Apple and Cheese Open Face Sandwich

Hello everyone, and a big welcome to fall--a season for apples! This recipe is simple and easy to prepare. I used plain Boursin cheese for the spread. Boursin is an authentic brand of Gournay cheese. It is a soft creamy cheese available in a variety of flavors in your local supermarkets. Use any soft cream cheese if you are unable to find this particular brand.
Ingredients: (serves 4)
1 apple, peeled, cored, and cut into thin slices
Juice of one small lemon
4 slices of walnut or raisin bread
¼ cup plain Boursin cheese, room temperature
Method:
1. Soak apple slices with lemon juice for 1 minute. Remove and lay between paper towels.
2. Remove crusts of from bread and cut into 3 bite-sized pieces. Spread a layer of cheese on top of bread slices. Lay apple slices on top of cheese.
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Walnut Chicken Tea Sandwich

Another delicious tea sandwich recipe that I would like to share with you. You can use any leftover roasted chicken instead of canned ones. Enjoy!

Ingredients: (serves 4)
Filling:
1 piece of organic chicken breast (or 1 can chicken breast, drained well)
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup walnuts, chopped finely
2 Tbsp. chopped raisins
salt and pepper to taste
8 slices quality whole wheat or nut bread
Herbed butter:
1 stick soft unsalted butter
2 tsp. minced fresh herbs of your choice (parsley, dill, chives, or chervil)
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Herbed Butter: Place butter, and the rest of the ingredients into the bowl. Mix and blend well with a wooden spoon until smooth. (I used a hand held electric mixer). Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Walnut Chicken: Season chicken breast with some salt and pepper. Heat some oil in frying pan, cooked until brown on both sides. Drain and chopped finely. In a bowl, mix together mayonnaise and chopped chicken meat. Next, stir in walnuts and raisins to the mixture.
How to assemble:
1. Spread each 8 slices of bread with a layer of the herbed butter. Top each slice of bread with the chicken mixture. Cover with the remaining 4 slices of buttered bread.
2. Using a sharp knife cut off the crusts and into 4 equal bite-sized pieces.

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Cucumber Tea Sandwich

Last week I bought a 22-piece English china tea set for $20. Even though a number of the pieces were missing it was quite a bargain. This will be perfect for a small afternoon tea party that I've been planning for awhile. Afternoon tea, is a light meal served between lunch and dinner, usually between 2pm and 5pm. A variety of teas are served with delicate sandwiches, baked cakes, scones, with jam and spread. I am planning to serve three kinds of sandwiches: chicken walnut; apple open faced, baked scones, and Panna Cotta with fruits. For starters, I shall start off with this popular recipe.
Ingredients: (serves 4)
1 English cucumber, peeled and sliced thinly
1 Tbsp. soft unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. cream cheese
½ loaf of quality white or whole wheat bread
a handful of dried dill (McCormick, It's a Dilly is best)
salt to taste
Method:
1. Using a fork, scored lines along the cucumber before slicing. Place cucumber slices between layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture.
2. In a small bowl, combine butter and cream cheese to a smooth mixture. Spread on one slice of the bread. Lay slices cucumber onto the buttered bread. Lightly sprinkle the cucumbers with salt and dill. Next cover the top with the other buttered side down. Do the same with the rest of the bread.
3. With a sharp knife cut off the crusts from each sandwich. Cut in half diagonally and then cut again in halves. You can cut into decorative shapes with cookie cutters.
4. Serve immediately.
Tips: I find that freezing the bread ahead of time makes it easier for handling.
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Chicken and Pear Sandwich

If you like pears, you will like this simple and quick meal with leftovers chicken. You can use either red or green pears, but I prefer Bartlett pear.
Ingredients:

1 pear, washed and thinly sliced

Baguette bread, toasted

A handful of arugula greens

5-6 Tbsp. balsamic vinaigrette (store bought)

Cooked or roasted chicken breast meat, sliced

Method:

1. In a bowl, mix arugula greens with half of the vinaigrette dressing. Season to taste and toss to mix. Split baguette lengthwise and toast bread with flat side down for about 4-5 minutes. Remove and drizzle both sides with vinaigrette dressing.

2. Layer greens on bottom half of baguette, followed with chicken and pear slices over chicken. Drizzle with remaining dressing and cover top with the other half of baguette. If using a long baguette bread, cut into 4 sandwiches. Serve immediately.

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Salmon Sandwich with Mustard Caper Dressing

We dropped by Fry's Electronics on our way back from Palo Alto, as we were interested in buying a Mac computer. We waited for over 45 minutes for an associate to serve us. By the time he came over we realized they ran out of the new ones, except for one from the open stock... He offered us a 5% discount and a 15-day warranty, should we decide to return it for a refund, a 15% stocking fee will be deducted from our cost. What a lousy deal--not to mention the box was in a bad shape. We left the store without buying the computer. Since it was almost time for dinner, we've decided to go home to make dinner instead. On the way home, I've came up with this recipe. Not bad for a hungry me.

Ingredients:
1 lb salmon, skinned
1 red pepper, finely chopped
¼ cup chopped artichoke (canned)
2 potatoes
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. cayenne
Sandwich buns (I used Oroweat's Multi-Grain Sandwich Thins)
Salad greens
salt and pepper to taste
Lemon Mustard Sauce:
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. chopped capers
¼ tsp. olive oil
Method:
1. Peel potatoes, boil and mash them. Set aside for later.
2. Fill a saucepan with water, bring to a boil and cook the fish for 5 minutes. Remove and flaked fish with a fork finely, making sure to remove any bones.
3. Place the fish, mashed potatoes, artichokes, and the rest of the ingredients. Mix well by hand, adjust the mixture, if it is crumbly, add another egg or more bread crumbs if it is too sticky.
4. Gently form the mixture into cakes. Heat skillet with a little oil and fry cakes over medium heat. Set aside. In a bowl, whisk the ingredients for the lemon mustard sauce. To assemble: Brush buns with mustard sauce, arrange some salad greens on bun and serve salmon cake on top. Drizzle some sauce on top if you like.

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