ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 31, 1996 TAG: 9601310011
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JULIET WITTMAN KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
It's hard for a non-Britisher to appreciate the true meaning of afternoon tea. Americans tend to see it either as a cute setting for business deals and networking or as an occasion for hostessy showing off, with fancy china and teeny little frilly things to eat.
But as a British tradition, tea is both more significant and far more robust.
To begin with, you need to understand that tea is sacrosanct. The form it takes may vary - from the beverage alone through tea and buttered toast to a lavish spread - but just about everyone in England stops for tea. Construction workers and lecturers. Dentists and harried housewives. Salesgirls right along with the royals.
By definition, tea time is not a time to engage in deals, or to hash out emotional problems. It's a time to drop everything, take the weight off, chat over the clinking of cups and saucers, relax and regroup.
Every family has its own concept of tea.
When I was growing up in England, I'd come home from school, for example, to a cup of tea or cocoa and a handful of sweet biscuits. At Sheila Roxburgh's house, we got potted meat on toast and cakes we'd been allowed to pick out earlier at the bakery.
I'd visit Sarah Bloomfield on weekends, when her mother served more elaborate teas, consisting of sandwiches and - when we were lucky - a delicious sponge cake with orange icing.
The first formal tea I ever had - scones, finger sandwiches, creamy cakes, the lot - occurred when I was about 6, at the Dorchester Hotel, where a wealthy American aunt was staying. The waiter brought over a small teapot and an elegant little cup and saucer just for me.
When I grew up and went to work at a library, tea was provided every day at 4 p.m. precisely by Mr. Chamberlain, who prided himself on his skill in brewing the perfect cuppa - strong, invigorating, never bitter.
One afternoon, Linda, who thought of herself as a bit more modern than the rest of us, was feeling sluggish. She wanted a cup of coffee. When she told him this, Mr. Chamberlain, not a tall man, seemed to grow several inches. ``Miss Dalton,'' he said, his voice full of dignified reproach, ``it's tea time.''
For some working-class friends, tea actually meant supper. And high tea, universally, is a meal put together of bread, cheese, eggs, salami, sardines, pickles, tomatoes - whatever you have on hand - and served late in the day in lieu of dinner. It does not mean a tea so ineffably elegant that the word ``tea'' alone cannot do it justice.
Now consider the glorious, amber brew itself.
I remember a British trucker describing his wartime experiences to me. He wasn't impressed with the troops of other nations. The minute there was any kind of danger, he claimed, they would spring into feverish (``hysterical,'' he called it) action. ``Our boys'' he said with quiet pride, ``at least finished their tea.''
While her mother was present, a South African friend received word that her husband had died suddenly. Without saying a word, her mother stood up and put on the kettle.
That's how it was.
During the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, we watched on television while Americans built bomb shelters and stockpiled canned goods. We, of course, despite the equal likelihood that Britain would be incinerated, remained calm and finished our tea. Tea is the key to the average Britisher's famed equanimity in a crisis.
Death called for a cup of tea. So did danger, comfort, gossip, birth, sorrow or celebration. When I returned to London after a 30-year absence and called a school friend I'd last seen when we were both 17, she immediately suggested we meet for tea.
Britishers have been worrying lately about how they'll retain their national identity in the face of a united Europe. But I think it'll be easy enough. There'll always be an England. Just as long as everyone stops for tea at 4 p.m.
What does one serve for tea? Many possibilities can be found in "Scones, Muffins and Tea Cakes" ($12.95, CollinsPublishersSanFrancisco). Food writer/cooking instructor Heidi Cusick does a fine job of pulling together more than 50 recipes, largely from Collins' Country Garden Cookbook series, and combining them with tips and themed tea-party menus. Exquisite color photos beautifully illustrate the finished products as well as some of the beautiful "tea things" like pots, cups, saucers, strainers and trays in which there is renewed interest along with the pleasures of tea.
"Totally Teatime" ($4.95, Celestial Arts) packs 50 recipes into a cute little die-cut cookbook that is part of the latest Totally Cookbooks series by Helene Siegel and Karen Gillingham. Helpful tips on seasoning and arranging sandwiches and anecdotes about high tea and Japanese tea sociology are like icing on the tea cakes.
To further facilitate tea time, the Grace Tea Company now sells fillable disposable paper teapot filters for brewing up to four cups of tea at a time. Fifty filters cost $4.95 from the company at 50 West 17th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011.
A tea party can fit into even the busiest schedule if you choose recipes that mostly can be made in advance. The following curried tuna sandwich filling and the basil mayonnaise can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. The scones can be baked in the morning, or even the day before, and the sandwiches assembled hours before serving.
Miniature lemon curd tarts are best filled close to serving time, but the lemon curd can be prepared beforehand and the shells baked earlier in the day.
Several of the following recipes have been put to the test by an organization that specializes in tea-giving, the Assistance League of San Fernando Valley. League members make all the sandwiches, scones and sweets for its annual Tea 'N' Talk benefit, which always attracts a sell-out crowd.
Several of the following recipes have been put to the test by an organization that specializes in tea-giving. The Assistance League of San Fernando Valley attracts a sell-out crowd to its annual Tea 'N' Talk benefit. League members make all the sandwiches, scones and sweets - many more than in this menu, which we've scaled down for a simpler party. And they're generous enough to share their recipes.
- LOS ANGELES TIMES WRITER BARBARA HANSEN AND FOOD EDITOR ALMENA HUGHE CONTRIBUTED INFORMATION TO THIS STORY
recipes for:
HAM AND BASIL SANDWICHES
CURRIED TUNA SANDWICHES
TEA 'N' TALK CURRANT SCONES
LEMON CURD
KABOCHA CORN MUFFINS WITH SWEET ONIONS
CHOCOLATE TEA BREAD
LENGTH: Long : 124 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Curried Tuna or Ham and Basil sandwiches topped off withby CNBa League Lemon Tart make perfect mates for tea time. color.