Bridal Shower Recipes

Filling
4 bone-in chicken breasts or thighs
1/3 – 1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
16 slices white bread

Place the chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover the pot and simmer the chicken on low heat for about 30 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink.

Remove the chicken from the pot and discard the water (or use it as chicken broth for another recipe). Remove the skin and shred the chicken using two forks.

Add 1/3 cup mayonnaise and the champagne vinegar with the shredded chicken. Mix well. If you prefer a more wet chicken salad, add and mix in an additional 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise at a time until your reach the desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The filling can be made the day before and refrigerated.

Wash the basil and pat dry with a paper towel. Rip the basil into small pieces and add it to the chicken mixture. Ripping the basil prevents it from browning as much as when you cut it with a knife. Carefully mix the chicken and basil mixture.

Spread the chicken and basil mixture on half of the bread slices, leaving a 1/4 inch border. Cover with the remaining bread slices. Slice off the crust on the four sides of each sandwich. Slice an X into each square, creating 4 small triangular finger sandwiched

Spread
1 1/2  8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened (12 ounces total)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons cup chopped fresh dill (wash, pat dry then chop)

1 long hot house cucumber (these have edible seeds and are often sold wrapped in plastic)
20 slices white bread

Place the cream cheese in a large bowl. With a wooden spoon, mix the cream cheese until it is smooth. Alternatively, you can use a mixer. Add the garlic powder and mix well. Add salt to taste and mix well.

Add the dill and carefully mix into the cream cheese mixture.

The spread can be made the day before and refrigerated. The day of the event, set out the cream cheese mixture 1 hour before using to let it soften.

Wash and pat dry the hot house cucumber. Peel the cucumber and slice it very thinly. The cucumbers can be sliced the day before, Wrapped in paper towels and placed in an airtight container.

Thinly spread the cream cheese mixture on all of the bread slices. On half of the bread slices, lay the cucumbers along two vertical rows, each cucumber overlapping slightly with the the next cucumber in the same row. Cover with a slice of bread, spread side down.

Slice off the crust on the four sides of each sandwich. Slice each sandwich in half, in between the two vertical rows of cucumbers.

1 pint raspberries (2 small boxes), plus more for garnish
3 tablespoons rose water
1/4 cup sugar
3 cups grape juice, chilled
2 cups seltzer, chilled

Place the 1 pint raspberries in a blender and puree. Strain the raspberry puree by placing a small amount at a time in a fine mesh strainer and pushing the raspberries through with a spatula. The seeds should be left behind in the strainer.

The raspberries can be pureed the day before and stored in the refrigerator.

Combine the raspberry puree, rose water and sugar in a large pitcher or bowl. Mix to dissolve the sugar. Add the grape juice and seltzer. Garnish with whole raspberries.

Enjoy! (: