Tea-Time at the Inn: A Country Inn Cookbook

Tea enthusiasts can rejoice that afternoon tea has been rediscovered as an elegant ritual. In this compilation of teatime repasts at American bed & breakfast inns, Greco shows the varied ways in which innkeepers serve the meal, from the traditional, European formal afternoon teas--complete with English butler, silver equipage, antique linens and clotted cream--to high teas resplendent with hot savories and chamber music to rather ingenious American occasions in which the Civil War, Gone with the Wind , Mardi Gras and snow skiing play dominant roles in decor and cuisine. Despite the occasional spicy Mexican or low-fat herbal tea offered here, Victorian and antiquarian notes resound in most of the inns, and delectable recipes often suggest a British, even Dickensian, flavor, as in Rose Manor's lemon curd mini-tarts, Corner House Inn's kipper pate sandwiches, Bee & Thistle's rhubarb inger jam and Village Inn's trifle with sherry. Writing in a picturesque style, Greco showcases numerous recipes from each inn and makes imaginative yet practical suggestions for creating thematic teatimes at home. (Oct.)