Hye Tea Social – a 10-year tradition at St. Leon Armenian Church, NJ
7 years ago
My sister, Dawn, and brother-in-law, Ara, visited us in Florida last week. They brought several gifts as a way to thank us for our hospitality – specialty chocolates, 2 dozen of our favorite chorags, made by the women at St. Leon Armenian Church in Fair Lawn, NJ, and a copy of their Women’s Guild ‘Hye Tea Social’ – 10th Anniversary recipe booklet created by Barbara Hovsepian, a long-time family friend. We couldn’t have been more pleased with these gifts – and, of course, their company.
The Women’s Guild at St. Leon has a large, incredibly active, membership which organizes exciting functions throughout the year.
For the past ten years the Guild has hosted a popular event generally held in the month of May called ‘Hye-Tea Social’. For their first Tea, each member was asked to bring their own favorite tea cup. Each year after that another item was requested – ‘hat, gloves, parasol, fan, nosegay, brooch, pearls, and shawl’. This year’s request was to ‘wear your Hye-Tea best!’ My sister reported that most came all decked-out for this festive occasion.
Besides dressing to impress, the bite-sized refreshment assortment really takes center-stage. There is a dedicated committee which plans and prepares countless recipes to serve the eager guests. The Hye-Tea fare includes ‘traditional English tea items as well as some Armenian dishes’. This year’s booklet contains many of the recipes they have served over the past ten years, and I understand the social attracted over 200 women (members with their mothers, daughters, and granddaughters). Very impressive!
The Hye-Tea is all about the eye-appealing food, assorted teas, fun entertainment, and lively comradery. The menu varies from year-to-year, but favorite bites make it onto the menu year-after-year.
Here are a few of the recipes that are easy to prepare and can be served for any occasion …
Appetizer: Zhazhig and Crackers (Cheese Ball)
Ingredients:
4 oz. softened cream cheese
8 oz. softened Farmer’s cheese
½ cup sweet onion, finely chopped
2 stalks inner celery ribs, finely chopped
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Directions:
Mix the ingredients together until well-combined. Spread on crackers or 3-inch lengths of celery stalks.
Peel and chop the eggs. Add the mayonnaise, salt and pepper; mix to combine.
Cut a small slice off the edge of each mini pita. Gently open and stuff with some egg salad. Gently push in some of the basturma slivers, leaving a little of the basturma exposed at the opening.
Dessert: Butter Balls (Yields 4 to 5 dozen)
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. almond extract
2 cups sifted flour
1 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
Powdered sugar – enough to coat butter balls
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix butter with sugar until creamy. Add salt, extract and flour; mix without over-mixing. Add nuts and mix lightly.
Place dough in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until light brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on rack. Shake powdered sugar over the cooled cookies.
That's interesting about the Zhazhig/Jajig. Although I often eat it ON celery, I've never seen it made WITH celery. I almost made a batch just this past Wed because I was at one of the few local grocery stores that sells the Farmer's Cheese, but I knew I'd eat it all! ;)
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That's interesting about the Zhazhig/Jajig. Although I often eat it ON celery, I've never seen it made WITH celery. I almost made a batch just this past Wed because I was at one of the few local grocery stores that sells the Farmer's Cheese, but I knew I'd eat it all! ;)