It’s Academy Awards time again! Which means it’s time to plan for an unforgettable Oscar’s party! What better way to celebrate the glitz and glam of some incredibly powerful movies by some of the best names in the business than by creating a menu to reflect said movies.
My friend and fellow blogger Haley at Cheap Recipe Blog had the wonderful idea of creating a themed party based on all the movies that were nominated for Best Picture. Each blogger was given a movie and told to create an appetizer or dessert that reflected the movie in one way or another.
I was given The Imitation Game- an incredibly stirring movie about Alan Turing, the genius who broke the nazi’s enigma machine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5CjKEFb-sM
As you can see from the preview- there is nothing about eating in the movie, but as it was set in England, just about every scene had tea in it.
There is nothing that enthralls me more than high tea (other than pickles, of course) so I decided to create my own version of a high tea- not to the level of being a party, as this was a somber sort of movie, but definitely to the level of delicious goodies and wonderful tea!
High Tea
Four Steps to a Successful High Tea
1. Beautiful Fine Chinaware. Nothing steps up a midday tea quite like fine china.
2. A tea that you really love. Earl Grey. Darjeeling. Something dark and flavorful.
3. Sweet and Savory. Sandwiches full of flavor combined with sweet treats.
4. Share with a friend. High tea is time to sit back and relax from the rigors of the day, enjoy your break with a loved one.
Sweet and Savory
Sweet ingredients should almost always include scones. Cupcakes and Cashmere has a great blueberry scone recipe. Include a few bite-size cookies for an additional treat
Finger sandwiches are quick and easy to make. They are savory and delicious- just make sure to make plenty as they go fast!
The trick to a good finger sandwich is to cut off the crusts on the bread. No self-respecting finger sandwich has crust. The bread needs to be just perfect- not stale and certainly never soggy. There are many types of sandwiches you can make, but the fixtures that should be at ever tea dining experience are cucumber sandwiches and egg salad sandwiches.
High Tea Recipes for Finger Sandwiches
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- 4 oz. Cream Cheese
- 1/2 tsp. Lemon Zest
- 1 tsp. Dill Weed, dried
- 1 Tbsp. White Vinegar
- 3/4 Cucumber peeled and sliced
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 6 slices Bread white or wheat
- Salt to taste
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Spread
Avocado Spread
Cucumber Sandwich
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- In a bowl mix together cream cheese, lemon zest, dill and vinegar. Set aside.
- Mash avocado in a separate bowl and add salt as desired. Squeeze just a small amount of lemon juice over the top to help the avocado maintain its color
- Peel cucumber and thinly slice with a mandolin slicer. The thinner the slices the better. Sprinkle cucumbers with salt. Set sliced cucumbers to soak in a small bowl with 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice.
- Place two slices of bread on top of one another and cut off the crusts for a true tea sandwich.
- Take the top slice of bread and spread the cream cheese mixture on top- as thickly as desired. On the bottom slice spread the avocado mixture.
- Remove the cucumbers from their lemon bath and layer on the sandwich. Cover and slice into quarters. Repeat with next sandwich.
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Sandwiches
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- 3 Eggs hard boiled
- 2 Tbsp. Mayo
- 1 Tbsp. Mustard, yellow
- 1/4 tsp. Prepared Horseradish
- 5 slices Bread wheat or pumpernickel
- Sprouts, onion or broccoli optional
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Ingredients
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- Remove shell from your hardboiled eggs. Remove yolks and mince egg whites into little pieces.
- In a bowl mix together mustard, mayo, horseradish and egg yolks until you have a thick paste. Add in minced egg whites. Mix together. Add salt and pepper as desired.
- Spread about half of the egg mixture on on slice of bread. Top with a thin layer of sprouts. Top with second slice of bread. Slice in half and serve.
I promised an Academy Awards party for ALL the best picture nominations. These ladies have been hard at work creating some amazing dishes. Mix and match for your Oscar’s Party this weekend!
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Great interpretation, Greta!! I saw the movie too and kept waiting for some food/recipe inspiration to pop in my head, but it didn’t happen. This is just perfect though :) Thank you so much for participating. Your sandwiches look great, and now I have an introduction to high tea… something I’ve never done (eaten?)
Thanks Haley! It’s just a good thing that I’m completely obsessed with tea so I picked out the tea element right away (whew). I’d have been in trouble otherwise.
There WAS a lot of tea in this movie! ;) As a proper English girl (my Mom was born in England) I will say this tea looks divine. I love the addition of avocado in the cucumber sammies. Yum!
Aw, Thanks Sharon!! I’m relieved to hear that a proper English girl approves of this post (and the avocado!). Thanks for your kind comments
This post has me totally craving a little afternoon tea. I agree with you, the only way to enjoy sandwiches and scones is with friends. Lovely photos.
Thanks so much Karen! Nothing makes the afternoon sweeter than a little tea “party”! What a great group of ladies to work with on all of these :c)
Wasn’t it interesting watching an entire movie while trying to think about a related recipe? Great job picking out the pervasive high tea setting!
A tea party would be the perfect setting for watching this movie! And you are SO right about the tea sandwiches needing to be crust-less. That’s a must!
I love the idea of high tea and your spread looks absolutely incredible. What a smart idea for the film! Your teacup and saucer are so pretty. Who wouldn’t feel special drinking out of that?
Hi there,
Nice high tea you have. On the other hand of the story, I was disgusted by the way the British government treated Alan Turing after he came out of the closet as a gay man and subjected him to being imprisoned, even though he saved millions of lives breaking that code! And the fact that they did not pardon him until 60+ years later…. Ugh.
I completely hear you there Flannery! So sad that he had to endure such treatment- not being able to be himself after all he did is just horrible. It basically killed him. Breaks my heart