recent posts
Back to Tea
Date: May. 25th 2007
Category: Cookbooks, Flavour of the Month, Panini, Sandwiches and Tramezzini
Email This
|
Add to del.icio.us
I’d like to thank everyone for all the kind words and comments you’ve left about the redesign of my blog.
This was a big step for me and I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous as to how the new design would be received. There are still a few little issues to be worked out. I want to customize my sidebar a bit further and add some content including the Daring Bakers logo and links, but all in all I’m thrilled!
Now that the redesign is out of the way, it’s time to get back to the serious business of blogging. As many of you know at the beginning of the month I announced that my Flavour of the Month for May 2007 would be the lovely Tea Party by Tracy Stern. A busy schedule and the blog move meant that I haven’t been able to share very much from this book. As a result, this will continue to be the Flavour of the Month for June 2007. There are just too many incredible recipes for me to share with you in the few days left in May.
I have a lot of other news including an account of a wonderful lunch that I had with my own baking heroine, Dorie Greenspan. But until then, I leave you with what is perhaps one of the most recognizeable elements of afternoon tea: tea sandwiches.
There’s something irresistible to me about those perfect, tiny little concoctions that go so well with a cup of tea. I’ve had many variations of tea sandwiches, some good and some not-so-good. Stern has at least a handful of intriguing versions of the perfect tea sandwich. For this post, I decided to focus on two because they both include elements that I love.
The first is the cucumber tea sandwich. I adore cucumbers. During the summer, when it’s just far too hot and humid to cook elaborate meals for dinner (not that we often cook elaborate meals for dinner mind you), the humble tomato and cucumber salad is present on the table almost every night. Especially delicious because the cucumbers are from our very own garden, there’s very little else that I can think of that’s as refreshing as a cucumber.
In Tea Party, Stern has a pretty version of these sandwiches that feature cucumber slices on top of buttered bread garnished with mint leaves. For my version, I decided to forego the mint leaves and make a flavoured butter instead. I bought some lovely chives, which I processed with softened butter in the food processor. I used a scalloped cookie cutter to cut slices of basic white sandwich bread into 2-1/2 inch circles. I spread the chive butter on the rounds of bread and then topped them with thinly sliced cucumber. For a pretty touch I garnished my little sandwiches with chopped chives.
While the greenish tinge to the chive butter might put some people off, I loved the way these little sandwiches looked and I loved the way they tasted even more. The bite of the chives was a nice foil to the freshness of the cucumber.
I chose to try a second tea sandwich from Stern’s book because they featured blue cheese, which I adore. I’m slightly ashamed to admit this but I have been known to polish off huge hunks of blue cheese all by lonesome. I love me my cheese!
Tea Party includes a recipe for Blue Cheese, Walnut, and Pear Tea Sandwiches. While I’m not a huge fan of the pear, I thought I’d give the combination a try. The sandwich begins with a sturdy whole-grain bread that’s spread with a mixture of softened cream cheese and crumbled blue cheese. A sprinkling of chopped walnuts is followed by thin slices of pear. I topped the pear with a second slice of bread, trimmed the ends and cut the sandwiches into rectangles. I garnished with a bit of cheese and a walnut.
These tea sandwiches were delicious! The sweetness of the pear was a perfect match for the tanginess of the blue cheese and the walnut added a nice buttery crunch.
I know I recommend a lot of cookbooks, but if you’re in the market for a cookbook about tea, I highly recommend Stern’s book. These tea sandwiches were delicious and they’re only the tip of the tea iceberg!
Ciao!
Chive Butter
Note: Flavoured butters are so easy to make and they’re a wonderful way to add a twist to a multitude of dishes and foods. I like to make up large batches of flavoured butter, roll the butter into logs and then freeze them. This way I have pretty little butter logs to pull out whenever I entertain. Simply slice the logs into rounds and allow them to soften slightly before serving. This chive butter is excellent in sandwiches. I especially love it spread on corn on the cob!
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup chives, roughly choppedPlace the butter and the chives in the bowl of a food processor.
Process until the mixture is smooth.
Use the chive butter immediately or refrigerate it until you’re ready to use it. If you’re going to spreading the butter, let it soften again before using.
The chive butter can be frozen for two weeks.
Enjoy!
Technorati tags:
tea,
tea sandwich,
tea party
27 Comments
Post a Comment
extras
Categories
- 2006 FIFA World Cup
- 2006 Winter Olympics
- Antipasti
- Baking Class
- Beans and Legumes
- Beverages
- Bread
- Brunch
- Cakes, Cheesecakes, Cupcakes and Muffins
- Canada
- Canadian Blogging By Post
- Chocolate
- Choux Pastry
- Christmas
- Coconut
- Comfort Food
- Cookbooks
- Cookies and Bars
- Cooking Italy
- Dairy
- Daring Bakers
- Dessert and Pastry
- Drinks
- Events
- Fish and Seafood
- Flavour of the Month
- Food Blog Awards
- Food of Piemonte
- Fruit
- Gnocchi, Pasta, Pizza and Rice
- Ice Cream
- Italian Sweets
- La Festa al Fresco
- Lemon
- Magazine Mondays
- Meat and Poultry
- MEMEs
- News
- Panini, Sandwiches and Tramezzini
- Pies and Tarts
- Potlucks
- Preserves
- Salads and Dressings
- Soup
- Sugar High Fridays
- Sweet Snacks
- The Daring Bakers
- The Daring Cooks
- The Travelling Cream Puff
- Treasured Family Recipes
- Uncategorized
- Vegetables
- Weblogs
More Links
- Alpineberry
- Caramels, Bonbons et Chocolats
- Confessions of a Cardamom Addict
- Cherry's English Kitchen
- It's My Life
- Tip of the Iceberg
- DavidLebovitz.com
- Dessert First
- Eye for a Recipe
- Hungry In Hogtown
- Jumbo Empanadas
- Kochtopf
- Le Moulin
- Make Life Sweeter!
- Living Venice … and Beyond
- Italian Cooking Recipes
- Joonbug.com (New York)
- Once Upon A Feast
- Pinch My Salt
- Posie Gets Cozy
- Rubber Slippers in Italy
- Scrumptious Street
- Seven Spoons
- Still Life With
- The Flying Apple
- The Second Helping House
- My Kitchen in Half Cups
- Winosandfoodies
- Winter Skies, Kitchen Aglow
- 101 Cookbooks
- A Blithe Palate
- ACE Bakery
- All Recipes
- All Things Edible
- Scones, Muffins, and Tea Cakes
- Trattoria Cooking
- Dip It!
- Panini, Bruschetta, Crostini
- Chez Panisse Vegetables
- Perfect Cakes
- Chez Panisse Fruit
- Italy in Small Bites
- Marcella Says
- Once Upon a Tart
- The Cook and the Gardener
- The Weekend Baker
- Chez Panisse Desserts
- Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
- The Good Cookie
- Lorenza's Pasta
- The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
- Barefoot Contessa Parties!
- The Babbo Cookbook
- Rustico
- Barefoot Contessa Family Style
- The Complete Book of Baking
- How to Be a Domestic Goddess
- An Alphabet of Sweets
- Death By Chocolate Cookies
- Canadian Living Cooks Step By Step
- Breads from the La Brea Bakery
- The Art of Eating Well
- On Food and Cooking
- The Pie and Pastry Bible
- The All New, All Purpose Joy of Cooking
- The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook
- The Cake Bible
- Baking with Julia
- Italy Al Dente
- The Food of Italy
- The Silver Spoon
- Celebration Breads
- Williams-Sonoma Collection: Dessert
- More From Magnolia
- Paris Sweets
- Pure Chocolate
- Cheesecakes
- Biscotti
- Sweet Miniatures
- Afternoon Delights
- Luscious Chocolate Desserts
- The Simple Art of Perfect Baking
- Essentials of Baking
- The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion
- The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion
- Easiest and Best Coffee Cakes and Quick Breads
- Out to Brunch
- Barefoot in Paris
- Everyday Italian
- Wanda's Pie in the Sky
- For the Love of Soup
- Truly Madly Pasta
- The ACE Bakery Cookbook
- Salad Dressing 101
- Biscuit Bliss
- Party Nuts!
- French Farmhouse Cookbook
- Fagioli
- Avventura
- Bittersweet
- Home Baking
- Bread Made Easy
- Soffritto
- Pasta!
- Caprial's Desserts
- The Great Chocolate Book
- Risotto
- Bread
- Brunch
- Buonissimo!
- Recipes from an Italian Terrace
- A Passion for Chocolate
- Basic Italian
- Simple Italian Sandwiches
- Mediterranean Street Food
- The French Market
- Patricia Wells' Trattoria
- The Italian Baker
- A Thousand Days in Venice
- Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home
- The Zuni Cafe Cookbook
- All About Braising
- Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating
- The Cake Book
- Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague
- Larousse Gastronomique
- Baking: From My Home to Yours
- The Chef's Table
- Chez Panisse Pasta, Pizza, Calzone
- Rose's Christmas Cookies
- A Passion for Piedmont
- The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook
- Williams-Sonoma Collection: Cake
- Italian Farmhouse Cookbook
- The New Food Lover's Companion
- Pizza (Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library)
- Luscious Lemon Desserts
- A Passion for Desserts
- Caramel
- Delicious Dips
- Luscious Berry Desserts
- The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market Cookbook
- Cupcakes!
- A Passion for Ice Cream
- Coffee Cakes
- A Sweet Quartet
- Sunday Suppers at Lucques
- Kitchen Sense
- Cheese: A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best
- Wing It!
- Beautiful Breads and Fabulous Fillings
- The Best Quick Breads
- Iced Tea
- Artisan Baking
- Bread for Breakfast
- The Cheese Board: Collective Works
- Les Halles Cookbook
- Simple Soirees
- Twelve: A Tuscan Cook Book
- Al Forno
- Italian Vegetables
- Meze
- The Lost Art of Baking With Yeast: Delicious Hungarian Cakes & Pastries
- BakerBites
- Baking and Books
- La Tartine Gourmande
- BetterBaking.com
- Cottage Chic Living by Cherry Menlove
- Chez Pim
- Chocolate & Zucchini
- Chocolatier
- The Cookbook Store
- Cooking.com
- Cook's Illustrated
- La Cucina Italiana On Line
- Cucina Testa Rossa
- Delicious Cafe
- Delicious Days
- Epicurious
- Flickr
- Food & Wine
- Foodbeam
- Foodieblogs.net
- FoodieView
- Food for Thought - A Foodtv.ca blog
- Golda's Kitchen
- Il Forno
- International Recipes
- Is My Blog Burning?
- ItalianMade.com
- Joy Of Cooking
- Our Adventures in Japan
- Kitchen Connaisseur
- La Toile Maison
- Leite's Culinaria
- Lidia's Italy
- Lori Longbotham
- Lucullian Delights
- Market Hall Foods
- Living in Florence
- Michaelaram.com
- Monika Korngut's Delicious Living
- Orangette
- Pastry Arts and Design
- Pastry Chef Central
- Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum
- The Republic of Tea
- ReTorte
- Rustico Cooking
- Saveur
- Simply Recipes
- Slashfood
- Taste T.O.
- The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz
- The Perfect Pantry
- Tish Boyle: Sweet Dreams
- Tomato_Kumato
- The Traveler's Lunchbox
- The Vanilla.COMpany












05/25/07 at 9:31 pm
Inspiring! I am so eager to have a tea party. Keep sharing, so I can learn more… thank you.
05/26/07 at 1:05 am
I love your new look blog.
These little tea sandwiches are so cute. Just the right thing for afternoon tea. They remind me of bygone days when my Grandmother used to take tea and bring her best Royal Doulton china out with these little creations, both sweet and savoury.
05/26/07 at 1:34 am
Classic blue cheese, pear & walnut are a favorite of mine. How can you miss with blue cheese involved!
05/26/07 at 2:03 am
Wow! A brand new look! Congrats! These bite-sized sandwiches are simply elegant.
05/26/07 at 3:34 am
05/26/07 at 4:31 am
I love these little sandwiches, the problem is Iwould eat too many of them because they are so small and cute. I love my cucumber and blue cheese not together obviously, my Italian “amore” doesn’t get the whole cucumber thing especially when I’m dunking it into a jar of mayo - not very gourmet I know!! Blue cheese sauce with pasta is delicious!
05/26/07 at 5:14 am
Love the bake shop look, worth the wait, of course. Tea sandwiches bring back some lovely memories of a visit to England as a child. Your renditions bring them all back in a flash. Grazie.
05/26/07 at 5:30 am
Thank you for these recipes! I am planning a Victorian tea soon. Lovely blog, very elegant.
05/26/07 at 5:31 am
Proprio bello questo nuovo layout!!! Mi piace molto, dai colori scelti a tutte le feature… naturalmente le tue ricette sono sempre ottime, questo era sott’inteso.
Ciao.
05/26/07 at 6:57 am
I like the blue cheese, walnut and pear sandwiches! I make a sandwhich melt with brie, walnuts and pears, I love it.
05/26/07 at 7:22 am
Yay!! I’m so happy that the tea party will continue into June.
I love cucumber sandwiches (didn’t know they had to be in triangle shapes - thought circles would be de rigeur) and I really like the sound of blue cheese, pear and walnut sandwiches too! My absolute favourite tea sandwiches are watercress sandwiches….
-Elizabeth
P.S. What a nice new look on the blog. I particularly like the small photos running along the top of the page under the “roof”.
05/26/07 at 7:28 am
Oh…chive butter sounds so refreshing! I have some fresh scallops from the farmer’s market and I’m going to melt it over those. And I LOVE your redesign! So clean and elegant–well done and congrats!
05/26/07 at 8:31 am
What beautiful little sandwiches, Ivonne! And kudos on your redesigning; the site looks wonderful and inviting.
05/26/07 at 11:51 am
I adore tea sandwiches and tea in general. Call me sacriligious, and maybe it’s from growing up with a mother who added butter to every sandwich in my lunch (ew) - I prefer to do with cream cheese what you have done to the butter. Herbed cream cheese and cucumber, maybe some smoked salmon in there - this might be my favorite meal.
And this will be the third cookbook I add to my Amazon.com wishlist because of your blog!!
05/26/07 at 12:21 pm
Beutiful and inspiring! I can’t wait to try it. I love you new look too.
05/26/07 at 4:20 pm
Pear Tea Sandwiches…also to switch it up a bit…if you use raisin and cinnamon bread….it is the best!!!
Nice blog!
Cheers
05/26/07 at 5:24 pm
These sandwiches look great! I want to have people over for tea now…:) And, the flavored butters? I Iove making various butters. The last kind I made with from a mixture of fresh herbs…parsley, basil, and thyme. Yum…
05/26/07 at 6:21 pm
Lovely sandwiches! The chives are ready to be harvested from my herb garden, so I’m all set to try this!
05/27/07 at 1:04 am
Oh, those little sandwiches are after my heart. They’re so cute and I love that combination. Where did I put my tea set?
05/27/07 at 4:07 am
How delightfully elegant! What a lovely choice and so beautifully presented
05/27/07 at 9:41 am
I love the new look! And it’s so nice to have you back
I love afternoon tea…scones, clotted cream, little pastries, and of course, the tea sandwiches! These two sound delicious! 
05/27/07 at 1:52 pm
I love blue cheese, nuts, and pears in any combination. Try frying the pears in a bit of butter to soften them, then toss with salad leaves, blue cheese, toasted nuts and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Absolute heaven! The new blog is lovely, best of luck.
05/27/07 at 1:57 pm
They are just the cutest little sandwiches! I’m so glad I bought this book, will give that chive butter a go
05/27/07 at 5:51 pm
[…] Ivonne perhaps doesn’t share Sands’ enthusiasm for mint, as she ditches the mint when making cucumber sandwiches from Tracy Stern’s Tea Party. She substitutes her own chive butter and includes the […]
05/28/07 at 7:46 am
This is a keeper~it is beautiful….and the butter…oh my!
05/30/07 at 12:09 pm
What beautiful tea sandwiches! I am sure they would be a show-stopper.
Love your blog…am truly addicted. Congrats on the overhaul!
06/5/07 at 7:49 pm
Iam the author of teaparty! i really enjoyed reading your blog and thankyou for the compliments! i have a great passion for the ceremony of tea and bringing people together. The sandwiches are a snap to make as are many of the tea infused recipes throughout the book… i prefer to be with my guests sipping tea in place of laboring in the kitchen. i hope you find TEAPARTY a feast for the eyes as well. there are invites, menus, music, party favors an decor ideas too! thank you, tracy stern