mini tea sammies, 3 ways!

 

There are a few things that transform just any old party into a tea party.  Tea cups are an absolute must (bonus points for vintage, mismatched and pastel!), tiered trays and lots of fresh florals certainly set the mood, and scones and jam must be present for tradition’s sake.  But, a tea party isn’t really a tea party without those tiny, little white bread sandwiches we all know and love!  The most classic choices are cucumber and butter, smoked salmon, chicken, and egg salad, but for us, the more beautiful, tiny, colourful, and intricate the better!  So, as a little supplement to our Pastel Garden Brunch we styled with Alyssa of Random Acts of Pastel (full photo set coming next week!), we wanted to share our spin on the classic tea sandwich, done KATB-style 3 different ways to add a little flair to your tea party table!

Tea Sandwiches 3 Ways

Ingredients:

Loaf of classic white Wonder Bread
1 fresh cucumber
1 pint of fresh strawberries
1-3 jars of KATB jam, preferably in a variety of colours
Lavender oil (we used this one from A L’Olivier)
Butter, at room temperature
Cream Cheese, at room temperature
Culinary-grade lavender blossoms
Fresh sprigs of mint
2.25” round cookie cutter

The tiniest heart-shaped cookie cutter you can find (we found ours at Bulk Barn!)

Cucumber & Lavender

  1. Using a sharp knife or mandolin, slice your cucumber as thin as possible crosswise.
  2. Spread a thin coat of butter on your slices of white bread, and delicately place your cucumber slices in one layer to create a mosaic effect, overlapping the crusts.
  3. Then, using a sharp knife, cut through the cucumber and bread into your desired shape.  We chose squares for our cucumber sammies, and got 1 sammie out of each piece of bread.  Tip: if you find that your cucumber slices are slipping as you try to cut through them, place the whole palm of your (clean) hand on top of your sammie to hold everything in place as you cut.  Don’t be nervous to press down a little bit - the Wonder Bread will bounce right back!
  4. Set aside…

Strawberry & Mint

  1. Spread a thin layer of butter on a couple slices of Wonder Bread, then cut off the crusts and into 3 long rectangles.
  2. Using a sharp knife, hull the greenery from the top of your berries.  Sit them on their “heads,” slice them thin, and, keeping them in their original order, use your fingers to carefully fan the slices and place them on each rectangle of bread.
  3. Set aside…

Stained Glass Jam Sammies

  1. For these little gems, you will get one sammie per every two pieces of bread.  So, for three sammies, arrange 6 slices of bread on your cutting board in a 2x3 grid.
  2. Using the circle cutter, cut rounds out of all of the pieces of bread - 3 for the bases of your sammies, 3 for the tops.  Then, cut hearts out of only 3 (half) of the rounds.
  3. Spread your cream cheese on each of the bases, then add a dollop of jam and give it a slight spread with the back of your spoon.  Be careful not to spread the jam too close to the edges, or you will have a messy tea sandwich.  Also, using a variety of different types of preserves will add visual beauty and colour to your display!
  4. Place the heart-cut-out tops on top of each base, and press gently to “seal” the sammie and push the cheese and jam to the outer edges.

And now, for the grand finale!

When you are ready to serve your tea sandwiches…

  1. Drizzle a small amount of lavender oil over your cucumber mosaics, and a little sprinkle of lavender blossoms,
  2. Pluck the tiniest leaves and any flowers from the tips of your mint sprigs, and place prettily on your strawberries…
  3. Load all of your tea sammies onto your tiered tray, serve, and enjoy! Pinkies up!

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