Tea Sandwiches

Fun twist and also traditional for English cuke sandwiches per my beloved (now deceased) Da. Use white pepper instead of black pepper. Tends to be less grainy and still has that pepper kick.

Cucumber and Cream Cheese sandwiches are good. You could also switch out the butter for Cream Cheese for the salmon. Mix Cream Cheese with the chives and dill etc. Or make them club sandwiches... use the white bread with cream chese, then cucumber, then a slice of wholemeal bread (light brown), a little butter for adhesion only, then the salmon, then top off with dark rye/pumpernickel with the herby cream cheese. Another nice combo, egg mayo salad one side with thin sliced ham on other.

Use the crusts in a lovely bread pudding.

For afternoon tea last summer I used the original Boursin cheese with thin English cucumber slices...they didn't last long.

The salmon ones were pretty good; in the future I’ll stick to cream cheese for the cucumber ones.

My mother and I used to help make many trays of these tea sandwiches for the Ladies Auxiliary of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, back in the 70’s. The secret to perfectly sliced sandwiches was to use an electric carving knife to remove the crusts. Never failed, no sawing or tearing of the bread (Pepperidge Farm thin bread was preferred). I still have my decades old electric knife ready any time tea sandwiches are required!

Looks like some flacks from a brand-name bakery (PFarm) have left several comments recommending their product. I don't work for TJs, but their brioche loaf is lovely for (thicker) finger sandwiches. Perfect for egg salad, so presumably great for these delicious-sounding fillings too.

When I was a teenager and helped make this tea sandwiches for various family events my mother ordered crustless bread from the grocery bakery. White, rye or pumpernickel. It was the size of cookie sheets. This was amazing really. I inquired about this recently and the bakery staff looked at me like I was an alien.

As a cook in Main Line Philadelphia, many years ago, I worked in a kitchen that produced thousands of tea sandwiches every year, for Tuesday afternoon clubs, Thursday afternoon clubs, and any other club that met on some day of the week. We used cookie cutters to make the sandwiches into little flower shapes or circles (as alternative to rigid squares or triangles) and filled them with finely chopped tuna or chicken salad. Another, with watercress and cream cheese was rolled.

Other filling favorites: Radishes, salt and butter Smoked salmon with dilled sour cream Cream cheese or soft cheddar with olives Pâté with dab of red current jelly

A few other great combos I have served are cheddar and chutney (Major Grey's or mango) and hummus and cress or chiffonade spinach. Tea parties are a real treat for friends. Monk's bread works well too.