A Teatime Picnic – An Iced Tea Tasting

The season is beginning to change but it is still time to have a picnic…a teatime picnic that is. I had the opportunity to host a picnic tea and incorporated the elements of an afternoon tea as a picnic. It was great fun and here is how it came together.

The whole idea of a picnic was originally a 17th Century French word, picque-nique. Its meaning was similar to today’s meaning: a social gathering where each attendee brings a share of the food. The French piquer may have referred to a leisurely style of eating (“pick at your food”) or it may, simply, have meant, “pick” (pic).

The Victorians were not only great at afternoon tea, they were skilled at picnics. Here is how to put a Victorian Picnic together. How To Have Victorian Picnic.

Menu

This menu was created to replicate small picnic food items but in the setting of an afternoon tea and in a small form. And rather than serving hot tea, several iced teas were served to my guests delight.

The iced teas were made the night before and bottled. An iced tea was selected for each course of the tea, pairing with the food.

Here is the menu and the recipes. Included are notes specific to how the recipe was presented and tips on making it for your own setting.

Savories

Chicken leg with spicy barbecue sauce – This was simply a chicken wing leg dipped in a spicy barbecue sauce. Frozen wings were used, non-breaded but seasoned. The sauce was Scherger’s Kettle Spicy Raspberry Jalapeno jam. The end of the leg was dipped in the sauce then served on the plate. I had young guests and was sensitive to their palate but they enjoyed the light spice of the jalapeno.

Mini stuffed potato salad – Every American picnic has potato salad. This was a small helping of a traditional potato salad. But the trick was how to serve it. I opted to make a wonton cup in a mini-muffin tin and then serve the potato salad in the cup. Both were edible.

Spray your mini-muffin tin with cooking spray. Take a small wonton wrapper and tuck it into the mini-muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until crispy and brown. Remove from oven and salt. Let completely cool on rack. Store in air tight container. This can be prepared the day before. Uncooked wonton wrappers can be frozen for later use. And I must say – these turned out great!

Cucumber Sandwich on Pumpernickel – Most afternoon teas contain some kind of cucumber sandwich. I am including a post I did on How To Make Cucumber Sandwiches. I substituted the white bread for pumpernickel. The filling can be made the day ahead. The sandwiches are best when prepared the day of the tea. And they were delicious.

Charcuterie Cup – One of the things common to the early 17th century picnics as well as the Victorian picnic was a charcuterie board. I replicated this in a small form putting everything you might enjoy in a charcuterie selection in a cup, topped with a crostini.

Scones

Currant Scone – A classic for any afternoon tea and one that I serve as a standard for my afternoon teas. I have inserted the recipe post Currant Scones

Dill Ham and Cheese – This is a savory scone and fit a teatime picnic theme. Dill Ham and Cheese Scones

Lemon Curd / Honey – I normally would serve lemon curd and Devonshire Cream, but with the savory Dill Ham and Cheese scone, I opted to drizzle honey on the lemon curd rather than have the additional sweetness of the Devonshire Cream. Here is the Lemon Curd recipe for your enjoyment.

Sweets

Smores Bar – One of the traditional items for a picnic is to have a delicious Smore. Everyone gathers around the fire, toasting their marshmallows. This Smores Bar is that treat in one little tasty bite.

Melon Balls – To help refresh the palate, cantaloupe and watermelon on a skewer. That simple. But no seed spitting please!

Crumb Topped Apple pie – Another tradition is apple pie. This mini pie gave my guests a taste of that tradition with a Crumb Topped Apple Pie. The original recipe called for a regular size tin but I used a mini-muffin tin. I also used store-bought crust and topped with a crumb topping rather than a double crust. Small bitesize pies.

Raspberry Mousse – This was a little treat of lusciousness, making a simple raspberry slurry and mixing it with whipped cream. This was served in a shooter glass, giving each guest just enough of the mousse to enjoy.

The Teas

I prepared these teas the night before and made sure they were very chilled. I offered ice to the guests but only if they wanted it. We had a lot of fun with these iced teas. I asked the guests to first sample the basic tea, then the variation of the basic tea. I did not offer lemon or sweetener during this tea – the goal was to have my guests taste and enjoy the teas in their pure form.

Assam Tea / Assam Lemonade Tea – Assam is a great black tea. I first served plain Assam iced tea.

Then served an Assam Lemonade Tea. This is basically using Assam tea as the basic tea and adding lemonade concentrate. Taste as you make this so it isn’t too sweet.

Georgia Peach Rooibos Tea – This is an amazing Rooibos tea. Nothing added and no recipe other than chilling your brewed Georgia Peach Rooibos tea.

Peppermint Tea / Sparkling Strawberry Tea – This was a delightful tea, I first served peppermint tea, which was great to help with all the food of the tea. It was very refreshing. The second portion of this tea was Sparkling Strawberry Peppermint Tea, which was simply adding a strawberry infused simple syrup to the tea.

Strawberry Simple Syrup – Take 8-10 strawberries sliced. Add to 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add to your peppermint tea. Enjoy…its very refreshing and amazing!

• 

• 

“There are few things so pleasant as a picnic eaten in perfect comfort.” W. Somerset Maugham

Well at least….a teatime picnic! Give it a try, have fun with the menu, experiment with your teas

and most of all, enjoy the company.