Books, Tea, and the Trinity: Twice Baked Potatoes

Back in 2020, some friends and I started a Tea Party/Bible Study/Book Club. We met every Wednesday and worked our way through the Chronicles of Narnia and are currently working through the Lorien Legacies. When we started I resolved to share all the recipes, we have made-but I haven’t gone through them as quickly as I hoped. 

When we completed The Magician’s Nephew,The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; and A Horse and His Boy; we moved on to book four, Prince Caspian. This book is one of my favorites in the series as I love Prince Caspian (although the Disney film version is horrible). Like A Horse and His Boy, this book did not mention a lot of specific foods, so we planned whatever we wanted to make.

As I wasn’t in charge of this book, there will be no discussion questions, just recipes. 

The first week we had Apple Cinnamon Scones: Salmon Radish Cucumber Canapés, Cinnamon Bread-Honey-Cheese-Apple and Ham Sandwiches, Kellogg’s Cheese Potato Crisps, and Applesauce Cake; all paired with Caroline’s Coffee Roaster Princess Earl Grey (as we needed to have some royal-tea).

The next week we had lavender flowering tea, Irish Soda Bread, Tuna Salad, Twice Baked Potatoes, carrot soup, and Quaker Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips.

I originally wanted to make the Teatime Magazine twice baked mice potatoes in honor of Reepicheep entering the story; but when I went to the market they were all out of the small potatoes and I had to buy larger ones. I will attempt this recipe again, with small potatoes, and try to make them as nice

Ingredients:

• 1 (24-ounce) bag small red potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1¾ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• ½ cup finely grated sharp Cheddar cheese
• 6 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 24 (2½x⅛-inch) slices green onion, green parts only
• 24 sliced almonds, lightly toasted
• 2 black olives, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, toss potatoes with oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Place potatoes on prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake until tender when pierced with a fork, approximately 18 minutes. Let cool on pan on a wire cooling rack.
4. Reduce oven temperature to 375°.
5. Using a sharp knife, cut 12 potatoes in half lengthwise. Peel and discard skins from remaining potatoes. Transfer peeled potatoes to a medium bowl.
6. Using a ¼ teaspoon, scoop a small well from potato halves, adding pulp from wells to bowl with whole, peeled potatoes. Using a fork, slightly mash whole, peeled potatoes. Add cheese, sour cream, and remaining ¾ teaspoon salt. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add milk, beating until incorporated (mixture will be thick). Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with an open-star tip (Wilton #4B).
7. Pipe potato mixture back and forth into potato shells. Return filled potato shells to baking sheet.
8. Bake until warmed through, 15 to 20 minutes. Let potatoes cool to room temperature.
9. In a medium bowl full of cold water, place 2½-inch-long green onion slices to curl for tails. Blot dry on paper towels just before using.
10. To create whiskers, using a sharp knife, gently cut a slit at each end of ¾-inch-long green onion slices.
11. On each potato, gently press into place 2 almond slices for ears. Using tweezers, place 2 olive bits for eyes, green onion whiskers, and a green onion tail. Serve within an hour.

Notes: Potatoes can be prepared and filled up to 3 days ahead, let cool completely, place in an airtight container, and refrigerate. Up to 2 hours before serving, warm filled potatoes in a 375° oven. Let cool before decorating as mice.

So I did try to turn my large potatoes into large mice, but it just didn’t work out. Instead I had to admit defeat and just make regular twice baked potatoes.

These were delicious and like I said above, I plan on making them again. And even though they were not boiled, I do think Mr. Collins would have enjoyed them too.

For more from our Books, Tea, and the Trinity tea times, go to Applesauce Cake

For more potato recipes, go to Cheese Potato Crisps

For more Teatime Magazine recipes, go to Brisket and Slaw Roulades

For more recipes, go to Rice Krispies Chocolate Chip Cookies

For more tea posts, go to Spill the Tea: There & Back Again Cafe

Heirloom Tomato Tart

Do you like pie? I love pie!

LOL j/k

So when I saw this recipe on Tea Time Magazine‘s instagram I pinned it with plans to make later.

Back in October, @SpilltheTeaWithLucy did a 31 Day Tea Challenge and Day 17/31 of 31 Days of Hallotean was an Autumn Tea Bake. Since I had just baked some sweets prior to this with The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club/Bible Study, I decided to make something savory instead. This is my take on Tea Time Magazine’s Heirloom Tomato Tart (I had to substitute a few ingredients) and since tomatoes are red I decided to pair it with Cederberg Tea Co.‘s Classic Red Tea. I also had to use a pink and red mug to match. This cat mug was a gift from a friend Christmas 2019 and part of a 4 set of cat mugs.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 Heirloom Tomatoes
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1/2 Package of Refrigerated Pie Dough (I used Phyllo dough I had bought to make the Fotina Flower Puffed Pastry as the store was out of puffed pastry, but my sister had bought me some so this was all leftover)
• 1.5 Cups of Coarsely Grated, Sharp Yellow Cheddar Cheese (I used leftover Fotina Cheese from Fotina Flower Puffed Pastry)
• 1/2 Cup of Mayonnaise (I substituted with Hummus)
• 2 Tablespoons of Chopped Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley
• 1 Tablespoon of Green Onion
• 1/4 Teaespoon of Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon of Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 Teaspoon of Olive Oil
• Garnish with pepper and additional fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Slice tomatoes, cutting larger tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices and smaller ones into 1/8 inch slices.
3. Arrange tomato slices in a single layer on paper towels, sprinkle with salt. Let stand for 30 mins.
4. Unroll pie dough, and press into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom, trimming and discarding extra dough.
5. In a medium bowl, combine cheese, mayonnaise, parsley, green onion, and pepper-stirring to blend.
6. Spread half the cheese mixture into the bottom of the pan, in a thin even layer.
7. Blot tomatoes dry with paper towels.
8. Place a large tomato slice in the center of pan on top of the cheese mixture.
9. Cut several tomato slices in half and arrange around the center slice. Fill every space.
10. Spread remaining cheese mixture in an even layer on top of the tomatoes.
11. Apply thinner tomatoes on top of cheese mixture in a pleasing pattern.
12. Sprinkle with vinegar and drizzle with olive oil.
13. Bake until crust is deep golden brown and cheese mixture is hot and beginning to bubble.
14. Remove from oven and let cool, before removing from pan.
15. Garnish with pepper and parsley if desired.
16. Serve at room temp within 3 hours of baking.

 

This was delicious, it was like eating a fancy tea pizza, and you all know how much I love pizza.

It was incredibly delicious and I would most definitely make it again.

For more recipes, go to Lemon Gingerbread Cake

For more Tea Time Magazine recipes, go to Fotina Flower Puffed Pastry

For more pie recipes, go to Mini Apple Pies

For more on pizza, go to My Week With Jane

For more tea posts, go to Turkey-Apple Tea Sandwiches

Pizza Worthy of a Queen

8) What You Ate Today

Sorry I’m posting so late, I’ll explain more tomorrow.

So I actually didn’t eat that much today. For breakfast/lunch I had honey graham crackers, which are my favorite.

Then later I snacked on popcorn, not that much though.

What I really ate though was pizza margherita.

It all started on Thursday, when I read the book A Pizza for the Queen, by Nancy F. Castaldo. It is based on a true story when a pizza maker was asked to make a “peasant” pizza for Queen Margherita. In the end he invents a new pizza, naming it after the queen, the famous pizza margherita. After I read that book it was all I could think about. And it is extremely easy to cook.

1. You need to make pizza dough, in which you should coat with olive oil.
2. Then put pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, crushed tomatoes, etc.: whatever on your pizza round.
3. Cut the mozzarella cheese into thin rounds, and place it on top of the sauce.
4. Slice the tomatoes and place on top of the cheese.
5. Cook the pizza according to the dough directions.
6. When pizza is ready, place washed basil leaves on top.
7. Serve and enjoy.

I love Pizza

While the pizza was cooking, and I was waiting; I decided to make a basil, tomato, mozzarella cheese salad.

1. Slice the mozzarella cheese and tomatoes.
2. Take a platter and place the ingredients in the pattern of cheese, tomato, and basil leaves.
3. Enjoy!

So that’s it! It was extremely delicious and you should try to make it yourself.

To start the 30 Day Challenge from the beginning, go to Musical Madness

For the previous post, go to Present Versus Past

For more on pizza, go to Pizza Power