Afternoon Delight

In 1973 I spent a summer in England.  It was a great experience that taught me so many things and gave me many lovely memories.  Though I have happily returned to England several times over the years, it was that first trip that gave me two of my favorite things…Toasted Cheese Sandwiches and Afternoon Tea.

I didn’t grow up with the ritual of taking tea in the afternoon, but I so loved the idea that while I was in England that first time, I purchased the first of many tea sets I would come to own.  Afternoon tea has now long been a sweet tradition in our home.  When my daughters were little I started having tea parties with them from time to time.  Then when they got into school and life got busier, I slipped out of the habit of having a cup of tea in the afternoon.  It is a perfectly natural thing to stop and have tea in the afternoon in England, because the whole of the country is doing just that.  But here it is far less common and so, sadly, it was easy to lose the routine.

My three daughters loved to dress up in my old dresses and have tea parties.  Sometimes these parties took place in the dining room, but often they were held on the front porch.  Even when I wasn’t involved Sara, Carrie and Amanda would dress up with a friend or their cousin, Ashley, and pull out their little tea set and sit on the wicker furniture and laugh and talk by the hour as “ladies taking tea”.  What sweet memories those are for me now to look back on.

One afternoon on the way home from school, Sara asked me, “Mommy, why don’t we have tea parties anymore? It has been a long time since you did that.”  And that was all it took.  That very afternoon we all sat down around a plate of finger sandwiches and some cookies and, of course, a pot of tea.  The girls talked and talked and giggled and laughed and shared so much of what had gone on at school that day.  So many times in the car after school when we were on the way home or going to their riding lessons or some appointment, I would ask, “How was your day?”, and the response was only, “Fine” or, “It was OK” and that was all I would get from them.  But sitting down over some sandwiches and sweets and tea they easily shared the highs and lows of the day, what they had learned, what was going on with their friends, what boys they liked, and sometimes their dreams and their hearts’ desires.  It was a precious time for me.

What little girl doesn’t enjoy a tea party?  What big girl doesn’t for that matter?  So, after that, I made sure that about once a week we had a “tea party”.  We shared things from our day, caught up on family news, usually talked about boys, always talked about clothes and hair and horses but not necessarily in that order.  Sometimes they brought friends home to join us, sometimes “Jacks” (as they call Jackie) was with us, and sometimes it was just the four of us.  No matter who was there, we always had something to celebrate.  We celebrated successes and birthdays and new shoes and good hair days and anything else we could think of.  So it is no surprise that we still love to sit down and talk over a good cup of tea. We did it just yesterday.

It delights me now as much as it did back then and I have to smile when my granddaughters, Sadie or Savannah come bouncing in after school and ask me, “Lolli, can we have a tea party today?” The celebrations continue to the next generation.  They are not elaborate, but they are always special.

If you haven’t had a tea party lately you might want to try it with your children or grandchildren or some Chums.  Jackie and I can frequently be found with a cup of tea and some shortbread or a little sandwich in hand.  We have written down for you some of our favorite sandwiches and later this week will give you recipes for scones and some of our favorite tea time sweets.  We’ve made all of these dozens and dozens of times.  Heaven knows we have thrown our share of tea parties over the years.  It delights us and is one of our favorite things to do.  It is such a lovely celebration of life.  And come to think of it, it is really a celebration of love, joy and abundant living!

 Chicken Salad Sandwiches

3 1/2 – 4 lb. whole chicken or equal amount of chicken breasts with skin on and bone in
1 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green onion
A few sprigs of fresh sage, chopped
2 sprigs rosemary, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
Approximately 1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Raisin bread
Soft butter

There are two basic methods for cooking the chicken for chicken salad.  One way is to roast the chicken, either the whole bird or the breasts, the second way is to poach the chicken.  Roasting gives the chicken a nice depth of flavor but make sure if you choose to cook the chicken this way, especially the breasts, that you always roast the chicken with the skin on and bones in or “on the bone” as it is called in many cookbooks.

The method I prefer is poaching.  Place the chicken in a large pot. Cover it with water.  Add some carrots, a couple of stalks of celery, about a half of an onion and a bunch of parsley.  Next stir in 1 Tablespoon of salt.  This sounds like a lot of salt but it flavors the chicken and keeps it moist.  Bring the water to a boil then reduce the heat and cover the pot.  Simmer the chicken for about 1 hour.  Turn off the heat and allow the chicken to begin to cool while still in the broth.  When the chicken has sat long enough to be nearly cool, remove the chicken from the pot and cool completely.  Remove the skin and then begin taking the chicken meat off the bones.  You can loosely shred the meat with your hands as you go.

When  you have all the meat off the bones, discard the bones, take the vegetables out of the broth and throw them away, and then strain the broth until it is clear of any little bits.  Pour the broth into jars or zip lock bags and freeze to use at a later time.  Next add the celery, onion and herbs to the chicken and stir it all together.  Go lightly as you begin adding in the mayonnaise by not adding the whole 1 cup of mayonnaise all at once.  You don’t want the chicken salad to be too loose so adding the mayo slowly will give you the chance to control the consistency.  Before you add all the mayo stir in a few sprinkles of soy sauce, about 1 tablespoon and some black pepper.

Stir together well.  You may need a bit more than 1 cup of mayo but you will know that as you mix it altogether. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Spread the bread for the sandwiches with a very thin coat of butter.  Spreading the butter on the bread before adding the chicken salad, or any other filing, “seals” the bread so that it doesn’t absorb any juiciness from the salad and make the bread soggy.  This is especially important if you are making your sandwiches an hour or more ahead of time. I like to use raisin bread, or white bread, for the chicken sandwiches but this is a matter of personal preference and taste.  Choose any bread that you like.

Spoon the chicken salad on one side of the sandwich and top with the other piece of bread, then trim away the crusts forming a square or rectangle, depending on the shape of the loaf of bread.

Now slice the sandwich into shapes, either, 3-4 long rectangles, 4 triangles, or 4 squares.  Pile the finger sandwiches on a platter and cover with a moist kitchen towel until ready to serve.  This amount of filling will make about 36-40 finger sandwiches.

Egg Salad Sandwiches

12 – 18 large eggs
Approximately 2 teaspoons of mayonnaise for each egg
Approximately  1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard for each egg
Some clipped sprigs of fresh dill or dried dill
Salt and pepper to taste
White sandwich bread
Soft butter
Place the eggs in a pot large enough to comfortably hold the number you want to cook, keeping in mind that approximately 3 eggs will make 2 sandwiches if you are using large eggs.   If you have medium or extra large eggs the amount of salad you end up with will vary.  Also you will have to adjust slightly the amounts of mayo and mustard you are using.  The number of eggs you use will be determined by the number of sandwiches you want to make.  Add enough water to cover the eggs.  Bring the water to a rapid boil and then put the lid on the pan and turn off the heat.  Let the eggs stand in the hot water for another 8-10 minutes.  Dump the hot water out and refill the pot with cold water to cool down the eggs.  As soon as they are cool enough to handle, peel the eggs under slowly running water and then place them on a paper towel to dry off.

You are ready to begin making the Egg Salad sandwiches. Grate the eggs on a grater with large wholes either by hand or in the food processor.  I prefer to do this by hand but I know when you have a mountain of eggs it is easier in some ways to grate them with the food processor.

When all the eggs are grated and ready to go, add the mayo (less than you think you might need at first because you can always add more but too much will make the egg salad too runny), the mustard and the salt and pepper.

Lastly stir in the dill, fresh cut sprigs if you have them, but a sprinkle of some dried dill will work just fine if fresh is not available.

Spread the bread with a light coating of butter, then add the filing to one side and top with the other piece of bread for the sandwich.

Trim the crusts away and cut into which ever shape you desire.

Place sandwiches on a plate or serving platter and cover with a moist towel until ready to serve.

Cucumber Sandwiches
1 English cucumber
Cream cheese softened for spreading, or Boursin cheese
Salt and pepper
Wheat bread
Butter

English cucumbers have a thinner skin than their Persian cousins.  They are preferable for that reason.

If you are using an English (or hothouse) cucumber you do not need to peel away the skin.  If on the other hand Persian cucumbers are the only ones you can find, be sure and remove the peel.  The peel on these cucumbers can be very tough and sometimes has been “waxed” to make the skin look better.

Whichever kind of cucumber you use, slice it VERY thinly.  Place butter on the  bread.  Spread with softened cream cheese.  Top with a thin layer of cucumbers.

(If you like a bolder flavor, you can add herbs to the cream cheese before spreading it on the bread to make an herbed cream cheese similar to the Boursin.  Or add finely ground black pepper to the cream cheese and make a peppery cheese spread for your sandwiches.  Be creative and experiment to see which herbs or spices you like added to the cream cheese to make it  more interesting.)

Put the other piece of buttered bread on top and trim away the crusts.

Cut the sandwiches into which ever shape you want.

Pile sandwiches on a plate or serving platter.  Cover with a moist towel until ready to serve.

Now just add tea and enjoy!