"Relaxed Fit" Tea Sandwiches

Now, in case anybody's confused about the title of this post, I'm not going to talk about baggy foods. 

As I said in my previous post, my SIL made seven different kinds of tea sandwiches for our tea party, and they were all wonderful!  But they might not all fit into the Book of Tea Sandwich Standards.  Hence, I'm calling them "relaxed fit".  This is about ... relaxing standards and finding creative ways to make scrummy basic foods interesting and fun.

First on the list, a couple of fairly basic sandwiches made special by small squares and crusts removed. 

• P-But-Jel.  Use creamy or crunchy peanut butter, it doesn't matter, and of course, the jelly of your choice.  Ahh, p-but-jel, the source of many of my favorite childhood memories.
• Piggie a' fromage - Yes, yer basic ham and cheese.  Use very thinly sliced swiss, and a thin schmear of mayo on the bread. 
• Braunschweiger - This is a soft, spiced liver sausage, usually smoked.  I guess it could be sliced thin and laid on the bread, or mashed up to make a sort of pate. 

A couple of the sandwiches were served "open face" which made for a nice change. 

• Bacon & Cream Cheese - After frying up the bacon, you'll probably need to press it between paper towels or napkins and some kind of weight so it will lie somewhat flat.  Spread a mixture of cream cheese and finely chopped chives on the bread, then top with a piece of bacon.  If you want to be a bit more healthy, use turkey bacon.
• Cucumber & Cream Cheese - You can flavor the cream cheese any way you like.  Mix in some of the left-over bacon bits, crumbled up, or add some diced sunflower seeds for something unusual.
• Avocado & Brie - Thinly sliced brie cheese on a light schmear of mayo, topped with little slices of avocado.  Very tasty!

Last but not least, there's tuna!  We all love tuna around here, so a tea sandwich tray without a couple of tuna fish sandwiches on it would be incomplete.  If you want to jazz up your tuna, try adding some finely chopped pistachio nuts and chopped hard boiled egg.  I guess then it would sort of be egg AND tuna salad. 

These are just a few ideas for tea party sandwiches.  They don't have to be exotic recipes or difficult to make.  These are easy, but they're still fun to eat because of the size and the preparation... and the presentation.  Funny how just slicing up a sandwich into small bites and taking the crusts off can make you FEEL special.  Try it!

Related: Afternoon Tea Party Sandwiches

Comments

[Abby Semple]

Thank you for all of the ideas. This really helped me. THANKS!!!

Tea sandwich fillings are easy to make. I have found it's best to make them a few days before, make the sandwiches the day before the party and cut them on the day of the party. Everything cuts nicer. As far as fillings, the sky is the limit! I own An Afternoon to Remember in Newcastle, California. We are known for our sandwiches-especially chicken. Smoked almond, swiss cheese and chicken are absolutely wonderful. Chicken with basil, black olives and cheese is another one of my favorites. For more ideas and recipes,
our afternoon tea cookbooks.

www.afternoontoremember.com

Amy Lawrence

[vicki]

Christine...add a little mayo to make cream cheese smoother, but not enough to change the taste of the cream cheese.

[Christine]

Ooo, that sounds really good. I'm going to have to try that! Thanks, Vicki

[vicki]

The bacon and cream cheese is addictive! Not fattening, either!!!

During the summer I gave cherry tomatoes from my garden to my neighbor. She mixed together bacon, chive and cream cheese, then placed cherry tomatoes on top. She served it with Frito's scoopers! Each bite was a cherry tomatoe with the bacon, chive and cream cheese. Wow!