Benedictine Sandwiches
May 4, 2009|Comments (13)
What Kentucky Derby party would be complete without the famous Benedictine sandwiches? With their smooth-cool elegance, they remain a timeless classic which is perfectly paired with a mint julep and hot Kentucky cheese wafers. My inner feminist also celebrates their inventor, who managed and founded Benedict’s (a restaurant and catering service) in downtown Louisville, Kentucky in the early 1900s. Benedict’s was the place to cater for the muckety-mucks Derby parties. The inventor and entrepreneur’s name? None other than: Jennie Benedict.
What You’ll Need:
- 12 ounces cream cheese or quark
- 2 sweet onions (preferably Vidalia)
- 2 English cucumbers (seedless)
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 or 1 full teaspoon Tabasco sauce (any hot sauce will work)
- sea salt or Kosher salt
- a few drops of green food coloring
- thinly sliced bread
Pull out your food processor, cheese grater, or whatever grinding device you can find. Peel and chunk the cucumbers, then grate the cucumber into a flour sack cloth or a piece of cheesecloth. Now, squeeze out the juice into the sink. You don’t want soppy sandwiches. Yuck.
Peel and chunk the onions, then grate into a flour sack cloth or a piece of cheesecloth. Squeeze the juice into a bowl and discard the chopped onion (may be used for onion bagels later… mmmm). Set aside.
Now place the grated cucumber into a bowl (or just keep using that food processor). Add the cream cheese, mayonnaise, and hot sauce to the cucumber. Now pour in as much onion juice as you wish (be careful not to add so much that you have soup — just enough to make a nice creamy spread). Drop in some green food coloring for a boost or skip it altogether. Add salt to taste.
Make finger sandwiches with the spread and the bread (remove crusts and cut into two-bite sandwiches). Refrigerate at least an hour before serving — make sure the sandwiches are quite cool.
Now, quickly sneak a few sandwiches into a napkin. This is your reward for all of that hard work. Take it from me — these things disappear in seconds and then the maker is left without any samples. And that’s just not fair.
This version of Benedictine Sandwiches comes from my grandmother. I’m off for a mint julep. Shhh!
| 1. | muckety-mucks | |
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an American (slang) word used to denote pompous, rich, stuffy, vainglorious, snobby aristocracy types who think they rule the world.
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These were such a hit at my Grandparents’ 50th anniversary party. I made a double batch and they disappeared!! (I snuck a sandwich the night before when I assembled the spread…I had to do a quality control check)
What delicious sandwich! Perfect for the hot summer days!
Cheers,
Rosa
Oh my, your sandwich look so neat, immaculate, I am sure they taste delicious too.
yum!!
I am so glad to hear of someone else who has Derby fixin’s! Were you a KY girl or just passing though? We lived there a couple of years and loved it! Anyhow, happy post-Derby Day!
Looks suitable for Gold Cup too! http://www.vagoldcup.com/
Interesting combination! We don’t have derby parties here in Maine but I have seen some talk of it lately on other blogs.
Yummm…those look good. We lived in Kentucky for seven years…about an hour South of Louisville. My favorite is the Kentucky Derby Pie!
Blessings,
Dianne
They look great! I love cucumber sandwiches, minus the onion. So I’ll give you all my onion and you can give me all the sandwiches! ;o)
YUM! Those look wonderful! Bet they would be great for a tea party too!
What a lovely typical English sandwich, but made with excellent ingredients ! They must taste really good,…! yum!
[...] Benedictine Sandwiches are another Louisville, Kentucky created menu item. Jennie Carter Benedict created this tasty snack in the early 1900’s. Benedictine is nothing more than cucumbers, cream cheese and a few other spices. These would be perfect to make and set out as appetizers or even after dinner at your Kentucky Derby party. To find a recipe check out the following sites: Benedictine Sandwiches Recipe : Paula Deen or Benedictine Sandwiches : Razor Family Farms [...]
I made these for a Derby Party last year and they were such a hit, I have been asked to make them again! Yummy