The Secret Pal Tea

Late last fall a group of ladies at our church exchanged names & became Secret Pals. It was fun to try & find something little & simple to brighten a day or bring a smile to someone's face. To finish off our adventure, Diane & Vikki - remember them - (http://ablipontheradar.blogspot.com/2007/02/earth-angels.html ) planned and executed the best, most fun ladies tea I've ever been to - well, okay, so it was the only ladies tea I've been to since I was in high school - but it was REALLY GOOD! -






Here's how we spent our luncheon -

The tables were set with divine china cups & saucers. There were plates of little tea sandwiches - aren't they CUTE! And they were very tasty, too!







But they didn't hold a candle to the cake that Vikki made -












The "picket fence" is made of the best sugar cookies & the little flowers - were almost too cute to eat














I'm sure it took her hours to decorate this cake - it was carrot cake with lots of raisins and a custard filling to die for.




Everyone brought a salad to share - I made an old Pampered Chef recipe - It is unlikely that you will have the PC Dill seasoning - regular dill from the store (get it in the bulk food aisle - much cheaper) & 1/4 - 1/2 tsp of onion flakes will do to substitute.

DILLY SEAFOOD PASTA SALAD

Dressing:
1 lemon
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. All Purpose Dill Seasoning
¼ tsp salt
Pepper to taste (lemon pepper would be good here)



Salad:
8 oz. uncooked medium shell pasta
1 cup cucumber, scored & sliced
½ cup red bell pepper, chopped
½ cup carrot, coarsely chopped
¼ cup green onions w/tops, thinly sliced
½ lb. (8 oz) cooked med. shrimp
(shelled & deveined)

For Dressing: Zest whole lemon using Lemon Zester/Scorer. Juice lemon to measure 1 Tbsp. juice. Combine Zest, juice, mayo, sour cream and Dill Mix in 1-Qt. Batter Bowl.

For Salad: Cook Pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water. Using Lemon Zester/Scorer, score down the length of the cucumber in evenly spaced rows around the entire cucumber. Slice. Chop bell pepper and carrot using Food Chopper. Slice Green onions.

Place salad ingredients into a 12 cup bowl. Pour dressing over salad; toss lightly, cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or over night.

Yield: 6 servings
copyright Pampered Chef Corp.




We ate lunch, and opened presents

It almost seemed a crime to cut into that beautiful cake - notice is said ALMOST...

Thanks to everyone who was involved - we had a great time and decided to do it again next year!