Bacon Wrapped Dates and a Moody Magic Afternoon Tea

It's dark, it's cozy, it's moody in the most comforting way. This magical afternoon tea party is a celebration of the slide into those sultry months of winter. Decorate a warm and welcoming corner of your home for an intimate gathering. Serve a variety of dark and delicious autumnal treats, both savoury and sweet. Make these simple bacon wrapped dates for a warm appetizer, and follow that with tea sandwiches, scones, and selection of seductive treats. Wave your magic wand and voilà . . .

What cozy magic is this?

Soft candles' glow, rich tapestries, bejeweled crockery, the moody dark romance of medieval castles and ancient libraries, intertwined with Hogwarts-type wizardry schools and Merlin-esque magic dens.

We collaborated with our friends and tea party partners, Nicoletta and Loreto of SugarLoveSpices, to transform the living room of their home with swaths of elegant dark fabrics, jewel-toned glass, tarnished silver, and a twinkling galaxy of glowing candles. The theme was set and the magic surrounded us.

A chilly afternoon, the dark and dreary advent of winter, and these visions just beckoned to us. Nicoletta and I had such fun planning all the details of this ethereal tea party shadowed with ghostly remnants of a bygone era.

A Customizable Tea Party Theme

Any cool, shivery fall or winter day is the perfect time for a Moody Magic Afternoon Tea. Keep the lighting low, and add plenty of sumptuous accessories. The beauty of it all is that in the light of glowing candles, even ordinary items take on a special glow. Bedsheets, cushions, and tablecloths are transformed into a moody backdrop that creates drama and an aura of mystery. Candlelight transforms glass and bounces off silver and brass to add sparkle.

The decor for a Moody Magic Afternoon tea can be easily tweaked to fit different occasions:

• for a Halloween themed tea party, add some ghostly elements like draped cobwebs, flowy sheets, and ghoulish or friendly jack-o'lanterns, orange and black colours
• make it a Thanksgiving celebration with the addition of more pumpkins, gourds, fall leaves, and and a cornucopia of rich fall fruits. Mini pumpkins for table decorations and golden dried wheat or barley stalks in vases. Coloured dried corn cobs and twigs with seed pods.
• for a Winter Solstice tea party, still keep it dark and cozy but add a bit of snow sparkle, white tablecloth or china, lots of white candles, sparkling silver, chrome, and moon-themed accessories
• Winter Magic - in the depths of a cold January and February or any other winter month, just amp up the moody magic elements even more.
• a romantic Valentine's tea party for two would be stunning with even more candles, lots of dark red roses, and of course, some champagne to sip on. Even more cozy cushions for lounging and cuddling. Soft, romantic music is a must.
• choose a specific dark and moody movie or book theme for your magic Afternoon Tea, like Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Twilight, or any of your favourite gothic romances or vampire tales, either historical or current. Decorate with elements from the story and adjust the menu to match where possible. It's even fun to dress for the theme, if possible.

We prepared our version of a moody menu of afternoon tea delights - satisfying the palate with rich, earthy flavours and providing a feast for the eyes with dark and jeweled colours. Then we gathered around the low table amid cushions, wools, and silks, poured pots of steaming tea, sipped and supped, talked and laughed the afternoon away to the strains of baroque chamber music and Gregorian chants softly resonating in the background.

Host your own Moody Magic Afternoon Tea Party

Find a comfy spot, whether it is your dining room table, a large, low coffee table (like we chose here), or even a blanket on the floor. Drape the area in as many dark, jewel-toned blankets, tapestries, and tablecloths you can find, to create a cozy, enveloping den where you can lounge to enjoy your tea party. Add low chairs, stools, ottomans, and cushions to provide comfortable seating. Cover them with dark-coloured blankets or shawls to fit the theme. Small tables or upturned crates covered in a cloth provide side serving areas for items that don't fit on your main table, like candles, extra desserts, flowers, teapots, or extra beverage containers.

A 3-tiered Stand Filled with Tea Dainties

Candles, Candles Everywhere

The most mystical atmosphere comes about with the lighting. Even if your other accessories aren't all in the same theme, as soon as you add candlelight, the magic happens. Choose a mix of tall tapers and fat, stubby pillars, in beeswax, ivory, or soft, dark colours. (Thrift stores often have a great selection of partly burned candles.) For safety, make sure the candles are set onto stable, secure surfaces and have wide brims to catch any wax drips.

The Menu

What to Serve

• Bacon Wrapped Dates stuffed with blue cheese or any other cheese (see recipe below) - serve these sweet, salty, caramelly bites warm - they are decadently luscious!
• Olive and Anchovy Spirals - these crispy, puffy little bites pack an umami punch! They are sooo good (and can be made with frozen puff pastry). Nicoletta and Loreto show you the easy recipe in the link.
• Open-Faced Herring Sandwiches - small squares of dark pumpernickel bread topped with a generous smear of cream cheese, a piece of pickled herring fillet in wine marinade (purchased), a slice of crisp apple, and a sprig of dill. These pack a German/Scandinavian vibe - satisfying in flavour and texture
• Cucumber Sandwiches - we went with open-faced triangles of rye bread spread with mayonnaise, topped with thin slices of cucumber, chives, salt and pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil - crunchy and fresh!
• Toasted Pecan Scones - add these toasted nuts to your favourite scone recipe for crunch and richness
• Nutmeg Clotted Cream - this one was homemade (recipe coming soon) but you can also spoon purchased clotted cream into a small bowl and sprinkle it lightly with freshly ground nutmeg
• Haskap Berry Jam - dark, tangy, and delicious (or choose another favourite dark-coloured jam like blueberry, blackberry, cherry, or saskatoon or grape jelly)
• Bara Brith - this traditional Welsh fruit loaf (also known as Barmbrack in Ireland) is chock full of raisins and assorted dried fruits soaked in strong tea, with an added shot of whisky. Serve slices of it to slather in butter or more clotted cream! (Recipe coming soon to the blog.)
• Jam Tarts - these simple little tarts are a teatime classic, and so easy to make
• Triple Chocolate Whoopie Pies - filled with chocolate buttercream and rolled in cocao nibs for crunch - or choose another dark, chocolate tea-time treat (brownies would be good)
• figs with honey and cinnamon - cut fresh, ripe figs in quarters, but not quite all the way through to the bottom, squeeze them slightly open, drizzle with honey (we chose buckwheat honey) and sprinkle with cinnamon - jammy and delicious

Looking for the antidote to a case of the cold-weather doldrums? A tea party is the answer!

Have a peek at Nicoletta and Loreto's blog, SugarLoveSpices, for their fantastic Olive and Anchovy Spirals recipe, plus their photos and story of our memorable Moody Magic Afternoon Tea.

Now on to the Bacon Wrapped Dates - What You'll Need

Just three simple ingredients:

• Bacon - regular slices (not extra thin or thick-cut). You can use regular bacon, turkey bacon, low-sodium bacon, or even use partially-cooked bacon to save the step of prebaking it yourself.
• Dates - Medjool dates are preferred for their luscious, thick, caramelly flesh.
• Cheese - Blue cheese works particularly well, but you can use feta, goat cheese, or even Parmesan cheese or extra-old cheddar. Use about 1½ teaspoons of the softer cheeses to stuff each date, or a similarly-sized lengthwise chunk of a harder cheese.
• Oh, and Salt & Pepper

How to Make These Yummy Appetizers

First you'll need to partially cook the bacon - if you don't, it will take so long to get it crispy that the cheese overcooks and all melts out. The easiest and most uniform results are from baking the slices in the oven. You can also pre-cook them in a frying pan or the microwave. (Or you can buy the pre-baked bacon slices from Costco.😉)

Line a baking sheet with tin foil or a large piece of parchment paper that sticks up an inch or two on all sides. Lay out the bacon slices in a single layer.

Bake it in a preheated hot oven for 10-12 minutes, just until the edges are starting to get a little bit golden, but the slices are still laying flat. Let cool slightly, then cut each bacon slice in half crosswise.

• Slit each Medjool date lengthwise on one side and remove the pit.
• Stuff the date with 1-1½ teaspoons of blue cheese or other soft, flavourful cheese (or cut a rectangular chunk of hard cheese and press it into the date).
• Wrap it with a half-slice of bacon and secure with one or two toothpicks.
• Bake them until the bacon is golden and slightly crispy.

Remove the toothpicks, let cool a few minutes (the insides are hot!) and serve.

Other Afternoon Teas for Inspiration

An Afternoon Tea picnic or brunch is a wonderful way to treat yourself and your friends to some special time together. Check out these past tea parties we've done for some inspiration and practical tips:

• Gluten-Free Victoria Sponge Cake and a Lovely Summer Afternoon Tea Picnic
• Coronation Chicken Salad Sandwiches and a Perfect Afternoon Tea Picnic
• Butter Pecan Bars and a Glowing Afternoon Tea Picnic in the Orchard
• Raspberry Meringue Kisses and a Dreamy Blue & White Afternoon Tea Picnic
• Cheesecake Cupcakes and a Festive Christmas Brunch
• Fruit & Flower Almond Cake and a Forest Fairy Afternoon Tea Party

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Guten Appetit!