Happy birthday to me! Earlier this afternoon, I celebrated my birthday with an afternoon high tea at the Windsor Arms hotel. I was accompanied by none other than Jessie and Sean, two of my funniest dining companions. Our reservation was not until 1pm, but of course, we were 30 minutes early so we sat in the car opening four birthday cards from Sean and some presents: tickets to the Sleigh Bells concert in May (wahoo!) and money (for a future camera purchase, double wahoo).
Upon entering the Windsor Arms tea room, we were given a choice of tables and I chose to sit at a table near the windows (better for photo-taking). Jessie and I chose to sit on the booth seats which were plush but a little too low; Sean sat in one the chairs which looked really comfy. Our room was bright and airy, with gold-framed paintings on the wall (none of which I remembered to take a photo of). In the corner there was a display of hats which Jessie and I found quite amusing:
Along with our individual tea, we each opted for the full tea which includes scones:
sandwiches:
and petit fours:
Our meal began with a mini goat cheese and caramelized shallot quiche:
This was a really great way to start the meal. The caramelized shallot really made the quiche and I'm not even a fan of quiches (from an overload of them back in Switzerland with Jessie in 2001).
Scones included raisin and plain, served alongside devon cream and strawberry and raspberry jam. Check out the mini jams:
Our assorted of finger sandwiches included cucumber with sundried tomato paste and dill cream cheese:
smoked salmon and wasabi sour cream with salmon caviar:
and grilled chicken, grany smith apples, citrus mayonnaise and greek yogurt and chives which I don't have a close-up photo of because I never ate of them (non-organic chicken). I'll try and snag one from Jessie's iPhone.
Here's another shot of our assortment of petits fours (courtesy of Sean):
Individually, they were (as described to us by our server) a dark chocolate fudge (for Jessie):
a raspberry or strawberry mousse in a dark chocolate tea cup (it was raspberry and delightful, obvi mine):
an Opera cake ("they just call it Opera cake" for Sean)
a blood orange mousse with sponge at the bottom and blueberries (mine):
a lemon meringue tart (check out that awesome toasted meringue for Sean):
and a white chocolate something (that's pretty much all our server said; Jessie had a hard time figuring it out but it came with a cherry with gold leaf and had a hard, crisp texture on the bottom.):
The presentation on this one was amazing. I wish I liked white chocolate so I could have tasted it but I find white chocolate too sweet. I even find milk chocolate too sweet sometimes. Oh well, c'est la vie.Then we also had strawberries and cream:
At first glance, it didn't seem like a lot of food but it was. I didn't finish one of my scones and by the time I got around to eating my strawberries and cream, I felt like someone was forcing me to eat it. It was a little bit sad. I had the face that I always have when I can't eat but feel like I have to finish it. I ended up just having a taste of the cream (it looked like ice cream, I had to try it) and finishing off my berries.
Oh yeah, about the tea. Jessie chose the Black Velvet which includes
ginseng, peppermint, licorice and black tea while Sean chose the Chai Arms which includes
ceylon, cardamom, cinnamon, glove, ginger and black pepper. I chose the Tibetan Tiger which includes
black tea with vanilla, chocolate, butterscotch and caramel (though I don't remember reading the description of the last two). Our teas came in fancy tea pots:
It was a complete out-of-the-blue shot and is probably one of my faves using the D7000. It's incredible, absolutely incredible and I never thought I'd say that about a digital SLR.
A crusty, crackled top reveals the most chewiest, fudgiest, walnut-filled brownies I have had since the box mix kind. I suggest cutting the 9x13" rectangle into 24 squares so you can ration your brownies but since I had five the first day, these brownies aren't going to last very long.
The addition of chopped walnuts was a superb addition on my part. It's fudgy and chewy and crunchy when you get a bite of those nuts. 
I'll leave you with this one photo and if that doesn't convince you to make these brownies, you must be blind.
After 25 minutes my brownies were done. In fact, despite the 35 minutes suggested in Martha's Cookies book, I thought my brownies were overdone; a toothpick came out totally clean--not a good sign for a fudgy brownie. I waited the 15 minutes before I took them out of the pan and then another 30 minutes before I cut them into squares. Okay so it was really more like five minutes but didn't I tell you I'd been craving brownies for three weeks?!
Even though the combination of chocolate, lavender and honey sounded a little weird in my head, I'll tell you this: it was incredible. Plate-licking good in fact but you'd really have to like lavender in order to do that. I stopped myself just a little short to show you to devoured evidence:
Excuse the lighting as I typically bake at night, usually starting around 8 or 9. Anyway, these brownies weren't all that great. Yes, they contained copious amounts of chocolate and yes, they included coconut too (which I am all "balls to the wall" about, but they just weren't chewy! They're your classic cakey brownies, which, if I were a fan of cakes, I'd be all over. But I'm not so I wasn't.
I finally made a balloon animal! After a VERY failed attempt--before, during and after which Sean probably thought I was completely certifiable--I decided that I was going to try again with balloons purchased at a grocery store instead of a dollar store. An extra 75 cents should do the trick, right? Well they did! Do not underestimate good quality balloons. I made that balloon dog all by myself and yes, I was quite pleased with myself. In fact, so much so that my high-pitched squealing was a bit too much for my dad's old-man ears.
Sometimes it's dangerous to have a fully-stocked baking pantry. Seriously.
(Taken from this month's Loulou Magazine, the hair--done by John Donato of Donato Salon & Spa--is a look I've been coveting for years but never had the guts to attempt. Now that I'm 28, I figure I only have my late 20s to rock this look so it's kind of now or never.)
Despite the fact that I don't look crazy excited, I've been wanting a foam finger for just about forever! I picked one up after the game. It was pretty fun poking Sean in the nose, in the cheek, in the bum...just about everywhere possible--until he got mad and threatened to take it away :(
You're right if you guessed The NeverEnding Story. Unfortunately I started coming down with a cold during the first attempt and the cold was in full force during the second attempt. Sean decided to go ahead and watch the rest of the movie during our second attempt. He realized another attempt with me was futile. (I told Sean that we are totally naming our cream Chow Chow Falcor. He said we could only if I watched the movie without falling asleep.)
It was a relaxing afternoon baking muffins and cookies. And because I was then stress-free (sort of), I decided to eat two muffins and four (or so) cookies. I lost count after the fourth one.
My parents loved to dress me up in pink and red. Like LOVED! I think their morning conversations were like this (but in French): Mom: What should we dress Dominique in today? Dad: Pink dress and red tights? Mom: What about red dress and pink tights? Dad: Nah, we did that yesterday. Mom: Oh yeah, let's switch it up today.
Less than 30 minutes later (including baking time!), I had 16 muffins that smelled like something my grandma would have made me. Or, maybe. Actually, I'm pretty sure my grandma baked no such thing as it was my grandfather who did the cooking in that household and I don't actually ever recall him making anything other than savory food, but whatever. I digress. Check out my muffins:
Complete with a delicious, crunchy layer of turbinado sugar. There's nothing butter than a baked good with a hefty, I mean, healthy layer of turbinado sugar:
I ate two or three before deciding it was time to leave the kitchen and immerse myself in other activities in fear of devouring every single one of those muffins. The next day I decided it was time to take Jessica's advice and enjoy said muffin with a pat of butter:
I am so glad I did. Reheated in the microwave for 15 minutes and with a pat of butter, it was the most delicious thing I've probably eaten in a week. Maybe since that seared scallop and leek dish I have yet to blog about.
But it turns out that these meringue cookies taste just like chewy chocolate chip cookies and they're gluten-free! It's "winner, winner, chicken dinner" for anyone who follows a gluten-free diet. The trick is to pull them straight from the oven after 18 minutes. Plus, at 30 calories a pop, you won't feel guilty after you shove the fourth one into your mouth. The giraffes totally approve. I really need to post that recipe.
sandwiches:
and petit fours:
Our meal began with a mini goat cheese and caramelized shallot quiche:
Individually, they were (as described to us by our server) a dark chocolate fudge (for Jessie):
At first glance, it didn't seem like a lot of food but it was. I didn't finish one of my scones and by the time I got around to eating my strawberries and cream, I felt like someone was forcing me to eat it. It was a little bit sad. I had the face that I always have when I can't eat but feel like I have to finish it. I ended up just having a taste of the cream (it looked like ice cream, I had to try it) and finishing off my berries.
Posts
