Mother’s Day Vintage Tea Sandwiches

My copy of the 1943 Household Searchlight Recipe book from Topeka, Kansas’ Household magazine is especially dog-eared in the “Gelatins,” “Icing and Fillings,” and “Cakes” sections,clues that the books original owner, Mrs. Elbert Jackson, had a sweet tooth. But more apparent? She entertained. The end sheets and margins of the book are filled with hand-scrawled recipes for petit fours, bon-bons, canapes and cocktail nibbles. And the section tab for “Sandwiches” is completely worn through : )

Far from the meat-and-cheese-stacked clubs, panini, and submarines of today, most sandwiches in the ‘30s and ‘40s relied on spreads. Both thrifty and easy, sandwich spreads translated very well into bite-sized morsels for receptions, teas or ladies’ luncheons.

Some vintage sandwich ingredient combinations seem wildly weird now, (the Grapenut cereal and cheese with Tabasco, cat-sup and mustard, for example, or the peanut butter and chopped pickle with cream and onion (!) But the best spreads endured, making their way into the ladies guild and auxiliary club menus that would come to define an accessible sort of ‘50s “fancy”: pretty, tasty, but still a little homey.

With Mother’s Day in the offing, I thought it would be fun to create a post featuring these sorts of sandwich spreads for a make-at-home tea party. There are the “salads”: ham, egg, chicken, and shrimp. There are the herbed butters and cheese blends: pimiento cheese, cream cheese with salmon, or for a lighter flavor– mascarpone cheese sweetened with honey or marmalade. And to put them on? I’ve included a recipe for tiny cream-puff shells to be filled with shrimp salad, an orange-apricot bread baked in soup cans, and nippy cheese cracker rounds. Plus, I’ve provided the basics on trimming and shaping breads for finger sandwiches, and how to make a pinwheel sandwich.

To make the sandwiches, you can use your choice of thin sliced wheat, white or rye breads in whatever shapes you like. Here are tips to help you along the way:

*For finger sandwich consistency and workability, I recommend using purchased breads (thin sliced rye, white and wheat bread, and white sandwich loaf bread.)

*For cutting bread: I use an X-Acto Self-Healing Cutting Mat on my workspace to make trimming the crusts really easy.

*For bread squares: Just line small stacks of the breads up on the grid-lines of the self-healing mat and use a super-sharp bread knife to gently cut through the bread along the lines, trimming away the crusts. Freeze the crusts to make bread pudding later!

*For bread circles: Working with one piece of bread at a time. Use sharp-bottom-edged biscuit, cake or pastry cutters. Press straight down and then twist a bit to ensure you have cut all the way through the bread. Trim away crusts and freeze to make bread pudding later.

*For best presentation: I prefer to trim crusts and shape breads before filling them: The breads and fillings are delicate and squish easily.

*For mini cream puff shells: These taste best right after you make them—please serve the same day you prepare them; fill them right before service.

*Taste and textural variation: I have shaped these recipes to my taste. There is a lot of leeway for variation: The grind of the meat, for example, can be made more coarse, or more smooth, depending on your preference, by pulsing in the food processor more or less. I prefer a smoother grind for the meats to make them easier to fit on finger-sized sandwiches. I’ve added ample amounts of very-finely chopped celery to provide texture. For flavoring to suit taste: Simply adjust seasonings, adding a bit more pepper, or a bit less mayonnaise.

*I’ve included in my lead photo a few simple veggie options: Radish slices on parsley-buttered baguette slices (my favorite!) and watercress on parsley-buttered bread cut into half-moons. To
make parsley butter: Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, whip 1 stick of softened butter with 2 Tbsp of minced parsley.

If there are extras after your party, fillings will keep well tightly covered in the fridge. (They’re also great for snacking on crackers and toast.) Or, you can put these fillings together in a many-splendor rendition of the ‘50s cream-cheese-covered sandwich loaf.

Enjoy, and Happy Mother’s Day!

About the author:

Monica Kass Rogers

Monica is a food-business and lifestyles feature writer & photographer with a penchant for reviving vintage recipes. Building on the “Lost Recipes Found” column she originally launched for the Chicago Tribune, Monica now rediscovers vintage in her blog of the same name Lost Recipes Found and continues to write about and photograph contemporary food nationally for restaurants, hotels and magazines.

This post originally appeared on Artisans list - a business directory website.