With the two warm items complete, it is time to move on to cold sandwiches.
Rolled sandwiches are really easy to make and I would very much recommend going to your local bakery and pre-ordering a sandwich loaf sliced lengthwise. Having the crust on while adding the filling gives the bread slices more stability and there is something about presliced bread “best before March 2016” that just doesn’t do it for me in November 2015.
You will need:
2 slices and sandwich bread
1 small container of salmon flavoured cream cheese ( I used Philidelphia brand )
6 asparagus stalks, cooked
There are endless variations on this theme. The first thing to choose is the bread colour as sandwich sliced bread is available in brown as well. I chose white as the pastries would be brown and the second sandwich would be on pumpernickel.
There is no need to put anything in the middle but a contrasting, ready made garnish can help when rolling the sandwiches as the bread can break on the first few turns. No one will see that but not needing to turn quite so tight a first roll is helpful.
In this sandwich three freshly poached asparagus stalks were used and pickled ones will also work as would green stuffed olives.
Another option for the smoked salmon is to use plain cream cheese as the first layer and top with pieces of lox before rolling. It is all a question of time, availability and budget.
Place the center ingredient along the short end and gently roll up the slice of bread to the other end. Allow the sandwich to sit on the seam. Wrap the rolled sandwich and give it a couple of hours in the fridge. To serve, cut an even thin slice off either end and then slice 4 thick or 6 thin slices from the remaining roll. Allow the sandwiches to warm up a little before serving.
These can be made the night before and stored in the fridge for future use if well wrapped. Cleaning the serrated knife between slices will keep everything looking crisp.
Try tuna salad with gerkins or devilled egg with pimento in the center. Generally speaking a soft filling is easier to cut than say a pinwheel version of roasted beef where the sinews might be tough. A serrated knife will help.
The final addition to the savoury level is a Havarti on pumpernickel triangle.
You will need:
2 slices of fresh pumpernickel or dark rye bread
butter at room temperature
4 slices of Havarti or other cheese of your choosing
2 tsp. mayonnaise
16 1inch pieces of fresh chives
4 grape tomatoes
Herbed Salts for a final sprinkle
Start by buttering the bread. Be generous as pumpernickel can dry quickly and you never know what adventures may come your way.
Add two slices of cheese to up the flavour level.
Once the cheese is on the bread and using a serrated knife, cut off the edges. ( Sharing the crusts can help satisfy any people who are watching you work, knowing they won’t be there for the reveal. ) On the pumpernickel you can see the parts around the edge that are, in this case, dry and chewy. Your bread may not have that situation but it is valuable to keep the sandwich soft either way.
Once the edges have been cut off you should have a nice square. Cut across diagonally creating four triangles.
Pumpernickel “sheds” when cut as you can see from the little black speckles. It may be necessary to do a little cleaning before moving on.
Some black breads come in rectangles and an option is to cut rectangles instead. Keep the other shapes on the plate in mind and also that full pieces of cheese will look better that two slices that come together on the sandwich (unless of course, that is part of the intended pattern).
Finish by decorating the top with a dot of mayonnaise, a cross of chives and half a grape tomato.
Dust with a sprinkle of herbed salts just before serving.
A nice finishing salt, like a pink himalayan, will work as well. Too far ahead and the salt will draw out the moisture from the tomato and it could get runny.
When putting all the pieces together, remember that the serving stand the plates are on is heavy and from a sitting position difficult to move.
Having the items displayed in a way that each person can reach their share is helpful.
If you have a three layer stand that is lighter and more flexible then you can play with the arrangement a bit more.
I borrowed two restaurant stands that use regular dinner plates at each level.
There is a line from Star Trek, TNG, “you start from the bottom and work your way up”. It referred to foot washing but was meant to infer there were other delicious things to come on the way up.
Savoury items are at the bottom of the tea stand for the same reason. As tasty as they might be, they are just a starting point.
Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Sandwiches & Havarti on Pumpernickel from My Kitchen Wand
