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Russian Sandwiches
1/2 cup Neufchatel cheese 1/4 cup chopped olives 10 lettuce leaves 1/4 cup chopped pimiento 1/4 cup mayonnaise Spread thin slices of Boston brown bread, lightly buttered, with Neufchatel cheese, or any other cream cheese. Spread also an equal number of buttered slices with finely chopped olives and pimientos mixed with mayonnaise dressing. Press together in pairs with a crisp lettuce leaf between.
A closed sandwich of two spreads on brown bread, assembled cold. The quantities given make ten sandwiches, one per lettuce leaf, so plan on about twenty slices of bread.
- Neufchatel todayAmerican Neufchatel is a soft cheese sold in bricks alongside cream cheese, with slightly less fat; the French Neufchâtel is a different, soft-ripened bloomy-rind cheese and is not what is meant. The recipe itself allows any cream cheese, so use a plain block-style cream cheese if the brick Neufchatel is not at hand.
- Boston brown breadThis meant the steamed molasses bread of rye and cornmeal (sometimes with graham flour), often bought in a tin and sliced into rounds. Canned brown bread is still sold in some markets; a dense dark rye or pumpernickel is the nearest common substitute, though it lacks the sweetness that plays against the olives.
- Slicing the loafSteamed brown bread is moist and crumbles under a dull blade. Chill the loaf, then cut with a long serrated knife in a sawing motion; thin slices hold better than thick ones.
- Butter first, and thinlyThe light buttering is structural, not decorative. It seals the crumb against the mayonnaise and cheese so the bread does not go pasty. Have the butter soft enough to spread without tearing the slice.
- Draining the fillingsChopped olives and pimiento both carry brine. Drain and blot them before mixing with the mayonnaise, or the filling will loosen and run at the edges.
- Olive typeThe unspecified "olives" here most likely meant green olives in brine rather than the modern canned black ripe olive, which is milder and will read as bland against the cheese.
- TimingAssemble no more than an hour or two ahead. Keep the sandwiches covered with a damp cloth or plastic wrap in the refrigerator, and put the lettuce in only at assembly so it stays crisp.
- ServingCut in halves or in fingers after pressing. This is a tea and luncheon sandwich rather than a lunchbox one; the lettuce leaf makes it awkward to carry.