Showing posts with label Sweet Shalom Tea Room. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sweet Shalom Tea Room. Show all posts

Friday, December 9, 2011

On the Third Working Day of Christmas…

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me…Three French Hens!
I’ll be perfectly honest with you…I have nothing very clever to write about in regards to three French Hens so I decided to post a recipe on how to prepare Cornish Game Hens with a Sweet Onion Compote.  I hope you all enjoy!
Ingredients
  • 9 tablespoons butter
  • 3 large onions, chopped (about 6 cups)
  • 6 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 cup dry red wine
  • 3 Cornish game hens, quartered, backbones removed
  • 1/4 cup Sherry wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • Chopped fresh parsley

Preparation
Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and 3 tablespoons sugar. Cook until onions are golden, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add wine and cook until onions are very tender and mixture is reduced to thick jamlike consistency, stirring frequently, about 40 minutes. Set compote aside.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add hen quarters and brown well on all sides, about 8 minutes. Place hen quarters on rimmed baking sheet (do not clean skillet). Sprinkle hens with salt and pepper. Bake hen quarters until cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Transfer hen quarters to bowl; cover to keep warm. Add drippings from baking sheet, vinegar and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar to skillet used to brown hens. Bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add stock and bring to boil. Mix remaining 4 tablespoons butter and flour in small bowl, forming paste. Whisk paste into stock mixture. Boil until thickened to sauce consistency, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Rewarm onion compote; spoon onto center of each plate. Arrange 2 hen quarters around compote. Spoon sauce over. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

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Wednesday, November 9, 2011

A Little Tea and a Lot of Thanks



After doing a some shopping this past weekend, I started to feel a little Christmas cheer. I enjoyed seeing the Christmas displays and the red and green decorating the stores. All the merriment had me thinking of packing up my autumn decorations to make way for Christmas trees and twinkle lights.

The next day, my anticipation of the Christmas season slowed down. My mom took me and my brother's girlfriend to tea at Sweet Shalom Tea Room in Sylvania, OH. Surrounded by delicate floral china with matching tea cups and real silver, we were served delicious food - the pumpkin scones were unbelievable! And of course, we drank wonderful tea. At our place settings were little cards with our names and a gentle reminder to "keep an attitude of gratitude". In the middle of our afternoon tea, a woman, who I assume is the owner, talked about gratitude and the physical benefits of living a thankful life.

As I sat listening to her and sipping my tea, I thought about what I am thankful for. We were even given little sheets of paper to list things. My family is the first thing that came to my mind, especially as my dad is, yet again, in the ICU. And frankly, last weekend was stressful and scary with some tears shed, but I still have a lot to be thankful for. My dad is in an excellent hospital getting the best care possible.

The atmosphere was so relaxing in this tea room that the short break from the craziness of the weekend was something to be thankful for. And even though we had to abruptly leave to go back to the hospital before the tea was over, our gracious server boxed up our desserts and split our fresh pot of tea into three to-go cups.

While I have bad days and frustrations about many things, I forget to slow down so the craziness of everything doesn't consume me. I can't control everything and that isn't going to change.


While I am still eager to break out my Christmas decorations, I will hold off for just a little bit longer to enjoy Thanksgiving. Who knew that a few cups of tea could bring so much perspective? Share This Post
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