Cucumber Sandwiches
https://ift.tt/3ikyBWT I come from a family of four children. When we were little and getting antsy, my mom would sometimes distract us with “party sandwiches.” They could have been made with just about anything— peanut butter and jelly or tuna salad—but she created an air of festivity by cutting off the crusts and then cutting them into triangles. Voila! Party sandwiches! Sometimes we had an actual tea party, with juice served in teacups. Mom loved sandwiches filled with cucumbers. And radishes, and cream cheese and jelly, and watercress—you get the idea. We ate them all with her, bolstered by her enthusiasm for these treats, and I confess I’ve acquired a taste for cucumber sandwiches. Rainy, boring days at home suddenly become more cheerful and fun. I’m not sure if it’s from the memory, the sandwich or both. WHAT IS A CUCUMBER TEA SANDWICH?These simple (as in, really, really simple) little sandwiches of crunchy, thinly sliced cucumbers inside slices of bread slathered in butter or cream cheese are as delicate as a spring breeze. While they’re ideal to serve as part of a Mother’s Day brunch, a baby shower, or a graduation party, you can also make just a few of them and have your own private little tea party, or a fast and easy lunch. The tradition of tea sandwiches started in the mid 1800’s when it became fashionable to serve something in the late afternoon to stave off hunger before the long wait for an eight o’clock dinner. And there you have it. Scones and strawberries and jam-filled tarts soon followed, but cucumber sandwiches still reign. BEST BREAD FOR CUCUMBER SANDWICHESThe best bread for these sandwiches is soft, thinly sliced white bread, such as Pepperidge Farm Very Thin White. As much as I love sourdough, hefty wheat, and rye bread, they would steal the show from the main attraction of butter or cream cheese and delicate cucumbers, so the fewer flavor add-ons, the better. In other words, when preparing these sandwiches, dainty and subtle should be your guiding principles. BEST CUCUMBERS FOR TEA SANDWICHESThe best cucumbers for these sandwiches are English cucumbers, also called burpless or European cucumbers. Long and thin, they were bred to create a cucumber with smaller seeds and thinner skin than the common cucumber. They are usually shrink-wrapped in plastic to protect the skins from nicks. Tradition mandates that cucumbers for these sandwiches be peeled, but you can certainly break that rule if you use English cucumbers, which have more palatable skins. Use a mandoline slicer to cut them into paper-thin slices if you have one, or a knife to carefully do the same. Then, after salting and draining them, layer them on the bread slices, already spread with butter or cream cheese. If you can’t find English cucumbers, use regular cucumbers. If using regular cucumbers, which are larger and have a thicker skin than English cucumbers, peel the tough outer skins and slice the cucumber in half lengthwise. Take a spoon and scoop the seeds out. This will prevent excess moisture from entering your finished product. Then, thinly slice the cucumber into half moons. SWAPS, SUBSTITUTIONS, AND SUGGESTIONSThere are no hard and fast rules, but in this case, less is more. Pick one or two and add them to create a little variety to your selection.
MAKE-AHEAD FINGER SANDWICHESBecause cucumbers are watery, the sandwiches are best assembled just a few hours before serving to keep them from becoming soggy. But there are a few things you can do ahead of time, so you aren’t doing everything at the last minute. One day ahead:
The day of serving:
HOW TO SERVE CUCUMBER SANDWICHES FOR A PARTYArrange the sandwiches on platters. If you are serving them as part of a buffet, place them on a cake plate or a fancy silver platter. One catering trick is to arrange the buffet table so that platters are at different heights, using various cake stands of different sizes. You can improvise your own cake stands by using pretty plates and placing them atop upside-down bowls. Since the bread dries out quickly, serve the sandwiches in batches, refilling the platters as the number of sandwiches dwindles. WHAT TO SERVE WITH TEA SANDWICHES AT A PARTYIf you’re thinking of serving your cucumber sandwiches for a party, you might want to serve them with any of the following, though you don’t have to make each and every offering. Be sure to choose some specialty items from your favorite bakery. Don’t forget the drinks! Offer a variety of beverage options your next brunch, bridal shower, or baby shower. A few of my favorites are Earl Grey Tea and Tonic or a flowery Sparkling Strawberry Sangria, refreshing Mint and Lemon Verbena Tea, glasses of champagne, or a crisp chilled white wine. MORE GREAT SANDWICH RECIPESRecipes via Simply Recipes https://ift.tt/2F9fkDA July 1, 2020 at 09:05AM #recipies
The Flat Belly FixThis is the only 21-day rapid weight loss system that allows you to easily lose an average of 1 lb a day for 21 days without feeling hungry or deprived. The unique and brand new techniques used in this System are proven SAFE. And they do not cause the rebound weight gain common to all the other rapid weight loss systems that are not backed by the latest science. The Flat Belly Fix System takes advantage of a recent scientific discovery that proves the effective weight loss power of an ancient spice. Combined with other cutting-edge ingredients in the patent-pending Flat Belly Fix Tea™ — that you can make right in your own kitchen in minutes — this System is the quickest, easiest and most enjoyable way to quickly get the body you desire and deserve. Click Here
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
The Flat Belly FixThis is the only 21-day rapid weight loss system that allows you to easily lose an average of 1 lb a day for 21 days without feeling hungry or deprived. The unique and brand new techniques used in this System are proven SAFE. And they do not cause the rebound weight gain common to all the other rapid weight loss systems that are not backed by the latest science. The Flat Belly Fix System takes advantage of a recent scientific discovery that proves the effective weight loss power of an ancient spice. Combined with other cutting-edge ingredients in the patent-pending Flat Belly Fix Tea™ — that you can make right in your own kitchen in minutes — this System is the quickest, easiest and most enjoyable way to quickly get the body you desire and deserve. Click HereCategories
All
Archives
November 2020
|