In Chapter 23 of The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea, “Tea Party,” Annaliese hosts a tea party for her three cousins and their sock monkeys. Nora, Nadine, and Nell Ann have a surprise for Annaliese … their mother gave their sock monkeys away! So how will the cousins be able to attend Great-Grandmama Easterling’s birthday party? Only the sock monkeys received invitations. 

It was a lovely tea party that Annaliese and Miss Pine set out for their guests. Throckmorton sat at the sock monkeys’ table, covered with a lace tablecloth and Throckmorton’s favorite doll dishes, “the ones with daffodils and aqua rabbits.”

“On a larger table, also set for four, a three-tier silver serving dish held dainty petit fours and finger sandwiches cut into hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. Devonshire cream, lemon curd, and rosy-red jam accompanied a basket of freshly baked currant scones.”

“Serving the catty cousins,” illustration copyright Sarah Jane Wright from The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea, Beach Lane Books

One of the sources that provided inspiration for this tea party is The Anne of Green Gables Treasury (Carolyn Strom Collins, Christina Wyss Eriksson, Ruth Macdonald and David Macdonald, Penguin Books Canada Limited, 1991,) Chapter Five, “Tea Time.”

“The teas that are described most fully in the Anne books are of the special-occasion variety that consisted of treats such as sandwiches, fresh or preserved fruits, cheese, breads, cookies, cakes, pies, tarts, and other desserts. “A splendid tea,” as Anne described one of her Sunday School picnics, would have included those kinds of dishes as well as more substantial fare—meats, salads and vegetables. Extra-special treats such as ice cream assured the success of such occasions.”

The authors go on to say:

“A variety of tiny sandwiches served with the first cup of tea is a fitting beginning for any tea party. Finely textured white bread is most often used for tea sandwiches, but you can also choose whole wheat or light rye or a combination of breads. Slice the bread as thinly as you can—about 1/4 inch slices are ideal.”

Here’s a recipe for finger sandwiches from this cherished book.

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CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICHES

From: The Anne of Green Gables Treasury

1 cup finely chopped cooked chicken
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and finely chopped
1 Tbsp finely chopped sweet pickle or sweet pickle relish
1 tsp finely chopped green onion
2 to 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
6 thin slices bread
Butter, at room temperature

1. In a bowl, mix together the chicken, celery, egg, pickle, and green onions. Stir in the mayonnaise until you have a nice moist mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep the mixture in the refrigerator, covered, until you are ready ot make the sandwiches.
2. Butter each slice of bread on one side. Spread the filling on three of the buttered slices and top with the remaining slice of bread. Trim the crusts off the sandwiches and cut each sandwich into shapes.

Makes 3 whole sandwiches

In early September, at the time when Hurricane Irma was thrashing coastal South Carolina, I read for the first time one of Conroy’s later works, South of Broad, set in Charleston. Ironically, the climax in South of Broad takes place during Hurricane Hugo in 1989. I also rediscovered one of my favorite cookbooks, a signed copy of The Pat Conroy Cookbook, a gift from my daughter. Not only does the cookbook feature one of our family’s favorite recipes, “Summer Chowder,” but also includes a collection of personal essays by the author about the art and joy of cooking good food.

“A Recipe is a Story …” is the title of the cookbook’s seventh chapter, and I include, for readers and writers alike, a few of his observations from pages 96-97:

Stories have always hunted me down, jumped out at me from the shadows, stalked me and sought me out, grabbed me by the shirtsleeves, and demanded my full attention. I’ve led a life chock-full of stories, and I know now that you have to be shifty and vigilant and ready to receive their incoming fire. Sometimes it takes the passage of years to reveal their actual meaning or import. They disguise themselves with masks, disfigurements, chimeras, and Trojan horses . . .

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Alertness is the requirement of the writing life, staying nimble on your feet, open to the stories that will rise up and flower around you while you are walking your dog on the beach or taking the kids to soccer practice. The great stories often make their approach with misdirection, camouflage, or smoke screens to hide their passage through your life . . .

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But sometimes stories hide themselves from writers like trolls under bridges. Then the writers of the world must keep their bodies attuned for the sudden appearance of the story that is powerful enough to change their stories and their lives. They must train themselves to recognize the divine moment when a great story reveals itself.

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I was so saddened when this great author passed away on March 4, 2016, my 67th birthday. But still, I thank him for his compelling and beautifully written stories, for signing my copy of his cookbook, and for sharing his recipes and life wisdom.

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SUMMER CHOWDER

From: The Pat Conroy Cookbook

6 slices smoky bacon, coarsely chopped
1 cup minced red onion
¼ cup finely diced celery
3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 5 ears, or 24 ounces, frozen)
3 cups whole milk (maybe a little less, the frozen corn will create some liquid)
½ pound new red potatoes, washed but not peeled and cut into ¼ inch cubes
½ cup heavy (whipping) cream
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives
1 pound sea scallops, rinsed and patted dry
Coarse or kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper

1. In a medium stockpot over moderate heat, cook the bacon until the fat is rendered and bacon is almost crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, removed the bacon and reserve. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons bacon fat, reserving the extra in a small bowl for later use.
2. Reduce the heat to low, add the onion and celery to the stockpot, and cook in the bacon drippings, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, 12 to 15 minutes. As the vegetables begin to exude their moisture, use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits clinging to the bottom of the stockpot.
3. Using a food processor fitted with a metal blade, puree 1 cup of the corn kernels with 1 cup of the milk. Add to the stockpot and stir well. Add the remaining corn and milk and the potatoes, stirring to combine. Lower the heat and cook until the potatoes and corn are tender, about 35 minutes. (If using frozen corn, I would cook the potatoes for about 20 minutes and then add the frozen corn)
4. Stir in the reserved bacon, heavy cream, Tabasco, and chives and simmer until chowder thickens, another 3 to 5 minutes.
5. While the chowder is thickening, place the reserved bacon fat in a small heavy skillet over high heat. When the fat is hot, sear the scallops until golden brown on each side but still slightly opaque in the center, about 2 minutes on the first side and 1 minute on the other.
6. Season the chowder with coarse salt and ground white pepper to taste. Ladle into deep bowls and float scallops in the center. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a main course or 8 as a first course.

In Chapter 23, The Tea Party, the food Annaliese serves is described this way: “A three-tier silver serving dish held dainty petit fours and finger sandwiches cut into hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. Devonshire cream, lemon curd, and rosy-red jam accompanied a basket of freshly baked currant scones.”

Yum.

What are petit fours? They are small, square cakes, sometimes frosted on all sides, sometimes only on the top so you can see the layers of cake inside, just right for a scrumptious tea party.

Here’s a step-by-step photographic recipe for making petit fours from Rose Bakes.

If you’d like to follow along with video instructions, then here’s a how-to from Martha Stewart.

Will this inspire you to make your own petit fours? Send me a photo in the comments!

This version is based on a recipe for “Gooseberry Jam” from the old (1965 edition) Fanny Farmer Cookbook. When we first made this, we didn’t have the “red currant juice” it called for, so I pureed some fresh strawberries in a blender instead. We also didn’t use weight measures (pounds) as the recipe called for, but volume measures (cups) instead.

We grow the gooseberries in our back yard. One robust bush yields an enormous amount of gooseberries. When they’re ripe, the lines on them get a purplish tinge, and when they’re really ripe the whole berry can be a deep purple. You might find gooseberries at a roadside stand or farmers’ market.

Gooseberry Jam (photo: Olga Volodina | 123rf.com)

a jar of our Gooseberry Strawberry Jam

Boil together for 5 minutes:
    4 cups of sugar
    1 quart (4 cups) of strawberries, washed and pureed

Add:
    8 cups of ripe gooseberries, washed

Boil 40 minutes, skimming as necessary. Set aside, covered, for 24 hours. 

Drain off the syrup into a separate pot. Pack the berries into jars that have been boiled. Boil the syrup until almost as thick as honey and pour it over the berries in the jars. Put on the lids and cover tightly. Store as you would any jam.

In Tango: The Tale of an Island Dog, the setting is Prince Edward Island. What foods are found on this island in the sea?

Try some clam chowder? Here’s Martha Stewart’s recipe.

There’s a lovely book called The Anne of Green Gables Treasury (written by Carolyn Strom Collins and Christina Wyss Eriksson) which is unfortunately out of print, but I’m confident you can find a used copy. It has ideas for crafts, activities, and parties, all set on Prince Edward Island, a setting our two books have in common!