Friday, January 15, 2016

Spending the Day with Eve Hill (Tea Lady Extraordinaire!)

Several months ago when I signed up for the traveling teapot, I received an email from Eve Hill inviting me to her home to see her teapot collection.  This isn't just any teapot collection.  Some of Eve's teapots have been featured in the Collectible Teapot Calendar, a Collectible Teapot Puzzle, the Novelty Teapots Collector book by Edward Bramah, and the Eccentric Teapot book by Garth Clark.  (Not just a teapot like hers, but her actual teapot!)  I had to make this happen.  December came and went in a blur and thanks to a couple extra weeks with the teapot, I was able to visit Eve.
Eve and her husband Bob had outdone themselves preparing for our visit.  Water was quickly heated for Harney and Sons Queen Catherine tea.  Soon her Shamrock Belleek teapot was filled and on the table.
 She quickly heated soup, put sandwiches on a platter and said tea grace.  We sat down and began our chinwag.  At some point, she added some sweets to the table, brewed a couple more pots of tea (one was Harney's Tropical Green in a Shelley teapot), and we were right back to our visit.

Eve is a fabulous cook and I was thoroughly stuffed when I left her home.  There was no need to stop for dinner in route home.  She was even kind enough to send some leftovers for my dear husband.

Starter for a cold day: Choirmaster's Sausage Tortellini Soup
Sandwich course:
Turkey roll-ups with Olive tapenade topping on cheese bread
Roast beef on marble rye with horseradish cream
Marinated cucumber and cream cheese on French baguette slices
Lady Mary's warm Crab puffs on focaccia crackers
Minced ham with artichoke Parmesan spread and Swiss cheese
Scone course:
Smucker's cherry preserves
Smucker's Apricot preserves
Devon cream
Downton sour cream scones a la Eve
Desserts: 
Shortbread rounds. 
Clothespin cookies with pastry cream filling
Lemon Pizzelles
Irish Cream brownies
Tarte au citron with home raised lemon
(We dined next to her fruit laden lemon plants.  Are there more tartes in the future?)
Teas 
Queen Catherine
Tropical Green
Our place settings
Before I knew it, the sun was setting and I needed to head back home.  We quickly cleared the table, and the teapot tour began.  Tune in tomorrow to see some of Eve's teapot collection.

Sips and Smiles,
Teresa and the Teapot

Eve was kind enough to share her soup recipe and tips.  She likes to cook with Ohio ingredients.

 Church cookbook recipes 
Choirmaster’s Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini 
1 lb. Italian sausage                                    2 cups tomatoes, seeded, chopped
1 cup onions, coarsely chopped                   or 2 large cans diced tomatoes                                                                  
2 cloves garlic, chopped                              1 cup sliced carrots       
4 cups beef broth  or stock                           ½  teasp. basil leaves (dried)              
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley           ½ teasp. oregano  (dried)   
1 medium green pepper (½ inch dice)           3 cloves garlic, chopped, crushed     
½ cup dry red wine                                        1 cup sliced zucchini
Grated Parmesan cheese                              8 oz frozen or fresh cheese filled
                                                                          Tortellini
If cased sausage, remove from casings. Cut sausage into small pieces and brown in heavy skillet, set aside. Put 1 or 2 tablespoons sausage drippings into a heavy 5 quart Dutch oven pan, sauté onions and garlic until unions are tender but not brown. Add beef broth,  wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil oregano, diced green peppers and browned sausage. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes. Skim fat from soup. Stir in zucchini, tortellini, parsley, garlic. Simmer, covered, additional 15-35 minutes or until tortellini are tender.  Sprinkle grated Parmesan on top each serving. Serves 8 to 10.     Recipe from DON SHEARER, Choirmaster at Strongsville United Maethodist cCurch
I use Bob Evans sausage most of the time for this. Dei Fratelli tomatoes, diced Italian in the big cans, are best unless you have fresh summer ones. For the wine, I have used everything from Chianti to Sangiovese and Sangiovese is not a dry wine, but they all work. Any and all of the ingredients can be played with as to amount and I always put some of the Parmesan in the soup before finishing, because it tastes better that way. There was some in yesterday’s soup.
Enjoy,
Eve

11 comments:

  1. How much fun could this be!!!!

    Great company and food and the best of scones!

    So wishing I could have been there too.

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  2. What an extra special treat! Looking forward to the tea pot collection photos! I got to see a partial collection when Eve had a presentation at the DC Tea Seminar many years ago. I can still remember her firm but gentle 'don't touch' instruction before the audience was able to peek at the teapots up close and personal.

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  3. Oh what fun. Thank you for sharing Eve and Dear Bob with us.

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  5. Oh...so jealous! LOL. Spenser and I had such a wonderful time at Eve's tea table a few years back...this brought back such happy memories. Thanks for sharing Teresa. Looks like the teapot has has a wonderful time!

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  6. The little Tardis teapot was indeed among tea royaltea! What beautiful teapots. And the food looked and sounded just delicious! Thanks, Eve, for the recipe. Yummmmm! I do have fond memories of sitting with a cup of tea served right at that table.

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  7. I visualized soup and a sandwich when I first began reading this post. But, this is Eve, I should have know better. I just know enjoyed a lovely afternoon.

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  8. Having the Tardis visit with Teresa made a winter cold snap warm indeed. The hostess enjoyed every moment and the quiet host likes any occasion with scones, even if he did get banished to the kitchen so we could have "Girl talk,"

    The daffodils from Teresa greatly improved January. Thank you.

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  9. What a fun and yummy day!
    Rochelle, ATAA

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  10. What a treat! Everything looks lovely and what an enjoyable time!

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  11. Oh gosh look at everything. I have scone envy. And you got hte recipe for her soup! As I read the blog post I was thinking, "I wonder if Eve will give me the recipe for that delicious looking soup." but look no further, there it is. YUM. Thanks for sharing your visit with us!

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