Tea Room Recipe #26 - The Sheep and The Crown Tea Room (Venice, Fla.)

A cold sandwich is my go-to lunch choice in the summertime, and this week I decided to try a new spread from a unique tea room cookbook I found.

This booklet is titled "The Sheep and The Crown Tea Room: Tea & Reception Recipes," and it's by the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Venice, Fla., dated 1999. I imagine this is one of those churches that hosts a "tea room" for special events once a year or so, as I've heard they do this sort of thing in Charleston as well. The recipe I chose was the one for their Piquant Cheese Sandwiches, which taste very much like a sweeter version of pimiento cheese sandwiches but without the pimiento. It couldn't have been easier to make, and this is definitely a recipe I'll be making again!

Piquant Cheese Sandwiches

3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup or less onion, finely chopped or grated
1/4 cup red pepper, finely chopped or grated
1/2 cup green pepper, finely chopped or grated
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup chili sauce

Grate cheese in a medium bowl and add other ingredients. Combine well. Makes 40-80 sandwiches, depending on the size. Note: I halved this recipe since I was only making it for me and my husband, and we ate on it for days! Also, since I was halving it I didn't want to waste buying a red pepper so I used all green pepper in my version. I thought the spread looked pretty made into ribbon sandwiches!