Rania's Recipes: Tea Party Sandwiches
Rania Harris stopped by PTL to show off some delicious sandwich recipes that would be perfect for a tea party!
Herbed Goat Cheese Tea Sandwiches
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 10 ½ ounces Montrachet or other mild goat cheese at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
- ½ teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 5 to 6 tablespoons milk, half & half, or heavy cream
- ¾ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the sandwiches:
- Walnut raisin bread, thinly sliced
- 1 hothouse cucumber
Directions:
For the spread, place the cream cheese, goat cheese, garlic, thyme, parsley, and 5 tablespoons of milk, salt and pepper in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until well mixed. Add an additional tablespoon of milk if the spread is very thick.
To make the sandwiches, spread each slice of bread with the goat cheese spread. Slice the cucumber in thin rounds and arrange on half the bread slices. Top with the remaining bread. Press slightly, trim off the crusts, and using a cookie cutter, cut the sandwiches into rounds or hearts.
Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches
Herb butter:
- 1 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 large garlic clove ~ minced
- 3 tablespoons minced scallions (white and green parts)
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh dill
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
- Zest of one lemon
- Juice of one large lemon
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Sandwiches:
- 20 slices 7-grain or dense health bread (see recipe note below)
- Smoked salmon ~ thinly sliced
Directions:
For the herb butter, combine all the butter ingredients in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until mixed, but do not whip.
For the sandwiches, have the store slice the bread into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
Lay out 20 slices of bread and spread them all with a thin layer of herb butter. Place smoked salmon on 10 of the slices, to fit the bread. Top with the other 10 slices of bread, butter side down. Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet and wrap with plastic. Refrigerate until the butter is very cold. Place the sandwiches on a cutting board. With a very sharp knife, cut off the crusts, cut each large sandwich in half on a diagonal and then cut each half diagonally again to make a total of 40 small triangles.
Serve chilled.
Yield: 40 sandwich triangles
