Cucumber Dill Sandwiches

1. Peel a cucumber with a vegetable peeler. Slice the ends off with a sharp knife and discard -- the ends can be bitter. Carefully cut the cucumber into round, thin, uniform slices, about 1/8 of an inch thick.

2. Arrange the cucumber slices in a single layer on paper towels and sprinkle them with salt. Let sit for 20 minutes until the salt is partially absorbed. Taste a cucumber slice: If they are too salty, rinse them under cold, running water. If they need more salt, add a few dashes. If the seasoning is to your liking, dab the cucumbers with paper towels to remove any excess moisture.

3. Chop the dill finely.

4. Lay out two slices of bread and apply an even and generous smear of butter to each. The butter acts as a barrier, protecting moisture from the cucumber from saturating the bread.

5. Add a sprinkling of dill to each slice of bread. Arrange several cucumber slices on top of one slice of bread, overlapping slightly. If you would like, add additional seasonings to the cucumbers, such as white ground pepper. Add another layer of cucumbers and place the second piece of buttered bread on top.

6. Cut the crusts off the bread, making sure to press down firmly so that the cucumbers don’t squeeze out. Cut the cucumber dill sandwiches into triangles, quarters or fingers. Make two diagonal cuts across the sandwich for triangles, cut the sandwich in half, then rotate 90 degrees and cut in half again for quarters. Make three parallel, evenly spaced cuts across the sandwich for fingers.