Glazed and Infused: An Island Tea Dinner

What do you get when you combine a Puerto Rican surfing town, a Thai restaurant, a tea blender and a brother & sister chef team? A pretty awesome tea dinner, actually.

My brother, Andy, invited me to kick off my two-week Thanksgiving holiday vacation in Puerto Rico by hosting and cooking for a tea themed dinner event at his Thai-inspired restaurant, One Ten Thai, in Aguadilla, PR.

One Ten Thai has been serving my Zanitea hand blended teas for several years, so they have a bit of a tea drinker following already. And One Ten Thai has a fabulous event space above the restaurant where they can host private dinner events in an open kitchen for up to 25 people. The locals know and love One Ten Thai and Andy’s cooking, so it was pretty easy to fill the space four our tea-infused dinner event. We prepared a five-course menu, where every dish was infused with tea in some way and each course was paired with a matching tea-infused cocktail.

We had a great team to help us pull off this event successfully. My brother and I and one of his fabulous local chef friends cooked. My lover, Dan, was the mixologist. (Lucky for me, he had to practice mixing many a cocktail at home before we even left for our vacation!) My sister-in-law, Nastassia, was our lovely hostess. My sister, Liz, was our photographer. Some of my brother’s restaurant staff helped serve. And a couple of my brother’s friends provided delicious ambiance with live music. It was so fun. I can’t wait to do it again on my next trip to the island!

From left to right: Me, my lover and mixologist Dan, super creative local chef Tami, and my brother and One Ten Thai chef/owner Andy

Our Glazed and Infused tea dinner menu is listed below and I’ll be sure to share some of the scrumptious recipes from this menu over the course of the year.

Happy cooking and sipping!

Glazed and Infused: An Island Tea Dinner Menu

November 22, 2013

Tea-Inspired Cheese Plate

After Dinner herbal tea-brined pickles, Moroccan Mint green tea-roasted nuts, Lapsang Souchong smoky black tea-infused goat cheese, and aged Gouda drizzled with Citrus Spice tea-infused marmalade.

Tea Cocktail Pairing: After Dinner White Sangria

Moroccan Mint Pesto Pizza

Roasted tomato and goat cheese pizza, with Moroccan Mint green tea infused into both the pizza crust and the cilantro-mint pesto sauce topping.

Tea Cocktail Pairing: Moroccan Mint Mojito

Tea-Glazed Duck Confit Salad

Duck confit glazed with Citrus Spice black tea-infused orange marmalade, a Citrus Spice tea egg, and mixed greens tossed with a Citrus Spice tea & marmalade vinaigrette.

Tea Cocktail Pairing: Citrus Spice Iced Tea with Honey

Fish en Pappillote with Smoky Tea Beer Blanc Sauce

Locally caught snapper and veggies steamed in banana leaf, duck fat roasted fingerling potatoes, and a smoky Lapsang Souchong black tea-infused beer blanc sauce.

Tea Cocktail Pairing: Smoky Tea-Infused Stout & Lager

Spiced Rooibos Rum Carrot Cake

A layered carrot cake speckled with fresh pineapple and infused with a red rooibos spiced tea-infused rum that flavored the cake and the cream cheese frosting.

Tea Cocktail Pairing: Spiced Rooibos Apple-tea-ni

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