using the bottom of a glass, flatten each cookie until it’s about 1/2″ thick. Repeat until you’ve used up all the dough.
11. Bake the snickerdoodles for 11 to 12 minutes, reversing the position of the pans (top to bottom, and back to front) midway through.
12. Remove the cookies from the oven once they’re set and just starting to turn golden. Transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

These were delicious and a perfect addition to our tea time.

For more from The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club, go to Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

For more recipes, go to Cranberry Chai Scones

For more pie recipes, go to Jane Austen Birthday Party Menu, Plus How to Dip Cookies in Chocolate, and a Sugar Cookie Recipe

For more tea posts, go to Melt-in-Your-Mouth Buttermilk Chocolate Cookies

Harlem Tea Room Cheddar-Thyme Scones

So this recipe is borrowed from my sister blog, MysteriousEats.wordpress.com. Anytime she has a recipe that goes with Jane Austen (being time period or great to eat with her books/films) I’n going to post it on here.

So this comes from the same magazine that the Harlem Tea Room Baking Powder Scones were in, an old O- the Oprah magazine.

The article gave three versions of the recipe: Baking Powder Scones, Cheddar-Thyme Scones, and Raisin Scones. As I already did the Baking Powder, I thought I would try out the Cheddar-Thyme ones.

Ingredients:

• 8 Tbsps (1 Stick) of Cold, Unsalted Butter, Cut into Small Pieces, Plus Extra for Baking Sheets
• 3.5 Cups of All-Purpose Flour, Plus Extra for Later
• 2 Tsp of Baking Soda
• 2 Tsp Cream of Tartar
• 1/2 Tsp of Salt
• 2 Cups of Grated Cheddar Cheese
• 1 Tbsp of Fresh Thyme, Chopped
• 1.5 Cups of Sour Cream or Buttermilk
• 1 Egg, Beaten, or Milk for Brushing Scones

Directions:

1. Preheat the Oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Coat two baking sheets with butter.
3. Sift flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt into a large bowl.
4. Add butter, using fingertips to combine until mixture takes on texture of fine cornmeal.
5. Stir in 1.5 cups of grated Cheddar cheese and 1 Tbsp of chopped fresh Thyme into mixture.
6. Add sour cream or buttermilk and stir until flour mixture is just moist and dough begins to stick together.
7. Gather dough into a ball and knead lightly until fully integrated.
8. Place dough on floured work surface and roll with a floured rolling pin to 3/4 inch thick.
9. Dip a 2-inch cutter into flour and cut out scones as close to one another as possible.
10. Place on prepared baking sheets with space in between.Let stand ten minutes, then brush the tops with egg or milk.
11. Sprinkle tops with an additional 1/2 cup of Cheddar cheese before baking.
12. Bake until golden brown, 10-12 mins.
13. Serve warm with butter, clotted cream, fruit preserves, or jam.
14. Makes about 1.5 dozens.

THOUGHTS AFTER BAKING:

Were very good. All they need was a bit of butter

NOW

However, the thyme took forever. Like an hour to chop, but I made them another time with dried thyme and it wasn’t as good as fresh. It may take a long time, but it is worth it.

Absolutely delicious and I will make again and again.

And eat all by myself

For more scone recipes, go to Harvest Pumpkin Scones

For more on Peter Pan, go to It’s Always Tea Time  

And for weekly recipe reviews, go to Mysterious Eats

The song for today is As Long As There’s Christmas from Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.

This song was written for the film by Rachel Portman and Don Black; and sung by the cast.

The thing I like about this song is the message it brings, no matter what as long as we celebrate Christmas we celebrate the hope the holiday brings.

For more on Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, go to 25 Films of Christmas

For more Christmas Carols, go to Xactly Why I Think Beastly is An Xcellent Story

Crasins Scones

What goes better with a Jane Austen novel than scones? Nothing! As I just love to read my books with a good cup of tea and a scone I just had to reblog this post from my sister blog.

Mysterious Eats

Thoughts Before Baking:

I was going to a tea party and decided to bring some scones. The recipe in The Cat Who… Cookbook, that I got from my brother blog TheCatWhoWroteaBlog.wordpress.com sounded good but I didn’t have all the ingredients needed.

So I had to substitute. Let’s see how these turn out.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups of All-Purpose Flour
• 1.5 Teaspoons Cream of Tartar
• 3/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/8 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1 Stick of Butter or Margarine, softened
• 1 Egg, Beaten
• 1/2 Cup of Crasins
• 1/4 Cup of Milk
• 3/4 Cup of Plain Yogurt
• 1 Tablespoon Cream or Milk
• 1 Tablespoon of Sugar
• Clotted Cream
• Cream Cheese
• Jam

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.
2. Sift or mix the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together.
3. Cut in the butter or margarine until the mixture is about the size of small peas.
4. Add the egg, the crasins, milk, and…

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