Homemade Biscuit Tea Sandwiches

Not to fluff my own apron, but I make a mean biscuit. That probably explains my inclination towards biscuit purism. A well-made biscuit split and smeared with a pat of butter, or sweetened with a drizzle of honey, cannot be improved upon. Leave it alone. 

But I do recognize one exception, the biscuit sandwich. My reasoning: You're not trying to improve a perfectly delicious biscuit with a pile of unnecessary mix-ins, instead, you're employing "biscuit as sandwich bread" to improve on the fillings! Personally, I love what a biscuit can do to simple ingredients. Scrambled eggs seem creamier tucked inside of a warm one at breakfast, and call it wishful thinking but ham tastes ham-ier nuzzled in there, too. 

These tea sandwiches combine black pepper-freckled biscuits with arugula salad and capicola (basically prosciutto from the pig's shoulder, not its leg). I'm testing them for my upcoming "Cheesy Love Song" party! But more to come on that...

BLACK PEPPER–BISCUIT TEA SANDWICHES 
MAKES: 9 sandwiches 

Homemade biscuits recipe

Unsalted butter, melted

Freshly ground pepper

2 cups baby arugula 

Extra-virgin olive oil 

Fresh lemon juice

Kosher salt 

9 slices capicola or prosciutto

1. Prepare a batch of your favorite biscuit dough and cut into rounds (or hearts!). Brush the top of each biscuit with melted butter and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper. Bake according to your recipe.

2. Toss the arugula and a glug of olive oil in a bowl. Season with salt. Squeeze some lemon juice over the salad; toss again.

3. Split the biscuits in half. Fill with the capicola and arugula.