I arrived home wielding two sword-like hothouse cucumbers, announcing to my boyfriend Ervin that we were having Ina Garten’s Cucumber Sandwiches for lunch. “Nice! I’ve been wanting to try one since I saw it on ‘Dexter’,” he replied. (Pause.)
I couldn’t remember cucumber sandwiches on the TV series about a serial killer, but apparently it was a favorite of Keith Carradine’s Special Agent Lundy… the go-to lunch of a star crime-solver. And all this time, I thought cucumber sandwiches were for English high teas, baby showers, and Saturday afternoons playing Canasta.
Simply Recipes / Lauren Bair
What Makes Ina Garten’s Cucumber Sandwiches Special
Giving full “pool party chic,” Ina’s sandwich goes beyond the familiar triangle-shaped, crust-free white bread version. It’s filling without feeling heavy; bookended by nourishing, seeded bread; and loaded with crisp cucumber bursting from a garlicky, grassy, velvety, and tangy, goat-and-cream-cheese filling.
It makes a great addition to any lunch buffet, serving as the figurative refreshing backyard sprinkler-style snack between loaded pasta salad and bacon cheeseburgers, fresh off the grill.
Even better, you can take a page out of Ina’s cookbook, and still get the fresh herb flavor—without all of the chopping—by mixing cream cheese with store-bought herbed goat cheese. Layer your cucumbers between two slices of bread, and lunch is served.
But, wait, wait, wait. The first season of “Dexter” came out almost 10 years ago—and, unbeknownst to anyone, my boyfriend has since been dreaming of this sandwich. Remember that internet survey about how some guys think about the Roman Empire all the time? Now I’m wondering about how many of us might secretly be thinking about cucumber sandwiches.
I’m just an unofficial armchair crime-solver slash behavioral psychologist, but I know there’s only one way to solve this mystery: by making these sandwiches all summer long. (Pinkies out! And no crust-cutting required.)
Simply Recipes / Lauren Bair
Tips for Making Cucumber Sandwiches Ina’s Way
- Room temp cheese makes incorporating the filling ingredients a breeze. If the cheese is still cold from the fridge, let it rest on the counter until it no longer feels cool to the touch.
- Hot house cucumbers (aka English cucumbers) have less seeds and are a little less watery than standard slicing cucumbers. I sliced mine on a mandoline because I have zero finesse with a knife. I didn’t notice a lot of extra water in my cucumber, but you can always toss your slices in a little salt and let them drain in a colander for 20 minutes before assembling.
- For the simplified version of Ina’s recipe, I used Vermont Creamery’s Herbed Chevre, which didn’t even need any added milk to blend into a spread with an equal amount of low-fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese. (Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk for a softer texture, and a little salt.) It tastes a little different than Ina’s recipe, but still brings that tangy, herbal flavor.
- Go rogue by skipping the herbs altogether and mixing in goat cheese flavored with everything bagel seasoning or another fun flavor combo.