Take party sandwiches up a notch

Opinion

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This article was published 31/03/2015 (3311 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We’ve been on a tea-related kick recently at Recipe Swap, and this week we look at tea sandwiches, a beloved tradition in Winnipeg, where they are often called party sandwiches.

A key ingredient in many party sandwiches is good mayonnaise. Thanks to Courtney Worden, who kindly sent in a recipe for homemade mayonnaise from a 1951 Winnipeg Free Press clipping that was recently found in an attic. I’ve put in the recipe as is, adding some modern advice in the notes.

I’ve also added a recipe for egg and olive sandwich fingers. I’d be keen to see recipes for some of your favourites.

If you can help with a recipe request, have your own request, or a favourite recipe you’d like to share, send an email to recipeswap@freepress.mb.ca, fax it to 204-697-7412, or write to Recipe Swap, c/o Alison Gillmor, Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6. Please include your first and last name, address and telephone number.

 

Egg and Olive Sandwich Fingers

4 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and chopped fine

45-60 ml (3-4 tbsp) mayonnaise

30 ml (2 tbsp) finely chopped green olives

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

8 slices bread, lightly buttered

 

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, mayonnaise and olives. Add pepper to taste. Spread mixture on 4 slices of buttered bread and top with remaining 4 slices. Cut off crusts and then cut sandwiches diagonally into triangles or lengthwise into fingers.

 

Tester’s notes: I make hard-boiled eggs by placing eggs in a pot of cold water, bringing to a full boil, and then turning off the heat and leaving the eggs, covered, for 12 minutes. This avoids overcooking, which can result in eggs that are tough and have grey lines around the yolks.

I usually chop ingredients for tea sandwiches more finely than I would for a big, tough sandwich, in order to avoid lumps and make cutting easier. And here’s a useful tip: I once had to make dozens of party sandwiches at one time, and my good friend Anne informed me that some local grocery-store bakeries will slice basic white and brown loaves “party-sandwich-style” — that is, horizontally — which makes spreading, assembling and cutting much easier.

One thing with tea sandwiches: They do dry out quickly, so if they are not being served right away, they should be parcelled up in plastic wrap or covered with a clean, slightly damp tea towel.

 

Homemade Mayonnaise from the 1951 Winnipeg Free Press

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 ml (1/2 tsp) mustard

5 ml (1 tsp) salt

500 ml (2 cups) salad oil (see notes)

30 ml (2 tbsp) lemon juice or vinegar

 

Add the mustard and the salt to the slightly beaten eggs. Start beating with a Dover egg beater (see notes), adding a little oil at a time, and continue beating and adding oil until the mixture is quite thick. Now add the lemon juice or vinegar.

Sometimes when making this, you may find it will separate during the beating. If this happens, start all over again with fresh materials, that is, eggs, seasoning and oil, and when this starts to thicken, gradually beat in the separated mayonnaise.

 

Tester’s notes: This 1950s recipe results in a mayonnaise that has a lovely pale yellow colour and fresh taste but is not quite as thick as store-bought mayo. This is a whole-egg mayo, which is less common than yolk-only versions and slightly less rich.

Here are a few tips for successful mayo: Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Avoid making mayonnaise in a hot, humid kitchen, which can result in a heavy, greasy result. Use a very clean glass or ceramic bowl.

The “salad oil” could be a neutral oil like safflower or corn. Though many modern cooks like to use olive oil in recipes, it can be a bit edgy in mayo. Some cooks mix about four parts regular vegetable oil to one part olive oil. I used Dijon mustard and fresh lemon juice for flavouring. If choosing vinegar, use white wine vinegar for a subtle taste.

A “Dover egg beater” is one of those hand-cranked non-electric beaters. I haven’t owned one for a while, so I decided to go old-school and use a whisk. In order to avoid the mayo separating, you have to add the oil very, very slowly while whisking all the time. I added 5 ml (1 tsp) at a time for the first one-third of the oil, until I got a good emulsion, and then poured the rest in a very thin, very slow stream. This ended up being about 12 minutes of hand-beating. I was beginning to feel a bit like poor downtrodden Daisy on Downton Abbey, but I was also absolutely thrilled that the mixture didn’t split.

An important note: Homemade mayo contains raw eggs, which are not recommended for pregnant women, infants, the elderly, or anyone with a compromised immune system. Homemade mayo also has nothing like the fridge life of commercial versions, so you need to use it within five days. If this recipe makes more than you need for five days, you can cut it in half.