The Pinky Extension Conundrum

 I didn't exactly rebrand the blog, but putting up a recipe now and again is fun. 

Cucumber Sandwiches

Ingredients

• 16 slices high-quality soft white sandwich bread, remove the crusts
• 1 English cucumber
• 8 ounces cream cheese , softened
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

• Peel the cucumber in stripes and cut into 1/8-inch thin slices  Place the slices on paper towels and sprinkle with coarse salt. Let rest for 15-30 minutes. Pat dry with clean paper towels.
• blend together the softened cream cheese, mayo, dill, chives, lemon juice, garlic powder, and salt.
• Spread one side of each slice of bread with the herbed cream cheese.
• Make up 8 sandwiches coating the inside of both faces of bread with cream cheese and layering with cucumber slices. 
• cut each sandwich into quarters
• Serve
• Enjoy with pinky raised taking delicate bites

This ones probably deserves some back story. Last year I got pretty fed up with my ever expanding tummy. When you wheeze walking back from the mailbox it is time to make a change. Naturally, I hit a book. I would get frustrated with the plan and start modifying it well past it being effective, but it did get me thinking in the right direction. 

One of those direction was having a half sandwich for lunch with a measured amount of ham or turkey, a slice of cheese, mustard, and all the veggies I could ever want to make it extra delicious and filling. I played with this formula for a while trying out spinach, onion, red onion, pickle, and eventually cucumber. I love cucumbers. They do not necessarily love me back as after eating a few slices of cucumber I will then summarily burp cucumber for the foreseeable future. 

I love them though. I was having my half sandwich piled high with onion, spinach, but overly thick with layered cucumber slices when I thought that I could probably enjoy a cucumber sandwich. Visions whirled through my brain of fancy tea parties with ladies in big hats. No really. I could picture some sort of weird cotillion type setting that I have never, ever been in. 

After I got over the idea of needing a waistcoat and breeches to enjoy a cucumber sandwich I started wondering to myself if I had ever had one. I cannot swear that I never have, but I believe that my exposure to them has been extremely limited. Perhaps even nonextant. 

Naturally, I had to attempt to do something about that. The spread for these sandwiches seems to be dripping with fat. Still, the "meat" of the sandwich is a green vegetable so I have trouble hating myself. I decided I had to spend a few days trying these out for lunch to see if I liked them. It is entirely possible that I might one day be social enough to serve sandwiches. I might make bold Dad moves and try to put on high tea for my kid one day. Who freakin' knows? Most likely I end up making up a batch before a D&D game just to check the reaction of my group. Those that roleplay together can be trusted when you do something a little strange and different. 

Anyway, in my experimentation I understand why these are served in small portions. That is a rich sandwich. Even if I layer on extra cucumber the sauce is just rich and flavorful. A whole sandwich of it is almost too much for me. 

By the way, garlic and herb cream cheese is a great shortcut for all that mincing of fresh dill and chives. I have plans to keep experimenting on this to see if I can tone it down slightly. This recipe is great for fancy little bites, but I want to be able to pile up a quarter of a cucumber between a couple slices of bread and just enjoy something tasty and oddly refreshing. I will report in as I get there.