What do mothers want for Mother’s Day?
Breakfast in bed? ย Flowers? ย Jars of honey? ย Hand sewn pot holders?
Crown of daisies? ย Wads of cash? ย A high five?
Gum? ย Altoids? ย Pet goldfish?
I’m hoping the answer is lunch with tea sandwiches and cocktails…. cause that’s what’s going to happen for my mom.
I’m making lunch. ย I’m setting the table. ย I’m using the fancy linens. ย I’m also doing the dishes. ย I should buy flowers too… someone remind me.
I think my mamabear is most stoked about the clean dishes… let’s be real.
Wait… have you ever had Green Goddess dressing?
Green Goddess dressing is packed with fresh herbs, lemon, garlic, and bound with some sort of yogurt or mayonnaise. ย Fresh herbs? ย It’s so delicious.
These tea sandwiches are inspired by that dressing.
I feel silly giving you an exact recipe for a simple tea sandwich. ย Can I just throw your inspiration your way?
Soak it up and pass it on to your mamabear.
I chopped up a tablespoon each of fresh mint and fresh basil.
I mixed the fresh herbs into 2 tablespoons of softened unsalted butter.
Also! ย A dash of salt a pepper.
In a separate bowl I stirred together softened cream cheese with about 1/4 cup of fresh chives and a bit of lemon zest. ย Black pepper too!
Thinly sliced cucumbers, carrots (shaved with a vegetable peeler), and spinach (not pictured).
Sandwich guts!
Cream cheese chive spread spread on one side of crustless white bread.
Herby butter slathered on the other side of crustless white bread.
Cucumbers, carrots, and spinach are stacked.
Not too heavy. ย These are delicate suckers.
Breads are pressed together and sliced in four. ย Eat ferociously.
Pinky up.
116 Responses
Dear people- where have you been?!! You’ve never heard of Green Goddess dressing? You haven’t lived! Look up a recipe and make it NOW! Heavenly!
These were supper yummy. I made them for my niece’s first birthday (garden brunch theme). Loved them. Mahalo for the recipe!
Wow! I’ve been looking and googling for finger sandwiches for hours. I’m throwing a rather large Bridal shower tea. These sound fantastic! Definitely going to be on the menu. Thanks!
Hey Joy,
I’m looking over this “recipe” and trying to figure out how many people this would serve. I want to serve at least 12 people and I’m not sure how much of each thing to buy.
Could you please let me know when you have a chance (I know you’re busy!)
Thanks!
Katie
Joy, love your blog! Love the idea of tea sandwiches too. But I am a total fool when it comes to eye balling the amounts of the ingredients. So far the amount of the cream cheese stopped me from having a tea sandwich for lunch. Please, give a hint!.. :)
Oh boy these look delicious!!! But I have to say that as much as I LOVE your recipes, I love your humor writing these posts even more!! The booty dance with a scarf on your head is hilarious – I love the sense of humor!
I sent this link to my husband…guess what he made me for Mother’s Day!?!? They were deee-lish!!
love!!
I made these for tea for my mum today and I must say that they turned out FABULOUS! Some of the best finger sandwiches I’ve ever had. Mum absolutely loved them and they go great with a Long Island :)
Wow–I’m trying the mint/basil/butter thing too. And your mamabear is so lucky to have you making such an awesome treat JUST FOR HER! Have fun!
This may seem like a silly question, but what kind of pepper do you use? I can’t seem to find a pepper without a dominating funk…
YUM! for reals.
Looks fantastic. Your mom is going to love it
i love this! so adorable and beautiful, and i’ll bet they’re tasty too.
These look amazing!! Some friends and I are planning a necklace-making party in a few weeks – I might have to offer to provide a light lunch, just for the fun of whipping these up!
Talk about Yum! I’m totally gonna try this out, but I think I’ll add some smoked Salmon…
Hi Joy! I remember GREEN GODDESS DRESSING….now please give us the recipe :)
i would love to be served this for mothers day :)
hey joy…?
do ya think pumpernickel bread would work too? my mommabear is a health goddess and my pumpernickel bread has raisins in it…
i think it would work! anyways, i might add a dash of craisins, sweet potato slices, and/or mango … just ideas floating around my head that’s all..
oh and *fist pump* :D
I love Green Goddess Dressing and especially like it for “dipping sauce” with pepperoni pizza!
Well, all mothers want the cash slipped to them, discretely, under guise of a high five. :) Great tea sandwiches. Just pull out the tea!
These look ammaazzing! Ima making two servings! (and two servings of cocktails)
Shaved carrots with a peeler, what a neat trick! And just the recipe I needed to expand my tea sandwich collection. Thanks for sharing. Your recipes and photos are always an inspiration! :)
Awesome looking tea sandwiches! Moms would totally dig these.
So would I! It’s not something you make for yourself really is it?
Guess I’d better plan a tea party or something!
How long do you think this would last before getting either stale or soggy? I live 3 hours away from my mama and we’re meeting in the middle for a picnic!
you won’t really have a problem with soggy… and just wrap them well to keep them from getting stale. i think these are a go!
Groan! You read my mind, I’ve been craving cucumber tea sandwiches lately and these look even better than the standard cucumber, dill, and cream cheese. Thanks for the inspiration :)
These look so good! Love the colors :)
Oh gosh, the pinky up comment made my day. That is the ONLY way to eat tea sandwiches. Well…garden party hats wouldn’t hurt either :)
How dainty! I love going to restaurants for high tea and this is making me think I should propose a ‘tea themed’ brunch for the cooking club I belong to. I think it would be so fun to have everyone bring different kinds of finger sandwiches and pastries. Yum!
I keep this recipe for my next picnic, or even lunch box!
So dainty! Love them!
joy, you’re the best. i loved green goddess dressing in college but i always forget about it now!
what kind of white bread did you use? i’m a bread snob, mainly because i buy a loaf and then don’t finish it because it’s too mushy/hard/something or other. so i’m being nitpicky.
i used the softest white bread i could find.
It is so tempting to just use the butter idea on my next adult grilled cheese sandwich. Yummy!
I’ve been dying to have a picnic ever since the warm weather came back. I think these are perfect for picnicking.
These look divine!!! An addition to my mother’s day brunch for sure…
Thanks Joy!!!
These are beautiful! The name alone makes them ideal for Mother’s Day! If only my mamabear didn’t live across the country… =/
You are too cute! Annie & I will be sure to enjoy these together, pinkies up. Happy day to your mamabear.
“Sandwich Guts!!!” I nominate that phrase as funniest shit I’ve heard all day.
I love your china plate – so pretty! So perfect for little tea sandwiches. My mom adores green goddess – so this is perfect!
Oh these look so perfect. What a great idea!
Looks dainty and delish!
Pinky up – key element to tea sandwich recipes and dining.
Thanks for the recipe!!
Dear Joy,
Why are you so brilliant?
Yours truly,
Lauren S.
:D
I was thinking the EXACT same thing!! :D
wonderful idea!
and THANK YOU, for reminding me its Mother’s day!
I’ve got to call up my MamaBear!! :D
Love this, Joy! I just made some tea sandwiches for watching the Royal Wedding last weekend. They were very similar to yours – but yours look much better :)
first of all, i love that you call your mom mamabear!
second of all, i’m stealing this idea from you!!!
steal it!
I’ve never heard of Green Goddess Dressing before, but now that I have, I definitely want to try it. Sounds wonderful! Hope you have a fun day with your mama! :)
I now feel the need to combine mint, basil, and butter and spread it on my morning toast.
every mama should feel like a goddess on mother’s day – especially a green one. very natural! have a lovely time with your mama.
YUM! I can see myself putting back a plate of these babies in no time! My mom lives far away so I might just make these for her anyway and eat them all in honor of her!
so adorably cute i can barely stand it. i will not be with my mother this year but i still need to make these.
How do you have the time to write 1000 letters and make adorable teeny sandwiches!!
And without crusts too – how dainty!
i have no idea.
Joy, this is off topic for today, but had knee surgery (blech!) and was away from the computer for a few days. I have a challenge for you after reading the gluten free cupcake recipe from a few days ago. I eat gluten-free because I am allergic and I LOVE the recipe you did around Christmas that was goat cheese biscuits. I made it and substituted a GF mix (rice flour, tapioca and potato starch with xanthum gum) I use for the flour and they came out great. Same for the pot pie the other day with the cream cheese in it. The only thing is that they are still really crumbly and don’t rise as much as with regular flour. Which is the bane of all GF cooking. SOOO, my challenge is: please play around with your biscuits recipes and GF alternatives. So far, modifying those two recipes have produced the best biscuits in the 5 years I’ve been GF free. Gotta have good biscuits, I live in the South. :) Thanks!
let me put my brains on this! thanks jennifer!
I’m pretty sure my mum would want tea sandwiches and not pet goldfish or handmade pot holders. She’s not mushy like that.
yums, I love green goddess dressing. These sandwiches sound so refreshing and delicious! And since you cut them so small I think I could probably eat 10.
That’s what I want for Mom’s Day, Clean Dishes! Please.
Lemon, butter, basil, mint, chive, cheese and veggies?!?!?!?
So brilliant!!!! I usually use basil for sandwiches, but just that or oregano and mayo…I really need to try more sandwich recipes…
I love tea sandwiches. I’m not sure what it is – crust-less bread, delicate creamy snack? Whatever it is – it’s perfect and I’m in love with your herby butter!
They look soooo good…I just got so hungry!
As a mom I can tell you I’d love a lunch like that…especially if my child made it for me. You are very thoughtful. I had a “proper” tea once in London and it knocked my socks off. I LOVE Coronation chicken — especially in a little tea sandwich. You could also serve strawberries and cream and give mom her own pot of tea — her choice of flavor/kind, etc. Lovely.
Those are so sweet. I always make my mom dinner for mother’s day. I like giving her a break from having to think about what to cook.
What else are you serving? Do you have a cute dessert or hor’derves planned to accompany it? They look lovely
Remember to get flowers!
What an easy, classy way to celebrate Mother’s Day!
What kind of cocktails? Very important. Green Goddess is delicious, tea sandwiches, nice.
My local fondue restaurant serves its green goddess dressing along with the other dipping condiments. I usually opt for the chicken broth base. But every now and then I get the peanut oil. I love filling the mushroom caps with the green goddess dressing, covering the mushroom in tempura sauce, then frying it up in the peanut oil. Whoaaaa.
I love tea sandwiches, and those look wonderful. Have a great day!
Yum, I love this! This is like using my Greek Goddess dressing and Spring Sandwich all in one :) Great idea, cukes in my sandwich is always a fave. I love the herby butter.
Oh these look like a perfect Spring nibble! Your mom is going to flip. I just want to know what cocktail you are going to sip?
Mmmm these look so good. I am throwing a Dinner Soiree (alternately named Fancy Pants Party) and looking up tea sandwiches for it. This might be the winner… that spread looks SO good.
Great idea!! I love tea sandwiches and I’m always on the lookout for a new and different one to try. I’m the chairman for a tea party fundraiser this Saturday and along with a dilled chicken salad, we’ll be serving a minted butter cucumber sandwich (people revolt if there’s no cuc. sandwich) and a radish chive tea sandwich with sesame and ginger. So good. Next year we might just be serving Green Goddess tea sandwiches!
Brilliant! My favorite tea room closed and they served a sandwich that looked very much like this.
NICE! Looks VERY classy!
Those look delicious!
so cute!! i’m not a big cucumber fan, but with the deliciousness going on in the cream cheese and butter spreads – these might win me over! i’m making meatballs/sausage/pork chops and sauce for mother’s day with my family!
Wondering how long they will keep, I have to attend an outdoor “potluck” lunch and it is about a 45 min drive then probably another 1/2 hour till we eat, will they keep and not get soggy for that amount of time?
Perfect! My friend put some Green Goddess dressing in a gift basket she gave me for my birthday and I have not tried it yet. This seems like a great recipe to try it out.
Pinky up, indeed! Happy Mother’s Day to all :)
I have had the urge to make tea sandwiches for a good half a year now and just never found motivation enough to do it… mostly because I know I would be the only person who appreciate the delicate little sandwiches. Maybe I’ll just have to make for myself anyway. Thanks, Joy!
Mmmh looks yummi
these are dangerous…i can see myself eating about 12 of them without even blinking an eye!
delicate suckers. lol
the seriously look sooo pretty and light and well, goddess-like. GREAT NAME!
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
I will make “eat ferociously. pinky up.” my new mantra. It applies to everything!
The sandwiches look divine. Sadly I’m an ocean away from my mom, so she’s getting a fancy honey jar :)
Sounds like a lovely Mother’s Day!
My teapot will have good company with these tea sandwiches. Yummy!
I love Veggies. They look so good I could eat them now. I am inspired.
Ooh, how pretty! Love the step-by-step photos. All such delicate balance…the flavours and the finished product stack!
“eat ferociously. pinky up.” That should be a life mantra. Or AT LEAST a t-shirt slogan. Market that stuff!
oh dear, where do you come up with these questions what mothers want for their day??
i died of laughter at GUM, seriously!
How delightful and absolutely cute! They’d be perfect for high tea arvo
These look wonderful. Love the combo of the herb butter on one slice and the dressing on the other. I wonder what the sandwhich would be like with substituting the cream cheese for softened avocado? I have never tried a green goddess dressing so I will give it a go.
Your Mom is one lucky Mom! happy mothers day Joys Mom!
Wow these look sooooo great and what fab plates!!!!
I am really looking forward to making them. They are just so dainty and will be perfect for summer picnics :0)
cream cheese and chives. i could think of at least 50 other things i want to spread them on and eat!
I’ve actually been wanting to make green goddess dressing for the longest time. I first saw it in Jamie Oliver’s Americas cookbook. He used it on a salad, and garnished the salad with edible flowers, and that made the salad look so gorgeous. I would never have thought of using this dressing on sandwiches, but I think you mum will be really stroked. Your plates look beautiful too! I’m sure you’d have a fun time with your mom!
This looks like an upgraded and larger version of sandwiches served at English high teas. They might steal your green goddess idea:)
I’ve never had green godess either – is it a US thing? The sandwiches look divine, though!
P.S. Do you still have room on your Pen Pals list? Or have you already filled up? What a fun idea! I have some beautiful stationary that just sits there because no one writes letters anymore. If you have any spaces left, I would love to sign up!
These sound delicious Joy! I love the Green Goddess seasoning from Penzeys so I know these must be awesome. I am going to my Niece’s picnic on Friday for her kindergarten class and I know these will be included in my picnic basket! :-)
These look so pretty – I’ve never heard of green goddess dressing but it’s a great way to fancy up some sandwiches!
I never had green goddess dressing!
Can’t sleep but glad I’m up reading a new post from you!