A WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY TEA
WHEN the tea guests were ushered into Charlotte's dining-room that
afternoon, they were delighted with the table and its red, white and
blue decorations. In the center was a large three-cornered hat made of
black paper, and heaped with artificial red cherries. The cherry ice was
tinted red, and served in sherbet glasses. A large white cake, uncut,
was one of the chief decorations, for halves of red cherries were placed
together on it to represent a bunch of cherries, while tiny lines of
chocolate icing represented the stems.
Bettina poured the tea and placed in each cup a red cherry. The guests
helped themselves to trays, napkins, forks and spoons, and each took a
portion of Washington salad, served in a small, black, three-cornered
hat, lined with waxed paper. Each took also a rolled sandwich, tied with
red, white and blue ribbon, and a nut bread sandwich in the shape of a
hatchet.
The Washington fondant, rolled in cocoanut and toasted to represent tree
trunks, with small gilt hatchets stuck in them, occasioned great
delight. "How did you ever think of it?" Ruth asked, and Bettina gave
Charlotte the credit, though she in turn disclaimed any originality in
the matter.
"One thing is lacking," said Bettina. "Charlotte and I should be wearing
colonial costumes. We did think of it, but happened to be too busy to
make them."
That afternoon Charlotte and Bettina served:
George Washington Salad
Rolled Sandwiches Nut Bread Sandwiches
Cherry Ice
Cherry Cake Washington Fondant
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
=Washington Salad= (Twelve portions)
1 C-diced pineapple
1 C-marshmallows, cut fine
1 C-grapefruit, cut in cubes
1 C-canned seeded white cherries
1/4 C-filberts
1/4 C-Brazil nuts, cut fine
1-1/2 C-salad dressing
1/2 C-whipped cream
6 red cherries
12 tiny silk flags
Mix the pineapple, marshmallows, grapefruit, white cherries and nuts.
Add the salad dressing. Serve immediately. Place waxed paper in the
paper cups of the small, black, three-cornered hats. Place one serving
of salad in each cup. Put one teaspoon of whipped cream on top and half
a cherry on that. Stick a tiny silk American flag into each portion.
=Nut Bread for Sandwiches= (Twenty-four sandwiches)
2 C-graham flour
1 C-white flour
3 t-baking powder
1 egg
2/3 C-sugar
1-1/2 t-salt
1/2 C-nut meats, cut fine
1-1/2 C-milk
Mix the flours, baking powder, salt, nut meats and sugar. Break the egg
in the milk and add to the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly, pour into a
well-buttered bread pan and allow to rise for twenty minutes. Bake in a
moderate oven for fifty minutes.
=Nut Bread Sandwiches=
24 pieces bread
2/3 C-butter
When the nut bread is one day old, cut in very thin slices. Cream the
butter and spread one piece of bread carefully with butter. Place
another piece on the top. Press firmly. Make all the sandwiches in this
way. Allow to stand in a cool, damp place for one hour. Make a paper
hatchet pattern. Lay the pattern on top of each sandwich and with a
sharp knife, trace around the pattern. Cut through carefully and the
sandwiches will resemble hatchets. This is not difficult to do and is
very effective.
=Washington's Birthday Sandwiches=
1 loaf of white bread one day old
8 T-butter
2 yards each of red, white and blue ribbon
Cut the bread very thin with a sharp knife. Remove all crusts. Place a
damp cloth around the prepared slices when very moist, and tender.
Spread with butter which has been creamed with a fork until soft. Roll
the sandwiches up carefully like a roll of paper. Cut the ribbon into
six-inch strips, and tie around the sandwiches. Place in a bread box to
keep moist. Pile on a plate in log cabin fashion.