Perfect Tea Sandwiches

As promised from my last post, here are my favorite sandwiches to have on "stand by" for a ladies luncheon or appropriate type event.  Up next, I'll walk you through the ins and outs of tea etiquette.

Last year, I hosted a Galentine's luncheon for my girlfriends.  I had some fun with lip and heart shaped cookie cutters to make the perfect themed sandwiches.  Typically, you'll find pimento cheese, egg salad, benedictine (cucumber/mayonnaise mixture) and/or tomato aspic down south.  Thanks to a recent trip to the Plaza Hotel back in March, I am known to offer herb-roasted prime rib with horseradish cream and watercress on a brioche slider now too.  For this menu I used the following:

Heart Shaped Sandwiches:  thin, white Pepperidge Farm bread with herbed cream cheese and cucumber slices.

Lip Shaped Sandwiches:  thin, pumpernickel Pepperidge Farm bread filled with Palmetto Cheese.

Triangle Cut Sandwiches:  thin, wheat Pepperidge Farm bread filled with smoked salmon and egg salad.

During my Mother-Daughter Christmas Tea, I offered the same bread offerings but paired Palmetto Cheese with white bread, egg salad with wheat bread and cream cheese and smoked salmon with the pumpernickel.  I always use the thin Pepperidge Farm breads for these sandwiches.

The trick to keeping the sandwiches moist so they don't dry out is to layer them between buttered parchment paper in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

For little girls you can offer peanut butter and jelly, Nutella and strawberry, Nutella or peanut butter with banana or ham and cheese.  Using fun shaped cookie cutters to match your theme elevate the excitement and make your party more festive.  I have a horse shoe cutter that I'll use for the Kentucky Derby and Steeple Chase events. 

Other pairings I enjoy are turkey and cream cheese on a raisin bread, herbed goat cheese with cucumber on a grain bread and cream cheese with thin radish slices on pumpernickel.  A fabulous summer option is strawberry, basil and cream cheese on white bread.  It is so refreshing and unexpected. 

Usually, I like to make my own egg salad, chicken salad and pimento cheese but y'all - these suckers take a good while to assemble.  Find a trusted deli or brand and spend your time on the assembly line rather than whipping up the fillings.  For pimento cheese, I prefer Palmetto Cheese or Proper Pepper. 

So speaking of Galentine's Day - here is a sneak peak to last year's details. 

Pulled out all the silver, crystal and Mottahedeh Tobacco Leaf china

Nicoise Salad is always a hit

Rose all day!

Sweet treats

I can't wait to recreate for my friends this year though it will be much more casual.  Cheers to girlfriends!

xoxo,
Lee