October Sandwich of the Month - Apple Cheddar on Raisin (with recipe)

Happy October everyone! Here we are in the midst of "pumpkin everything" and "apples galore."  Well, here at Fancy That, our love of pumpkin and apples brings us to this month's selection of the most delicious Autumn combos.  As we mentioned last week, the cupcakes are a pumpkin with a cream cheese frosting.  Now for the fun:  the sammie!  In addition to two English cucumber on pumpernickel, and our fancy chicken salad (with apricot jam and white raisins) on wheat bread, we introduce the October sandwich:  Granny Smith apple and Vermont white cheddar cheese on raisin bread.  YUMMY! 

Admittedly, we have oodles of fun in "test kitchen" exploring flavour combos and sampling a treat or two.  Do you want to help in "test kitchen" sometime?  :)

Here's the recipe to a great fall-flavoured tea sandwich.

2 granny smith apples
1/4 pound (about 6 slices) of Vermont white cheddar cheese
1 loaf of raisin bread
1/2 cup plain whipped cream cheese (buy it whipped...don't bother doing it yourself!)
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Ready two large granny smith apples by washing, and peeling the skins off.  Have the Vermont white cheddar sliced thinly (about the thickness of a credit card) - not paper thin though. 

Buy your favorite raisin bread - we use a Peppridge Farms Cinnamon Raisin Swirl bread.  Set out four slices with four more slices for the tops.  Generously spread the whipped cream cheese on the "inside" sides of each piece of bread.

With a parring knife, slice the apples into thin slices about the thickness of a credit card.  No need to core the apply.  Just slice along one side, then the opposite, and then the other two.  Discard the core.  Turn all the apple slices into a bowl, pouring the lemon juice of the slices then mix gently so all the pieces of apple are covered with lemon juice.  This will keep them from turning brown before you assemble the sammie.

Lay one piece of cheese on the "bottom" slice of bread.  Take the slices of apple, patting them dry, then lay on the cheese.  Cover with the "top" slice of bread.

With a sharp knife, gently slice the crusts off the four sides.   Take the sandwich, and cut it in half with a thickness of about two fingers (ah!  the reason they are called "finger sandwiches!").  Chill for about an hour then serve.  This recipe yields 8 finger sammies.  

Thanks for stopping by!  OH!  Helpful cooking tip for today:  When mixing up your scones, use OUR secret ingredient - BUTTERMILK!  Never use whole milk or skim milk for scones.  The Buttermilk makes the taste and texture PERFECT for your scone.  Enjoy your Afternoon Tea!

October's flavours for Afternoon Tea

Here at Fancy That, we are excited about how our Afternoon Teas have grown.  We love to hear the Shoppe full of people enjoying Afternoon Tea.  The stories we hear from our guests warm our hearts and make us realize that what we are doing is more than just serving up tea - we are creating an event that will be remembered for quite some time.

So, here we are, with our foot at the door of Autumn and October.  Planning for Afternoon Tea involves our selecting menu items that we change each and every month.  We change the scone flavour (fresh baked on site daily and NOW WE SELL THE SCONES as well), a mini cupcake and at least one sandwich (Sammie for short).  We decided to share that planning with you as soon as we make our decision.  Starting monthly, we will give you a sneak peek at the menu for the coming month.  If you look at the pictures and think "yum" you should also think about making reservations and come to tea!   Hang around here as well.  We will start including recipes that you can use for your own Afternoon Teas.

October's menu for Afternoon Tea is set!  See below for some of the sweets.  A post next week will have the savory along with a recipe that you can try yourself.  

Pumpkin Cream Cheese mini Cupcake is one of three desserts for October

Raspberry with White Chocolate chips is the flavour for the scone for October

Thank you for stopping by!  We'll see you next week with the sandwich flavour and recipe! See you then!

Making Tea the Center of Happy Hour

Our Press Release for Tea Infused Cocktails....

For Immediate Release

Local Tea Room Puts a New Spin on Drinking Tea

Fancy That’s Tea Room in Walpole, Massachusetts is making tea the center of “Happy Hour.”

Fancy That, a Tea Room and gift shoppe is expanding their line of tea for sale to include tea infusers that steep in alcohol rather than water.  Fancy That is a tea room and gift shoppe where customers can enjoy afternoon tea by reservation, shop for tea, imported jams, beautiful gifts and accessories in an inviting environment with a warm, personalized atmosphere.  “Our customers feel like they have walked into my home,” says Sarah Erlandson, proprietress of Fancy That.  And they have, because Erlandson lives upstairs.

To launch this new line of tea infusers for cocktails from Tea Forte, Fancy That is hosting a ticketed Tea Cocktail Event the evening of July 11, 2014.  The excitement over a new product line is apparent in the number of customers who have expressed interest in getting tickets to the Tea Cocktail Event.  “We haven’t made the tickets available yet and customers are already asking for two, four or more tickets” Erlandson says.    Tickets to the Tea Cocktail Event July 11, 2014 will be made available to Fancy That’s mailing list first and then to their Facebook followers.

The tea infusers for cocktails come in the following flavors:  Lavender Citrus containing white tea, lavender petals and lemon balm; Lemongrass Mint containing lemon myrtle and spearmint; and Silkroad Chai containing black tea, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom.  “The tea infuser is steeped in an alcohol like rum or vodka instead of water, poured over ice and mixed with a juice or cocktail mixer,” Erlandson explains.  “One cocktail we will be making at our Tea Cocktail Event will be a Lavender Pear Martini.   Perfect way to end the week and welcome the weekend.  It is the perfect way of taking tea during cocktail hour,” Erlandson quips.  The Tea Infusers (less alcohol) come with a cocktail recipe booklet and can be purchased at Fancy That during their gift shoppe hours Thursday and Fridays 11am – 3pm and Saturdays and Sundays 11am – 5pm. 

For further information, contact:

Brad McCracken, General Manager, Fancy That

888-323-2TEA (2832)

272 Main Street, Walpole, MA 02081

www.AfternoonTea.com

ExtravaSconeZa!

ExtravaSconeZa!

Celebrating one year of serving tea with an Open House

Walpole, Massachusetts.  Fancy That, serving Victorian-styled Afternoon Tea, selling tea and gifts and offering rentals of vintage English china, is pleased to announce a celebration of one year of serving Afternoon Tea.   An open house at Fancy That, 272 Main Street in Walpole, to be held on Sunday, May 18^th from 1pm to 5pm will highlight various fresh-baked scones.  The celebration is being called an “ExtravaSconeZa”.  Different flavours of scones will be available for complimentary sampling and for purchase.

Sarah Erlandson, proprietress of Fancy That points out, “we are celebrating our eleventh year of renting vintage china, the third year of our gift shoppe and now, one year operating the Tea Room where you can escape the stress of the day and unwind with a cup of Tea.”

“When you enter our Tea Room, it is intimate and welcoming as if you walked off the street into our front parlor,” Erlandson said.  “We love welcoming guests for Afternoon Tea.  It’s appropriate for us to host this open house – our way of giving back to our customers and the community with a free, open to the public event.”  Fancy That plans to have for sample different flavours of fresh baked scones and tea, offered in the comfy atmosphere of the tea room and gift shoppe.

FancyThat’s Tea Room is an elegant Victorian-inspired tea room with an air of genteel sensibilities.  Afternoon Tea is served by reservation only, Thursdays and Fridays at noon and Saturdays and Sundays at 11am and 2pm.  You may make reservations by ringing up-888-3232-TEA (1-888-323-2832) or email Reservations at AfternoonTea dot com [spelled out to prevent spam-bots from using the email address].

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For more information, contact Brad McCracken, General Manager, Fancy That, 272 Main Street, Walpole, MA 02081.  Email brad@afternoontea.com  Phone: 1-888-323-2832  Fax 1-866-551-2194.

Somerton Green Fine Bone Porcelain and Fancy That in Walpole MA

Firstly, when you see this picture, you just have to ask out loud - "beautiful, aren't they?"....and of course the answer is "they are simply stunning."  These beautiful teapots and matching cups and saucers are the introduction line of Somerton Green from Australia into Fancy That's Tea Room.  And soon, carried in our Gift Shoppe.  When you have Tea in our Tea Room, you may be served your tea selection in these wonderful Somerton Green tea pots.  Keep an eye here and on our Facebook Page for more information about ordering one these beautiful tea pots, cup and saucer sets, for your own collection and more items of Australia's Somerton Green line.  Thrilled!  We are just absolutely thrilled to have Somerton Green in Fancy That's Tea Room and Gift Shoppe.  Thanks for stopping by!

Fancy That in Walpole, MA announces "Cream Tea To Go"

Fancy That is pleased to announce our Cream Tea To Go!  You can call ahead and in two hours or less, we will have your Cream Tea ready in a box, to go!  Don't quite know what Cream Tea is?  Cream Tea is a scone or scones, served with clotted cream, strawberry jam and English Breakfast tea.  Cream Tea is also known as Devonshire Tea, Devon Cream Tea or Cornish Cream Tea.   Very popular in the South West of England, Cream Tea is served in many of the tea rooms in the UK, and now is catching on in the USA as well.

Of course, we do have to mention the different ways of preparing your Cream Tea.  (said with a grin, of course).  In the USA, it is "as you wish."  But if you are Cornish, or having Cornish Cream Tea, your jam goes on the scone first, and the "cream" (or clotted cream) goes on top of the jam (sometimes also called the Cornish Split).  The Cornish are very, VERY proud of their cream and like to ensure that it is the top of the heap when it comes to the scone.  "Devon Cream Tea" is the method of preparing the scone with the "cream" on first, and the jam on top.  The scones should be split in two, either with fingers or a spreader, and each half prepared.  Butter is rarely ever present since the clotted cream serves that purpose and much better at that!  Milk, whole, is what is put in the English Breakfast tea.  After all, cream is for coffee and milk is for tea.

So there you are!  You know what Cream Tea is.  And now you also know that Fancy That has Cream Tea to Go - Thursdays through Sundays.  Call ahead toll free (888-32-32-TEA) and we will have your cream tea ready to go when you are!  Cream Tea To Go - now available at Fancy That!  Thanks for stopping by!  :)