That was the scene at the inaugural Slideluck Potshow, an artsy gathering and community potluck dinner hosted at The Icehouse in Phoenix this past Saturday night. The Virgin, opted to put together a dish inspired by last week's royal wedding.
Hey, everyone loves the ugly wedding hat cupcake, so why not?
Read on and find out how to -- and how not to -- whip up tiny bite-sized tea sandwiches for your next party...
I opted to make four kinds of tea sandwiches -- two sweet and two savory -- in order to satisfy the picky eaters with eight thousand allergies ("Is this gluten, wheat, sugar and taste free?") that inevitably show up at potlucks. Most were put together with pre-made ingredients you can purchase at your local farmers' market or grocery, but you'll have to prepare the Curry Chicken Salad yourself.
For that, you'll need:- 1 10-12 oz. can white meat chicken
- 15 red seedless grapes, halved
- 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 1/2 rib celery, finely diced
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 2 Tbsp light mayo
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
1. Drain the chicken and set aside in a small mixing bowl.
2. Add grapes, celery and walnuts and fork it up until well-mixed.
3. Combine mayo, mustard and curry powder in another small bowl and mix until smooth. Add to chicken and stir well. (Alternatively, you can dump all of the condiments directly into the chicken and mix the whole thing up, if you're pressed for time).
It's as easy as walking down the aisle towards a lifelong meal ticket! But wait, there's more. Now, you'll need to assemble the sandwiches.
4. The British traditionally use thin white bread for tea sandwiches, but Americans like The Virgin don't discriminate based on bread color. Take two thin slices of whatever bread you want and butter one side of each slice. Tip: Make sure the butter completely covers the sandwich, or you'll get soggy spots where the holes are.
5. Spread the chicken salad on one buttered side and place the other slice butter side down on top of the chicken. Do this for 4 whole sandwiches (8 slices of bread total).
6. Refrigerate for at least one hour, until bread is firm. If you don't do this, it will be a bitch to cut and you'll totally ruin your sandwiches.
7. Take the sandwiches out of the freezer because you're so damned impatient fridge and set on a cutting board. If you're stupid ambitious like The Virgin, try cutting them into fun shapes with a cookie cutter. When that just squishes the sandwiches into gross little pockets, just cut the crusts off and slice into bite-size squares with a sharp cutting knife.
8. Plate and enjoy!
You can make these sandwiches with almost any filling; the only thing to remember is that you'll need a solid fat like butter or cream cheese to coat the insides of the bread so that
your tea sandwiches won't get soggy and taste like they've actually been dipped in tea.The Virgin's other versions included cucumber and herbed cream cheese with sunflower seeds, Cocoa Haze chocolatey spread with strawberries, and creamy Rainbow Valley mascarpone with locally made tequila jelly and strawberries. Considering they were gone in minutes at the Potluck Slideshow, I'd count that as a raging success.
Now that Prince William and Kate are hitched, we can get back to more important things. Like curing world hunger and celebrating the demise of Osama Bin Laden. Or wondering what the hell happened on last night's pre-empted episode of Celebrity Apprentice.
Follow Chow Bella on Facebook and Twitter.
