This is a handy little idea. At some point in your cooking life you will be asked to whip up a tray of sandwiches. From a formal British afternoon Tea to B-day parties to wedding or baby showers to Church clean up day (a dozen kind souls show up on a Saturday morning to give the Church building a good scrubbing in time for Easter season), or of course your standard Family Gathering, PotLuck meals or Church socials.The sandwich is simple, just a ham and cheese. But there are a few extras that make it SPECTACULAR, MEMORABLE and fits within a budget...
First is the bread. Look for the 2 inch square "Cocktail" bread. My grocery store stocks these right at the deli. The little shelf under the sliced deli meat. Uniform size and (shhh... small) makes it easy to make sandwiches on a budget. If the bread was twice the size you would need twice the amount of fixins.
And speaking of fixins, This sandwich works just fine thank you very much with Ham, turkey, chicken even Corned Beef. Anything that can be sliced thin. So, buy what is on sale (something is always on sale). And with the small bread you can fold the slices and give the illusion of a thick sandwich.
I like something unusual on a sandwich. Something with a little crunch and a natural sweetness. I like Apple Slices. Thin and colorful and naturally sweet and a surprise. Go ahead and wrap an apple slice with a slice of deli meat. Tastes GREAT!
The big expense can be the cheese. Sliced deli cheese can be expensive and inexpensive brick cheese can taste... inexpensive. Mixing the Brie with inexpensive cream cheese makes a spreadable mix that fits your budget. And is delicious. Let's not forget that extra!
So, total I made 24 sandwiches for a total cost of about $13. Not a bad price for the number of Ooohs and Aaahs you get when you change a simple Ham and Cheese to a tray of Black Forest Ham and Brie (with a crunchy surprise)!
Black Forest
Ham and Brie
Tea Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 40 Slices "Cocktail" size Rye Bread
- 20 Slices Deli Black Forrest Ham (about 1 pound)
- 2 Medium Ambrosia Apples, Sliced Thin (of course you can sub any crisp Apple of your choice (I like Honey Crisp as well))
- 6 Ounces Soft Brie Cheese, diced
- 8 Ounces (one brick) Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
- Optional, some greens Spinach or lettuce slices
- In a stand mixer, whip the Brie and Cream Cheese together until creamy, about 5 minutes
- Lay out the bread in two rows
- Front row, Spread a TBS of the cheese mix,
- Top with 2 apple slices,
- Add a folded Deli Ham slice,
- Top with optional greens (I like Spinach best)
- Spread one more TBS of the Cheese mix on the top row of bread and close the sandwich.
- Arrange attractively on a tray. Serve immediately or seal with cling wrap to keep the apple slices fresh. Do not remove wrap until just ready to serve. Store in the refrigerator.
- Serve chilled and ENJOY!
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A list of something NEW worthy of being shown off at a neighborhood BYODish (Bring Your Own Dish) Party, a Family special occasion dinner, Any Big Holiday Gathering or of course that glorious day when you bring a dish to share with your Church family...Ages ago, literally almost a half century ago I was listening to our pastor talking about a PotLuck Dinner. It happened to be scheduled around a church work day when we were expected to weed, polish and do general cleaning and maintenance around the church (you know, back in the day when there were no no-wax floors and church pews smelled of Old English furniture polish). I am of course paraphrasing, but as I recall the pastor said,
"A potluck, like a church requires work. At a potluck everyone is expected to contribute.. At a church no one should come empty handed and no one should leave unfed".I will confess that in my youth I brought more store bought plastic spoons and forks than I ever brought covered dishes and crock pots of fresh made love and caring delights. But now that I have become a hobbyist cook, I occasionally am reminded of those days and people from my youth. I reminded and I do wish that I could drop a dish of some new creation on those old tables at my fondly remembered Liberty Baptist Church. Tables covered with newspapers and loaded with God's bounty prepared with love and caring... Enjoy
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