Great food and atmosphere at the Camellia Rose Tea Room

My daughter Leslie and her husband, Ben, are here for the holidays from Hawaii. This visit is particularly meaningful because she is six months pregnant with their first child.

And I couldn't be happier that I'm going to be a grandma for the second time. P.S. It's a girl.

When Leslie and her sisters were growing up in Jacksonville, one of the things we loved to do during the holidays was to see the local artists' holiday table settings at the Jacksonville Art Museum. Afterward, we'd go have lunch somewhere special. I always looked forward to our girls' day out.

During Leslie's visit, I hoped to recapture a little snippet of our long-ago holiday outings, so I made reservations at the Camellia Rose Tea Room in Plant City. We were both excited, since it was our first visit there, and the 30-minute drive was worth it.

The tea room was beautiful.

A glorious gift shop greeted us as we entered the historic downtown building. Inside the softly lighted dining room, random tables were covered with lace and floor-to-ceiling windows appointed with moire drapes trimmed with fringe.

For the holiday season, the mantle was heavily draped with magnolia garlands, and silver tea pots completed the setting, with its minute attention to detail.

Our tea-for-two party began as co-owner Ellen Garrett greeted us. She thoughtfully helped us make the most flattering selection from an array of vintage hats and accessories to add to our sense of childlike fantasy. Strangely, I was as eager to don a froufrou hat as much as Leslie was, and that's a line I don't cross often.

We ordered Camellia's Afternoon Tea. I chose the White Champagne with Raspberry, and Leslie chose the Sweetheart Black Chai, just two of the 70-or-so loose teas brewed at Camellia Rose.

First served was a small ramekin of beef tenderloin topped with a swirl of mashed potatoes. It was wonderful.

The fairyland, three-tier serving tray came next.

On the bottom platter, we discovered freshly baked, apple-raisin scones served with southern-style Devon cream; the middle platter featured curry chicken-salad tea sandwiches edged with finely chopped pecans, a dainty phyllo cup filled with a bite of Gruyere cheese and cranberries and a heart-shaped cucumber and cream cheese sandwich.

The top dish held a piece of red-velvet cake topped with cream cheese frosting and little mice with chocolate-kiss heads and chocolate-covered cherry bodies, stems for the tails and two slivered almonds for ears.

The food was delicious and the teas satisfying, but the greatest pleasure of Camellia's was the atmosphere. It's a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the moment, especially with your daughter or close friends - for at least two hours.

This week's recipe came from Ellen, who told me customers love the tea room's soups. If you like tortellini soup, you'll love this one.

TORTELLINI SOUP
In a large pot combine the following:
5 14.5 ounce cans Italian-flavored crushed tomatoes
4 14 ounce cans chicken broth
4 14 ounce cans beef broth
1 large head bok choy, white part only, sliced
In another pot:
3 pounds bulk Italian sausage
2 medium onions, chopped
Water to cover
In another pot:
5 medium to large potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 sliced carrots
2 sticks butter
12 cups water
1/2 jar Italian seasoning
3 9 ounce packages refrigerated cheese tortellini
Water to cover
Boil both the pot with sausage and the pot with the potatoes. Drain, and let cool. Crumble sausage, and add with onions to the broth-mixture pot. Add the carrots and potatoes to that pot, as well.
Add butter, 12 cups of water and Italian seasoning. Simmer on low heat all day. Add tortellini to pot about 40 minutes before serving. Sprinkle fresh Parmesan cheese on soup before serving, if desired.
Makes 50 cups.