Fancy sandwiches for a tea party

Some moms want a spa day. Some moms crave chocolate. And some moms just want a little fancy pampering.
If your mom falls into that last category, consider throwing her a tea party this Mother’s Day. And it’s so much easier than it sounds. Brew up some of her favorite teas. Purchase some high-quality sweets — some beautiful candies and chocolates, as well as some delicate cakes are ideal. True to the tea party theme, everything should be small. So if you can’t find small pastries, get some that are easily cut and divided.
Likewise, creating tea sandwiches is all about being dainty. You want to create something small and pretty. Of course, it also needs to taste good. The easiest way to do this is to start by assembling multiple (and different) standard sized (but thin) sandwiches, then cut them down to more petit sizes. With the exception of the avocado, these sandwiches also can be prepped a few hours in advance.
MOTHER’S DAY
TEA SANDWICHES
Start to finish: 30 minutes
8 thin slices tight-crumb bread, such as brioche, pumpernickel or a country-style white bread
Softened salted butter
Softened cream cheese
Orange marmalade
Very soft brie cheese
Thinly sliced radishes
Thinly sliced cucumbers
Watercress
Thinly sliced ham
1 avocado, pitted and sliced
Fresh tarragon
Fresh chives
Thinly sliced pear
Place the slices of bread on a cutting board; 4 will be bottoms, 4 will be tops. Spread butter over 2 slices, cream cheese on another 2, marmalade on another 2, and brie over the final 2.
For the fillings, arrange sliced radishes over 1 of the buttered slices; cucumber slices over 1 of the cream cheese slices; watercress over 1 of the marmalade slices; and ham over 1 of the brie-covered slices. Top radishes with thin slices of avocado; cucumber with tarragon; chives over the watercress; and pear over the ham.
Top each sandwich with the second slice of bread. To cut the sandwiches, you can either use small cookie cutters (shapes such as ovals or hearts are fine) or you can trim off the crusts, then cut each sandwich into small triangles or rectangles. If desired, secure each smaller sandwich with a toothpick.
Makes 16 to 20 petite sandwiches.
--By ALISON LADMAN
The Associated Press