Recipe: Tea Sandwich Fillings and Spreads - Mayonnaise, Butter, and Cream Cheese Variations

TEA SANDWICH FILLINGS, BREADS, AND SPREADS
Source: Having Tea: Recipes & Table Settings by Tricia Foley

Beyond the pleasures of traditional cress and cucumber, tea sandwiches may be filled with almost any filling that isn't so wet that it will soak through the bread.

Consider using cream puffs, biscuits, scones, puff pastry shells, tartlets, muffins, and crepes along with the traditional sandwich breads.

The simplest chicken, ham, or cheese sandwich will be enlivened by one of these tasty spreads.

MAYONNAISE VARIATIONS
To a cup of mayonnaise, homemade or store-bought, add:
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
or 1 tablespoon freshly chopped chives
or 2 tablespoons grated lemon rind or orange peel

BUTTER VARIATIONS
To a stick (1/2 cup) of softened butter, fold in
until the mixture reaches a creamy consistency:
4 ripe, hulled, and mashed strawberries
or 1 tablespoon freshly chopped tarragon or mixed herbs
or 2 tablespoons honey with grated rind of one lemon.

CREAM CHEESE VARIATIONS
To an 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened, mix in:
1/4 cup chopped dates
or 1/ cup chopped walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, almonds
or raisins
or 2 tablespoons chives, chopped
or 1/4 cup raspberry preserves
or 2 tablespoons diced scallions.

TEA SANDWICHES

Make up a quantity of sandwiches you are not serving them right away, store them in the refrigerator for a few hours, either sealed in airtight plastic bags, or with a slightly damp dish towel draped over them,

Here are some interesting tea sandwiches to try:

Smoked turkey with raspberry mayonnaise on cracked wheat bread

Curried chicken with walnuts on white bread

Shrimp with dill vinaigrette on oatmeal bread

Tomato with basil on black bread with home made mayonnaise

Avocado with sprouts and walnuts on whole wheat bread

Sliced hard boiled eggs with cracked black pepper and bibb lettuce on wheat bread with herb mayonnaise

Stilton cheese crumbled over pear slices on oatmeal bread

Sugar-cured ham with thin pineapple slices on dill bread

Asparagus spears with lemon mayonnaise on wheat bread

Cream cheese with walnuts on date nut raisin bread