These elegant tea sandwiches were made with a tea party in mind and since the Kentucky Derby is fast approaching, I thought I’d share these as well. As with most parties, I like to prep a day or two in advance, these mini open-faced sandwiches unfortunately must be prepared right before guests arrive. With that said, you can prep the cream cheese spread in the morning and place it in frig, take it out about 1/2 hour before you are going to spread onto sandwiches. Also, you can cut these cute heart-shaped sandwiches and store them in a plastic bag until you are ready to assemble everything.  As with any party, and especially Kentucky Derby, it’s all in the presentation – so garnish and be sure all your sandwiches have nice clean edges. It’s all in the details!

Start by preparing your cream cheese spread. You should leave the cheeses out about 1/2 hour before you start. This is a homemade spread, but if you are pressed for time a vegetable cream cheese with all the spices/herbs added to it will work! The key is you want to obtain that gorgeous salmon hue and have lots of greens to pair with it. Measure about 3/4 cup of low fat cream cheese and place into a bowl. Add to that the soft herb cheese, and mix.

Rinse, peel and finely chop 1/2 of a small carrot (even the tiny ones are good). This is when a good chef’s knife will come in handy! You want to use tiny bits of carrot, no more than 1 tablespoon. Add this to the cream cheese spread along with a few shakes of the smoked paprika. This imparts a wonderful flavor and fragrance, but don’t overdue it! Then add some regular paprika and mix to achieve the salmon color you see in this photo. Chop about 1 tablespoon of fresh chive (light green parts) and add it to the mixture along with a few sprinkles of dried chives and a hint of black pepper. Mix all the ingredients until well incorporated.

Place a few slices of bread* onto a cutting board. The slices of bread I used were 4 inches by 4 inches. Using a large heart-shaped cookie cutter (about 3 inches at the widest part and 2 3/4 inches from top of heart to the point) cut out the heart shapes. So that nothing goes to waste, using the smaller ones (1 1/2 inches) cut one or two (this should be slightly smaller) more hearts. You can stack these as you wish, and as seen in this photo like a triple decker – three hearts or two hearts or even just the one heart. They all look pretty!

Spread the cream cheese onto each heart and stack as you wish. Be sure your edges are clean. Then cut the tips off some of the asparagus (leave some whole for garnish) and cut then lengthwise in half. Place the cut side facing down onto the heart. Cut another small carrot and place a very narrow piece next to the asparagus. This adds a nice finishing touch!

To make the horseshoes, cut out a few large hearts and with a knife shape each slice like a horseshoe (as best as possible). Heat up some butter and heat these on both sides. These are manly for decorations, but my daughter said they were yummy! You can add some seasonings. Be careful because butter burns, and you don’t want these black. Add a few full asparagus spears to the center of the horseshoes once you plate them. This reminds me of playing horseshoes as a kid and ringing the horseshoe around the post. Haha! Some of my best childhood memories spent at my beach house every summer.

Now for the assembly! I think a white platter is best to make the colors pop. Assemble the sandwiches with room between each and add thyme sprigs to fill in the empty space. Place the horseshoes as seen in my photos.

Note: the drink is grapefruit juice with a hint of a white wine with seltzer or you may just use a prosecco. I really like the Bellissima Brut Prosecco by the fabulous and very talented Christie Brinkley. It’s vegan and organic. Add in some fresh mint or thyme and garnish with the grapefruit and strawberry for more color. You can make a mint simple syrup as well. Experiment a little and have fun with it!

Optional: you may add some chopped bacon to each heart and then some larger pieces lengthwise next to the asparagus. Another alternative is if you like Caviar add a few of the salmon color caviar onto the hearts. I haven’t tried this, but I believe the combo will be great.

Enjoy!

*be sure that the bread you choose is hearty and that when you spread the cream cheese it has been left at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.