Pretty rolled or pinwheel sandwiches look tempting for a special occasion and make delightful cocktail party snacks. For fancy rolled or pinwheel sandwiches trim the crusts and flatten bread slices slightly with a rolling pin before filling and rolling them.
Rolled sandwiches: Use trimmed slices from a small loaf and butter the slices right to the edge. Place filling about 1/2 inch (lcm) in from the edge and fold bread over filling. Then roll up tightly. Pack rolled sandwiches close together, so they keep their shape, and chill to set the butter and filling. Try these fillings:
Asparagus tips tinned asparagus are ideal arranged so tips slightly overlap the bread and show at one end. Use brown bread.
Fresh crisp watercress rolled in buttered bread slices with a touch of Marmite allow the leaf ends to show.
Cooked chipolata sausages rolled up in buttered bread slices with a touch of mustard. Trim sausages and bread at each end, then garnish by dipping ends in grated Parmesan cheese or finely chopped parsley.
Pinwheel sandwiches: Buy an unsliced brown or white loaf. Using a long sharp knife, cut off all the crusts except the bottom, then cut bread in thin slices lengthways. If you like, put the trimmed but unsliced loaf in the freezer for 30 minutes and you will find it easier to cut the bread in slices. Run a rolling pin over each slice to prevent the bread from cracking when it is rolled. Butter each slice right to the very edge, then spread with a smooth filling so bread rolls easily. Starting from one short end, roll up each slice. Wrap rolls individually in kitchen foil, twisting the ends like a cracker, and refrigerate for several hours to set butter and filling. Cut chilled rolls in 1/2 inch (1cm) slices. Choose from among these fillings:
Liver pureeblended with half as much butter and some chopped green olives. Use white bread.
Softened cream cheese mixed with chives, chopped walnuts or chopped prawns and parsley, seasoned with salt and pepper. Use brown bread.
Thin slices of smoked salmon flavoured with lemon juice. Season with pepper. Use brown bread.
For an unusual green filling mash a ripe avocado with lemon juice to preserve the colour, and add a good seasoning of salt and pepper. Spread over white bread slices.
Stilton cheese mashed to a paste with equal parts of softened butter. Use white bread.
Arrange sliced pinwheel sandwiches in a variety of colours (or all of one kind) on a platter garnished with crisp celery stalks. Smoked salmon pinwheels look good arranged around a vandyked lemon half in the centre of the serving plate.