The first time I made cucumber sandwiches was for a friend's bridal shower several years ago. She wanted an English tea theme. I had served my mom's homemade banh pa te so (Vietnamese pate chaud), mini muffins, cake, tuna salad sandwiches, and cucumber sandwiches.The cucumber sandwiches were a sidenote, a nod to the fact that we were having an afternoon tea and I didn't think much of it. Little did I know they ended up being the most popular item. Apparently the following day, my friend's future sister-in-law brought her mother over so she could sample some too, but there weren't any leftovers.
Cucumber Sandwiches
For 8 small sandwiches, you'll need:
4 slices of white bread, crusts removed (I prefer potato or buttermilk bread for softness.)
A couple inches of seedless English cucumber, sliced as thinly as possible.
Butter
Cream cheese
After slicing the English cucumber as thinly as possible, lightly sprinkle salt over the slices and set aside.
Butter one slice of bread. Apply cream cheese to the other slice.
Layer the cucumber slices on one slice of bread, and place the other slice over the top. Trim the crusts.
You can cut the sandwiches into rectangles or squares. I like slicing mine on the diagonal in half and then quarters to create little triangles.
Didn't my cousin do a lovely job of making these sandwiches while I directed her? 
This reminds me of picnic food! It's usually a platter of cucumber sandwiches and ham sandwiches.
ReplyDeleteHi Tigerfish,
ReplyDeleteIt certainly does, doesn't it? :)
I just finished reading a play, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, and I was craving cucumber sandwiches like crazy. Every recipe I tried to make, didn't turn out the way it seemed like in the play. Your recipe did. I would like to thank you for that! They are delicious.
ReplyDeletePlatonist,
ReplyDeleteI don't think I remember any Oscar Wilde after all this time. I'm glad you liked my recipe. It's super simple but that seems to work. My cousins sometimes crave too.
Ohhh yummy looking! I just NOW, today, 8.26.10 discovered your blog. I've looked at ummm 7 or 8 pages so far, well actually, I have them stacked up tab by tab, waiting for me to see. So don't freak, I'm not a lurker, just an old mom-lady in Kansas (but missing San Diego and Pasadena, never the less.). I'll probably leave a few other comments here and there, so if you suddenly see my posts, that's why. And I'm gonna have to bail in a few because son will be coming home and needing "his" computer. But these look really yummy!! I'm curious - has anyone tried this with whole wheat bread, since I'm not much of a white bread/potato/buttermilk bread person. Guess I'll try it out and report later. But don't waste any sleep waiting for me either!! You have an awesome blog and I want to come back to it later. I hang out at a lot of the Asian stores here in Wichita so it's interesting seeing your photos and then I think "AHA! THAT's why they have that there...."
ReplyDeleteI'm always looking for Kosher (!?!) Vietnamese foods...so the more I see written down, the better off I am (since many of the shop keepers at the local Vietnamese stores don't understand my funky deaf accent, any more than I understand their English, and I have to admire them for learning English because they know a **LOT** more English than I know Vietnamese. Or Chinese. or any other language!! ;-)
So I plan to check on here again ... You've got an awesome thing going on here, and have really put in a lot of wonderful hard work!! (love the photos too!!).
Ms. Dr Pepper,
ReplyDeleteWelcome! Thanks for such nice words.
I like white bread and use it for this because it doesn't compete with the cucumbers and cream cheese for flavor. But if you like whole wheat bread, by all means, use what you prefer.