The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Book Club/Tea Party: Spinach Puffs

I am sooo, sooo, sooo behind in these. In October 2020 some friends and I started meeting every Wednesday for a Tea Party/Bible Study/Book Club. We began with 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 also desperately need to catch up on). I’ve been sharing all our tea recipes for you too, to try at home.

For the fifth and final week we did the feast with Aslan:

“Meanwhile, let the feast be prepared. Ladies, take these Daughters of Eve to the pavilion and minister to them.”

For this week we had Nobilitea’s Regal Plum (as the Pevensie’s are royalty), French Bread, Sausage Green Bean Potato Casserole, Spinach Puffs, and Strawberry Shortcake.

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 10-17.pdfDownload

Let’s spill the tea.

This recipe comes from Gourmandize.

Ingredients:

• 1 package Puff Pastry Sheets
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Thaw pastry sheets at room temperature for 40 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Mix 1 egg and water and set aside
3. Mix remaining eggs, cheese, spinach, onion and parsley
4. Unfold pastry on lightly floured surface.
5. Roll each pastry sheet into 12-inch square and cut each into 16 (3-inch) squares
6. Place 1 tablespoon spinach mixture in center of each square
7. Brush edges with egg mixture. Fold squares over filling to form triangles
8. Crimp edges to seal.
9. Place on baking sheet. Brush with egg mixture
10. Bake 20 minutes or until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.

They were righteous and rocked. Haha, you can’t have a post on spinach puffs without mentioning Kronk!

For more from our The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe teas, go to Sausage, Green Bean, Potato Casserole

For more recipes, go to Marmalade Rolls

For more tea posts, go to Spill the Tea: Bubble Tea Station

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

The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club: Cucumber-Four Peppercorn Goat Cheese Canapés

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). The first week we had Cederberg Tea Company Rooibos + Ginger Tea, Cranberry-Spice Scones with Maple Cream, Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Cucumber-Four Peppercorn Goat Cheese Canapés, Fotina & Pork Puffed Pastry, and Mini Apple Pies.

I couldn’t share the recipes in October as I was in the middle of Horrorfst IX, so I will be starting now-and as I started with scones, I’m moving on to sandwiches.

Party time!

So this recipe comes from Tea Time Magazine Annual British Issue, and was originally called Cucumber-Blue Cheese Canapés, but I don’t like blue cheese. I think it is extremely gross.

So when I was browsing for a goat cheese substitute I spotted Laura Chenel’s Chèvre Four Peppercorn Fresh Goat Cheese Chabis and boy let me tell you, that cheese is absolutely delicious. So if you want the original recipe, you’ll have to buy the July/August 2020 issue as the recipe isn’t online.

Ingredients:

• 4 Slices of firm White Sandwich Bread
• 3 Tablespoons of Mayonnaise
• 1 Teaspoon of Laura Chenel’s Chèvre Four Peppercorn Fresh Goat Cheese ( I used way more as I love cheese)
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Chopped Parsley
• 1/2 English Cucumber
• Garnish: Parsley Leaves

Directions:

1. Using a serrated bread knife in a gentle sawing motion, trim and discard crusts from bread slices. Cut bread into 8 2.5×1.5 inch rectangles.
2. In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, cheese, and parsley until combined.
3. Spread a layer of the mixture onto the bread rectangles. Add more cheese to your desired taste.
4. Using a sharp knife, cut a cucumber in half lengthwise. Using a mandoline, cut 32 very thin lengthwise slices from cucumber halves. I actually did half and half as I love the cucumber cut into circles.
5. Arrange 4 cucumber slices width-wise in a shingled, parallel fashion on the mayonnaise side of the each bread rectangle, trimming cucumber slices to fit the bread rectangle.
6. Garnish each canapé with a parsley leaf, if desired.
7. Serve immediately, or cover with damp paper towels, place in a covered container, and refrigerate for up to an hour before serving.

These were soooo good. I loved the mix of the four peppercorn cheese with the cucumbers. In fact I used the leftovers to make sandwiches the next few days and it was fantastic. This is a wonderful addition to any tea party.

It was delicious, just as I planned.

For more from The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club, go to Cranberry-Spice Scones with Maple Cream

For more recipes, go to Brown Sugar and Cream Cheese Scones

For more cucumber sandwiches, go to Cucumber Sandwiches

For more sandwich recipes, go to Basic Chicken Salad

For more tea posts, go to Mug o’ Tea Treats Christmas Gift