Cool as a cucumber...sandwich

I had book group earlier this week.  We read Austenland - adorable book, by the way - (thanks, CD for the recommendation!) - and since it takes place mostly in Regency England, I thought it only fitting that the food match the occasion.  So we had tea and cookies - I love themes like this, so I was all excited. A friend of mine suggested adding cucumber sandwiches to the menu (second shout-out, CD!), and I thought this was a terrrific idea.

Up until this occasion, I had only had cucumber sandwiches once in my life (this is shout-out #3 to CD:), and they were really yummy (made on white bread with creme fraiche), but I wondered what an actual authentic English cucumber sandwich was made of - so I googled it.

After some searching, I came upon a blog where a couple of fellows had already been down this road and done all my researching for me - sweet.  The basic recipe is pretty easy - white bread (crusts removed), cucumbers (skins removed), and butter.  But there are a couple of tips to make them a bit more tasty.  If you click here , you will find 2 fabulous recipes for authentic English cucumber sandwiches.  The first recipe was more mild tasting (that's the one my girls liked better), and the second has a bit of a saltier taste (the one that I like a bit better) - they are both very VERY yummy.  I actually kind of fell in love with them - it must be the English in me. :)

Here's the pics of my cute little sandwiches:

This is the more mild of the two.

C'mon, they're cute, right?  Little finger sandwiches - love it.

These are the saltier version, cut into triangles so I could tell which recipe was which.  I served both at the party.  One of my guest said that the triangles were better because all sandwiches cut into triangles are yummier.  I don't know about that, but they were quite delicious, and a big hit at book group.  Not one sandwich was left at the end of the night, and I made quite a few.  I love these sandwiches because they are so light and cool and refreshing.  The perfect little light something to go with tea.  I was so excited to be serving food like this - so many times I had pretend tea parties when I was a little girl - now I was actually doing it!

I do have some tips for making these sandwiches that I learned while making them, but I won't bore you all with the details here - if you ever have the inkling to make these, email or FB me and I'll share the tips I learned along the way.

Anyhow, back to the party.  Of course we had to have cookies, too.  I made three kinds - mini pecan-caramel tarts, pepper-lemon cookies (no, not made from the stuff you put on chicken...), and cinnamon strips.

The pepper lemon cookies have a marvelous crumbly texture, thanks to the cornmeal and pepper, and a big lemon taste, thanks to the 1/4 cup of lemon zest in them.

The cinnamon strips are topped with chopped walnuts, and have a terrific chewy texture to them, a nice contrast to the lemon cookies.

The pecan-caramel tarts are not pictured here because what little were left after the party, my husband and kids finished off the next morning.  They were a huge hit, but I will tell you, I don't see myself making them again - a HUGE pain in the butt, and all of them stuck to the pan and were a nightmare to get out.  They didn't look too pretty when they were out of their tins, but man, were they ever tasty.  Hence why there are none left.

Do you know what this is a picture of?  Tea and crumpets.  That's right - I can officially say that I served tea and crumpets, and I for some reason find that absolutely hilarious. 

The day before the party, Lou asked what I was serving, and I told him herbal tea and cookies and cucumber sandwiches.  He asked, teasingly, "Are you serving crumpets?".  I looked at him, rolled my eyes, and replied that no, we would not be having crumpets.  I didn't even know what the heck a crumpet was.  "No crumpets with your tea?!  This party's gonna suck."  He said this tongue in cheek, of course - we laughed and I blew it off.

Well, lo and behold, I was in the grocery store later that morning, and was perusing the British section of their international isle (gotta love Wegmans), and saw a package of crumpets.  I laughed out loud, and put them in my cart.  It was meant to be. 

As I mentioned earlier, before this occasion, I didn't even know what a crumpet was.  They are quite tasty.  Kind of a cross between an English muffin and a pancake.  Quite nice, really.  You are supposed to toast them, and serve them with honey or jam.  So that's what I did.

And here they are - crumpets.  The one on the left has honey on it, and raspberry jam on the right.  If you ever have a chance to buy them - do it!  They're kind of neat.  And if you have them with tea, then you, too, will be able to say that you've had tea and crumpets.  And then you will be happy, just like me. :)

Here's to cucumber sandwiches and crumpets and all things new!