No Doubt...

After seeing this sketch by Pierre Hermé, is there any question that the best patisserie is art in its own right and that Haute Patisserie can be compared to Haute Couture?

I only wish I was going to be in France for the exhibit of the sketches he has made of some of his wonderful creations. They will be on display at three of his locations at Galeries Lafayette stores. But for those Dear Readers of The Tearoom who live in Paris or who plan to visit there by the end of the month, here is more information about the exhibit from his site:

Exhibition of Sketches
With pleasure as his only guide, PH imagine the architecture of taste, flavors, textures, and then draws his fantasies and his daring sweet on paper before giving them life. His sketches allow the transmission and reproduction of the fruit of his imagination. The designs evolve over time, encounters, discoveries and inspiration, their design is the impression left by this process.

On display at Galleries Lafayette stores in the 9eme in Paris, in Nantes and in Strasbourg from April 4 through 30.

Flowers at Tea

Hello Dear Friends,
I welcome you back today with a topic that is near to my heart! I just love how the scents and flavors of the flower garden can be brought to teatime! I have spoken of this before, but I follow up on some news from The Valentine Tea of this year. Just announced, the third in the new series of flavors from The House of Pierre Hermé: Jardin Secret, an original composition of rose, vanilla and clove, developed to remind one of the scent of carnations! Unfortunately, carnations are a flower which have fallen out of favor somewhat, I am certain, in part, because the ones which are grown in hothouses to be the longest lasting in cut flowers do not have the delicious scent I remember from when I was young. They were always a favorite of my mother (along with their delightful little cousins the pinks!) and I still remember their distinctive soft but spicy scent. I am very excited that M. Hermé is still inspired by them as well! This is what is written about what I am certain is a most delicious flavor combination:

The third part of this garden tour: Jardin Secret created in companionship with Jean-Michel Duriez, master perfumer at Rochas. Inspired by a floral "carnation" note borrowed from the repertory of perfumemaking, it is a sweet blend of rose, vanilla and cloves. The palate first encounters the taste of rose, which prepares it for the heady intoxication of vanilla and cloves. A trio of tastes merging into a single secret flavour.

On his site, he recommends having them with his Ispahan tea (with notes of rose, raspberry and litchi). I am reminded that my favorite tea from Pierre Hermé is the Jardin de Pierre, with notes of citrus, jasmine, rose and violet - truly hypnotic and near hallucinatory in flavor! And, the next time we are in Paris, I will be tempted by his other flower-scented tea, Envie, which carries the notes of violet and blackcurrent up to your anxiously awaiting nose on clouds of steam from your teacup!! (Teas pictured here from left to right: Ispahan, Jardin de Pierre and Envie)


and....while I was in M. Hermé's site today, I see that he does tease us so with the prospect of summer and all the delights waiting for us then! Last year, I was most remiss in not telling you about these:


But I will not miss out this year....

And who is doing the teasing now?

A Valentine Tea...

Dearest Dear Friends of The Tearoom,

Welcome!

Today, it is only you and I having our special Valentine tea in front of the fire.




My mind returns again and again to the theme of today's party...
Fruit, beautiful, sun-ripened, sweet, luscious fruit...
The purples and reds of fruit juice,
the pleasure of the sweet,
the pucker of tart,
the intoxicating madness of that first bite of fully-ripened summer fruit.

Some people get this rush from the first sip of their favorite alcoholic tipple or a drag from their first cigarette of the day. (I myself do not understand this, but I have seen the unguarded look of pleasure on the faces of people indulging in these things, so I know it is true.) But for me, the miracle of my first bite of the fresh produce of the season provides that momentary dizzying high. This one living object, devoting its whole life to being the most perfect version of itself that it can be. What lies sleeping in seeds, in dormant plants, in the Earth at this very moment, just waiting to bring us pleasure?

I dare you to sit on the purple couch in The Tearoom, under the enormous wall decoration of fruit I have placed there for our party today, and not feel just a fleeting moment of this singular pleasure....

Welcome, Dear Friend, to a Valentine's Tea, fairly bursting with life!


Can't you just smell the fragrance coming to us from the ornate tea pot?
It is a tea that I am still just dying to try: Charlotte au Chocolat, from Dammann Frères of Paris
with flavors of sugared almond and chocolate,
with sunflower petals for brightness!
Can't you just taste it as we speak of it?
Can you imagine how really decadent
a cup of this would be with a dabble of cream
and (if you wish), a bit of sugar?
I could drink it all day!

Oh, but My Dear, we have some catching up to do!
It has been such a long time since we have
taken a tour around Paris to see what is new
and just with us for Valentine's Day only!
The House of Dalloyau has a luscious-looking pair of religieuses named Valentine et Valentin (sold only as a pair, not to be separated until shared with you and your love!) A description of them: "My Pulpy Raspberry delicately scented with violet reveals a tender and luscious raspberry heart. My Soft Caramel is sure to thrill with its cream flavored with rum ..."

Here is another of Dalloyau's Valentine treats: the Duo de Macarons Coeur, in raspberry and chocolate/duja (chocolate and hazelnut) flavors!

The House of Laduée surprises us with a tangy, creamy combination in their newest macaron flavor: grapefruit and vanilla!

"From The House of Pierre Hermé, exclusively for Valentine's Day, the Envie macaron, which he describes this way: "Macaron biscuit, vanilla-violet cream and blackcurrants. The "Envie" combination featuring blackcurrant, vanilla and violet was created by Pierre Hermé in 1992. The intense floral note of the violet, tempered by the vanilla, softens the tart bitterness of the blackcurrant."

And a macaron not specifically with Valentine's Day in mind, but only available until the 27th of this month, his new "Jardin Enchanté" with the flavors of rose, lime and touched with the tingle of Espelette pepper! It is the first of his new collection for spring, which I will be following closely. For more information, please click here.

And of course, returning like the dearest of old friends, some of the most lovely things:

A pair of Ispahan heart macarons filled with luscious fresh raspberries, with notes of rose and litchi. If you just can't get enough of this most romantic of flavor combinations, please take a glimpse here for the dizzying array of other forms this one of his Fetish flavors comes in.

Our old friend the Coeur Infiniment Vanille,
made even more complex and beautiful with Monsieur Hermé's signature combination of vanillas grown in
Madagascar, Tahiti and Mexico, looking just as elegant and beautiful as ever...


Because we just can't have enough today, couldn't we just go for something luscious and chocolate? How could we forget when
The House of Fauchon graced us with their Joconde eclairs?


Have had enough sweets today? Here's a visually arresting, beautiful and nutritious salad recipe from Etsy, especially for Valentine's Day! What a great example of the miracles of nature that are available to us each day that are delicious, fascinating and so good for you.

Thank you, Dear Ones, for celebrating Valentine's Day with me today and indulging in some of the most beautiful and delicious that Paris has to offer.



We now look forward to spring and the birth of yet another new shop on Etsy....

(Thank you, as always to Asunder Ephemera, The Picture Palace and The Graphics Fairy for some of the graphics used in the collages.)

Snow White and Rose Red Christmas Tea

It's Christmas and the snowflakes fall without sound outside...
Inside, we are cozy, warm and safe.

It's so fun when it is just you and I
having tea together here,
but it really is a bit of an extra treat
to see so many friends here in The Tearoom tonight.


Welcome back, Dear Friends,
to the refuge of our imaginations.
Real Life is turned away at the door tonight.


And what for tea?
Only just a few jewel-like treats...

(Since it is a virtual tea,
we may be as extravagant as we wish.
It is Christmas, after all.)



Of course, there is tea....
I love Christmas, but I love Spring and Summer and more.
So, I could not resist selecting the Summer Blend Tea
from Betjeman & Barton of Paris
(Those beautiful citrus flavors will perfectly complement
the other treats
and remind us that
warm weather will be with us again soon...

...and a Buche de Nöel
(this one is called "Ella"
from The House of Pierre Hermé),
all shiny and crimson
with the flavors of red berries,
lemon
and
olive oil.


....and a most beautiful and savory treat,
a Lobster and Asparagus Charlotte
from The House of Dalloyau

(I'm not certain who has invited the squirrels,
but all are welcome here.
Of course it would be rude
not to provide a treat for them,
as well as all of the other
sweet and furry ones who are visiting)

The Secret Chef of The Tearoom
has quickly whipped up some little round
nut biscuits for the squirrels,
bone-shaped peanut-butter biscuits for Twisby
(the sweet whippet who is the companion
of Lady Tweaze-Whickle,
seen arriving at the party in the first
of the pictures of the guests),
and fish-shaped salmon biscuits for
our own Dear Dapple.



More of our Dear Friends, chatting with each other...

My Aunt Hazel once told me
that if a squirrel takes something from you,
they leave something in return.

And look...

What polite guests they were!



Thank you so much for taking the time to visit today.
Mr. V and I are wishing you and your family
a beautiful Christmas and Holiday Season.

(Please check back tomorrow as there will be one more treat....
Please wear your most comfy jammies
and bring your favorite friend...)

A Gothic Victorian Tea Party and Poetry Reading

You...
of the heart tattoos in places unmentionable,
lipstick and matching nail polish
in nightshade or abyss
...enter here...
and indulge in the celebration of crimson and ebon..
join our sacred salon of sisterhood

the samovar steeps a tea of
exceptional fragrance and flavor tonight
please share a cup with us as we ask for silence
the poetry reading is about to begin...


depth of red, barely visible through the dark
a firefly in crimson descends to the edge of the teacup
in the aether
a plume of red,
brighter,
rises
first the deeper essence of tea
the black tulle veil through which the other flavors are visible
the dark, sweet notes of black cherry
velvet so dark, it is nearly black
bleeding into the red purple of plum
intense dark and light, all at once
followed by the flash of grenadine organza
bright red in flavor, scent, essence
and meanwhile...
a fantasy rock performance slithers from a radio,
lit from within
a cover of a Runaways classic,
Meg White’s primative drums,
Chrissie Hynde’s searing guitar
And from the voice of Siouxie Sioux: “Ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb”!
black and white notes
in a depth of red, barely visible through the dark




(This post was inspired by the fabulous Roller Girl Tea from Opus Oil's Jitterbug Perfume Parlour. Deviously delicious. And iced, with a bit of lime? Sinfully sublime.)


My thanks to all the wonderful artists whose collage sheets, clip art sites and blogs that I use in my work:
Jerry (Shadowhouse Creations),
Josie (Charmed Memory Collage),
Kirsi (Itkupilli),
Marsha (Tumble Fish Studio),
Julia (Cemerony)
and
Karen (The Graphics Fairy)
and of course, a big thank you to
Lili and Kedra of Opus Oils!
(Don't forget to check out Kedra's fascinating blog Scents of Imagination.)


...And just when I was about to serve tea and no sweet today (Oh! the shame of it!), this showed up in my e-mail box from the venerable House of Pierre Hermé, a delicious-looking pastry in flavors ranging from black, to purple, to red: his Fetish Envie!
It starts with a dacquoise base, which is an interesting meringue made with almond flour, so that it is vaguely similar to a macaron, with slivered almonds, black current compote, a vanilla cream, scented with violets and decorated with red fruits...because roller girls or rock and roller girls all love to have a little something with their tea!

Monsieur Hermé Raids the Garden Again...

My Dearest Friends,
You know you can trust me to bring you some of the most interesting, thinking-outside-of-the-box sorts of desserts. So, once again, I bring you something that may not be for everyone, but you're not here for a devil's food cupcake, are you?

You may remember my post from almost two years ago when Pierre Hermé paired lemon, strawberry and tomato into something surreally divine. (And if not, please feel free to click here!). Once again, he is pursuing what may seem to be unusual combinations in some of his recent macaron flavors, but really the stretch is not so far:

-Métissé: Carotte, Orange et Canelle (Carrot, Orange and Cinnamon) - This seems a very natural pairing to me. I used to drink a combination of carrot and orange or carrot and tangerine juice quite often and I can easily imagine cinnamon pairing with it ina very natural way. So many vegetables are normally seen as being savory, but many, like carrots, possess so much natural sweetness that they pair very easily with fruit.

-Dépaysé: Thé Vert Matcha, Haricot Rouge Azuki, Citron Vert & Gingembre (Matcha Green Tea, Red Adzuki Beans, Lime and Ginger) - This seems another natural matching, only with an Asian twist. The deeply intense matcha with the bright/deep lime and the bite of the ginger would be fantastic together. And utilizing red adzuki beans is brilliant because they are ground into a paste and made into desserts in China and Japan, as well as other dishes in Somalia and India.

-Asperge Verte et Huile de Noisette (Green Asperagus and Hazelnut oil) - This would be the challenging flavor combination, but I can see how the common earthy notes in the asperagus and the hazelnut could combine to make something very unique! And, once again, there is a note of sweetness in the freshest of spring asperagus.

But of course, if you are one of those picky kids who just refuses to have their vegetables, I won't make you sit at the table and pout! Please go pick something else for yourself from the dear little brochures that are given at his stores!

Valentine Cream Tea Deluxe

Welcome, Dear Friends of The Tearoom,
It is so very nice to spend time with you again!! A Most Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

Won't you please have a seat? For a lot of us, it is still cold and for some of us, there's a lot of snow where you are (for others like me, a lot more!!). I have hung tapestries around the room to make it cozier for us!



And to remind us that spring is only around the corner, I have placed a fountain with a profusion of violets growing around it, in the middle of The Tearoom!


Today, we are having a traditional British cream tea (with just a few revisions of my own)!

Of course we start with lovely Devonshire scones,with clotted cream and jam. Traditionally, scones are served with either strawberry (or occasionally, raspberry) jam or lemon curd. But who can say no to a bit of Pierre Hermé's Ispahan Confiture instead, his beautifully passionate red jam made of two layers, rose-scented litchi and raspberry, which you mix upon opening the jar? What a romantic combination and entirely appropriate for our Valentine Tea, don't you think?


And we must not have a Valentine's tea that does not include some sort of macarons! Here are some very interesting ones from a patisserie in Paris called Acide. These are fraise/poivre (strawberry/pepper)! Just imagine that sweet, yet slightly hot flavor! I would definitely try these, should we find ourselves in the 17th Arr. in Paris!

From the House of Ladurée comes a religieuse griotte (sour cherry religieuse).

And you must try the Black Forest Cheesecake from the blog Tastes of Mine!

To pair with all of these beautiful red flavors of raspberry, rose, strawberry and cherry, I thought it best to have a black tea, which should also go well with the pepper in the macaron and the chocolate in the cheesecake, perhaps a Ceylon from Kusmi or an Earl Grey with Blue Flower Petals from Monsieur Hermé. Do you take yours with cream?



To end our lovely party, won't you please have some beautiful chocolates from Rococo Chocolates in London? They must be as yummy as they look. One of these must be the favorite you didn't know you had yet...

...Jasmine tea, Manjari Madagascar, lychee rose and raspberry, Irish coffee, sour cherry with dark chocolate, and Jivara marc de champagne, passionfruit and mango, crushed lemon praline with milk chocolate and these four very special flavors, invented just for this collection:

And, because I can never spoil you enough, I have added Acide in Paris and The Cake Opera of Toronto to the ever-growing list of beautiful sweets and teas to peruse in the "Tea and Sweets" links to the right!

Please keep checking back as I have many new projects coming up including the opening of my new vintage shop just down the rue d'Etsy from The Gossamer Tearoom, called Mirabella Morello and new collections of silk brooches just for spring!!


I wish you all A Most Happy Valentine's Day

For a really beautiful description of a proper cream tea, please read Nigel Slater's excellent description in The Guardian, complete with recipes for scones and plum jam.

Welcome to Christmas Eve 2010...

My Dearest Friends,
Thank you so much for joining me! And if you are joining me later, of course you are still very most welcome, as you will then get to celebrate two Christmas Eves!

Our celebration of Christmas Eve is a simple one this year.

Won't you please come warm yourself by the fire and help yourself to something delcious from the samovars on the mantlepiece? The one on the left is hot chocolate, steeped with vanilla beans and the one on the left is the hot water, should you prefer tea. I have made tonight's tea selection based on an act of kindness.

My dear friend Anya of Couture Millinery Atelier sent me a very sweet package today. Sweet because it was so nice of her to do it, but also for what it contained!

Mr. V and I love these mints, which have been made at the Abbey in Flavigny, France since 1591! Anya was so nice as to send a package containing these violet candies, but also a tin of rose and a tin of anise. Each candy is deliciously flavored but also contains a single seed of anise. Thank you so much, Anya, for such a delightful surprise!

So, in honor of my dear friend Anya sending me such a lovely gift, I have selected a tea from Kusmi in Paris, which is called "Anastasia", which is also the name of Anya's lovely daughter. This tea is a blend of Earl Grey with lemon and orange blossom. And to honor their Russian heritage, I have also selected Petrushka and Kashmiri Tchai, for our friends who would like to further warm themselves with traditional Nepalese chai spices. I am wishing Anya and Anastasia a beautiful, warm Christmas!

And to accompany our beautiful teas and chocolate? Something simple, yet beautiful: from the House of Pierre Hermé, a contemporary Buche de Nöel in his Infinement Vanille flavor. Since we are spending our Christmas Eve in front of the fire, a "yule log" seems appropriately symbolic and vanilla is the perfect flavor to accompany our drinks. It's perfect with chocolate, tea, citrus fruit or spice.

And our final treat of the night is a gift to us from my very dear husband, Mr. V! Here are some Christmas pictures from our world:

Diningroom, festooned with red and green chili pepper lights!

Livingroom, with electric candles in the window.

The pattern on the livingroom ceiling, cast by the candles and lace curtains.



The staircase upstairs



Christmas Tree

I'm waiting for Santa!

We wish you the sweetest of Christmas memories and dreams...

"...And to all, a Good Night!"

Betty