The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tiny sandwiches, made for tea time
ham, he wasn’t thinking of ladies in hats and white gloves. It was a tribute to the menfolk in his family.
“That recipe is one that my dad and his brothers would make to take with us when we would go hunting and fishing,” Gillespie says. “I always loved it, even though we only ever had it on saltines. I started to play around with it as a tea sandwich in an effort to church it up a bit more.”
Gillespie and his team dab the ham spread onto warm buttered rectangles carved from white pullman loaves. Sure enough, when I mixed up a batch of the devilishly delicious ham, it reminded me of the quick, pickup-truck lunches my dad used to scarf down on our South Georgia farm when I was a kid.
Though the Revival creation has been the gateway drug of tea sandwiches for me, I’ve since discovered other memorable versions all over town.
At Tipple + Rose Tea Parlor and Apothecary in Virginia-Highland, Chef Calavino Donati makes chef-y modern creations like the Tea-Brined Duck Salad Tea Sandwich she features on special holiday menus. She also whips up her own “Boursin,” a mixture of cream cheese, goat cheese, feta and herbs, and smears it on delicate cucumber and smoked salmon sandwiches stuffed with arugula or watercress.
I thought the duck salad — made from a whole roasted duck that’s first submerged overnight in a bath of Lapsang Souchong tea, brown sugar and soy sauce — a bit too complicated for home cooks. But you can find it at Tipple + Rose on Easter, Mother’s Day and other special occasions.
I did try Donati’s Smoked Salmon and Home-made “Boursin” Tea Sandwich and her oldfashioned Deviled Egg Salad and found them both divine.
On a recent Sunday morning, I got in the kitchen and stamped out a bunch of Jordy’s cucumber sandwiches, plus her sweet little treat of pineapple, cream cheese and pecans spread on triangles of cinnamon-raisin bread. I put some of Gillespie’s deviled ham on circles of squishy white bread and dusted the tiny sandwiches with herbs.
And I remembered Jordy’s tea-sandwich tips.
Never put wet cucumber or tomato directly on bread, or you’ll make a soggy mess. Instead, use a fat-based spread (butter, cream cheese, mayo) to serve as a barrier between bread and wet ingredients. The sandwiches will travel better and last longer.
But not too long. They are quite addictive and tend to vanish quickly.
For parties, teas, ladies lunches, showers, funeral gatherings and afternoon snacking, there’s nothing like a good tea sandwich. You can keep it as simple as prosciutto and butter. Or doll it up with curriedchicken salad or chilled shrimp with dill mayo, and it will be fit for the Queen of England.
Just be sure to trim the crusts, make a pot of tea and hold your pinky high. Recipes to craft your own precious and artfully constructed ea
With a few grocery store staples — a can of crushed pineapple, half a block of cream cheese, a loaf of cinnamon bread — you can assemble these delightful, kid-friendly triangles.
Blend cream cheese, pineapple and cinnamon in a food processor or mixer until fluffy. Stir in pecans.
Spread on bread; then top with a slice of bread. Place sandwiches on a tray. Cover with a damp paper towel, and chill in refrigerator for about 30 minutes. (Chilling the sandwich will ensure a cleaner cut.)
Remove from the refrigerator. Trim crusts, and cut into triangles, wiping your knife after each cut to keep things tidy. Makes: About 16 sandwiches