Savories for a Southern Summer Tea

I'm starting my recipe posts with the first course of the tea--the savories!

1.  Pimento Cornbread
I figured you don't get much more southern than cornbread, and pimento cheese is a southern tea party staple, so why not mix the two?  I thought they turned out very yummy and got good reviews, so I think this match is a keeper.  I used two Paula Deen recipes for this, first her moist and easy cornbread, which is not sweet and is very basic and moist, so it was a good match to the pimento cheese.  I made it in mini-cupcake tins and baked them for about 12 minutes or so.  For the pimento cheese I used Bobby's Pimento Cheese recipe.  As you can see, I just spread the pimento cheese on top like I was icing a cupcake.  It was the perfect cornbread to pimento cheese ratio!

2.  Ham on Cheddar Biscuits
I used another Paula Deen recipe for the biscuits--her cheese biscuit recipe.  To make the mini biscuits, I took a small amount of dough and rolled it into a ball and then placed it on the cookie sheet.  The bake time was closer to the 12 minute mark for me.  I used a very good quality honey ham for this (Honeybaked ham if you have heard of them--there is a store really near my house) and spread some mayo and ground mustard on top.  Be careful with how sharp your cheddar is for this.  I bought a nicer quality very sharp cheddar, but it made the biscuits seem salty to some guests (others loved them though, so go figure!).  I might try just a regular old Kraft brand next time I try this recipe.

3.  Egg Salad in Phyllo Cups
This has lately been a tea party staple for me since it is so easy!  I just made up egg salad the way I enjoy it (mayo, sweet pickle, a dash of mustard, and salt & pepper to taste), spoon some into a phyllo cup, and top with paprika and a sprig of fresh curled parsley from my garden.

4.  Benedictine Sandwiches
I always serve a cucumber sandwich at my tea parties and, since the theme was the south, I decided to try a Kentucky Benedictine Sandwich.  I had never heard of this sandwich until I started reading tea blogs--in particular Friendship Tea.  The Benedictine Spread recipe is in a past post about the Kentucky Derby (which was also a fun read!).  I enjoyed the spread and it was definitely different from my typical slice of cucumber on cream cheese!