Tea sandwiches are perfect for any outdoor gathering and this is our first in a summer series.
Thank you to The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook for sending us this gorgeous book and recipe!
Classic Cucumber Sandwich
Yields 10–12 Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 24 slices white bread
- 12 sprigs dill, for garnish
Method
- Blend cream cheese and mayonnaise in a blender until smooth, scraping down sides and blending thoroughly.
- Combine cream cheese mixture with cucumber, garlic salt, white pepper, and chopped dill. Spread mixture on top of twelve white bread slices, and garnish with dill sprigs. Cover with other bread slices to form sandwiches. Cut and discard crusts from bread, then cut sandwiches into quarters.
This gorgeous expanded edition provide features recipes for more than 150 dishes inspired by the award-winning series.
Taking inspiration from both the show and the times — and featuring dozens of photos as well as historical insights — the cookbook will delight any Downton Abbey fan as well as home cooks with a taste for the way people (both upstairs and downstairs) ate in a bygone era. From cucumber sandwiches and berry scones for afternoon tea to dinner party fare of smoked salmon mousse and stuffed leg of lamb with almond fig sauce and hearty staff lunches featuring Yorkshire pudding and bubble and squeak, readers will become real life Mrs. Patmores as they turn out food fit for the Crawleys!
Times Gone By
Legend has it that one of Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting is the creator of afternoon tea. Knowing the Queen felt hungry around four p.m. and perhaps fretted before dinner, her lady-in-waiting started the trend of serving tea with a few breadstuffs. Soon, teatime had taken hold of England.