I fell in love with these delectable little sandwiches on my honeymoon. We were in Bermuda and the resort we were staying at had an “afternoon tea” daily between 1pm and 3pm. I had never been to “tea” before and didn’t know what to expect. Now as some of you might know by now – I love finger foods (eating and making them). Well, they had a variety of these cute little sandwiches, all in different shapes, with the crusts cut off. They had other delicacies there as well but I was enamored with those adorable little things.

Here are some of my favorites…

Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches with Toasted Sesame Seeds

If you don’t want to spend the time cooking the chicken yourself, you can pick up an already prepared, roasted chicken at the supermarket.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, skin on and cut in half

6 black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs fresh thyme

one 3 ½ pound chicken, remove the giblets, rinse and pat dry

½ cup plus 1 TBS. mayonnaise

1 TBS. dark sesame oil

2 TBS. finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 TBS. finely chopped fresh chives

3 scallions (white and green parts) thinly sliced

salt and pepper to taste

24 slices of very thin white bread (or wheat if you prefer)

1 ¼ sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup sesame seeds, toasted (see below)

Directions:

Place the onions, peppercorns, bay leaf and thyme in a large pot. Add the chicken to the pot with just enough cold water to cover. Cover and bring to a simmer. Then uncover and cook for 1 hour. Drain the chicken, saving the cooking liquid (stock), and set the chicken aside to cool. Discard the seasonings and refrigerate or freeze the stock (can be used in the future). Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin. Shred the meat from the chicken and then chop it very fine. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.

In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and sesame oil. Add this to the chicken and combine well. Add the cilantro, chives and scallions – combine well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Spread each bread slice with butter, saving some butter for the garnish. Spread an even layer of chicken salad onto half of the slices of bread. Top with the other half of the slices to make sandwiches. Trim off the crusts. Cut each sandwich on the diagonal. Arrange the sandwiches long edge down in a row to form a horizontal pyramid. Spread the remaining butter along one side of the pyramid. Spread the toasted sesame seeds along the buttered edge to cover.

Roast Beef and Horseradish Mayonnaise Finger Sandwiches

Ingredients:

2 TBS. mayonnaise

2 tsp. horseradish sauce

10 very thin slices of white bread (wheat if you prefer)

1/3 lb. Thinly sliced roast beef.

3 TBS. butter. Softened

Directions:

Combine mayonnaise and horseradish. Spread 5 slices of the bread evenly with the mixture and top with the roast beef. Spread the butter evenly over the remaining 5 slices of bread. Top beef with bread slices, buttered side down. Trim off the crusts and cut each sandwich in into two even rectangles and then cut the rectangles into half so that you end up with 4 finger sandwiches.

Lemon Crab Salad Tea Sandwiches

Ingredients:

12 ounces lump crabmeat (picked over for cartilage)

¼ cup plus 2 TBS. mayonnaise

2 TBS. grated lemon zest

2 TBS. fresh lemon juice

4 scallions (white and light green parts only), thinly sliced

salt and pepper to taste

24 very thin slices of white bread (or wheat if you prefer)

1 small head of baby lettuce

Directions:

Place the crabmeat in a medium bowl and combine it with 2 tablespoons of the mayonnaise, the lemon zest, lemon juice and scallions. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Spread on half of the bread slices with the remaining mayonnaise. Arrange layer of lettuce leaves over the mayonnaise on each slice of bread. Spread the crab salad over the other half of the bread slices. Top with the prepared half of the slices to make sandwiches. Trim off the crusts. Cut each sandwich into two even rectangles.

Cucumber and Dill Finger Sandwiches

Ingredients:

½ seedless cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

½ tsp. salt

6 TBS. butter, softened

10 very thin slices of white bread (wheat if you prefer)

2 tsp. finely chopped dill

Directions:

Place cucumber slices in a colander. Sprinkle with salt. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. Pat the cucumbers dry with a paper towel.

Spread the butter evenly over all the bread slices. Top 5 bread slices with cucumber.

Sprinkle with white pepper and dill. Top cucumber with remaining bread slices. Trim off the crusts and cut each sandwich in into two even rectangles and then cut the rectangles into half so that you end up with 4 finger sandwiches.