oFESTIVE FOODo
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Top tips for Christmas entertaining
f Send an invitation. Clear start and finish timeswill help tomanage your guests’ expectations andmay allowthemto plan around your timingswith childcare, present-wrapping or other invitations.
f Don’t scrimp on the canapés. Aimto serve at least six canapés per guest, to ensure that the drinks don’t have toomuch of an effect.
f Swap a starter for canapés. If you can’t have Christmaswithout the traditional prawn cocktail starter, why not incorporate thiswith a small spoon of prawn cocktail served in a baby gemlettuce leaf? Softly boiled quails eggs (these can be bought ready cooked), half peeled and served dipped into a little celery salt, are delicious and nature’s perfect bite-size canapé.Or,make individualmini cheese scones in advance and serve them warmed and halvedwith some blue cheese and fig.
f Keep it simple. Not onlywill itmake your life easier but your guestswill appreciate it alongwith the glut of other festive treats on offer. Choose canapés that are easy to prepare in advance, easy to serve and easy to eat.
f Plan ahead. This doesn’tmean that you can’t accommodate lastminute visitors – quite the opposite. By planning in advance and having a fewkey ingredients at hand, you can be ready to gowith some tasty canapés in a flash. Shop-bought puff pastry can quickly be turned into some very tasty homemade sausage rollswith a little bit of extra good quality sausagemeat fromyour butcher, or tasty stilton bites by cooking itwith a chunk of blue cheese inside.
f Bottoms
up.Make sure that you have a range of drinks to offer guestswhichwork alongside your chosen canapés. If you fancy servingmulledwine, cider or apple juice, thenminiaturemince pies are great. For substantial seasonal canapés, like those suggested, a full bodiedwintry redwine or artisan beerwillwork well. For the elegant Christmas Day suggestions, you can’t beat a crisp glass of champagne or prosecco. If youwant tomake things a littlemore exciting there are some fabulous easy cocktails that you canmake such as a sloe gin fizz (a shot of sloe gin, squeeze of lemon juice, dash of creamsoda to fill the glass and teaspoon of sugar syrup) or a golden kiss (shot of chocolate vodka toppedwith champagne).
Hopefully,with a bit of help finding easierways to
entertain this Christmaswith a little less effort, you’ll get through the festive periodwith a littlemore cheer! Happy Christmas hosting.
Katy BRANDY ALEXANDER
Awarming digestif fromPerfect Christmas,made froma blend of crème de cacao, brandy and double cream. Perhaps best saved until the end of the evening.
Ingredients (per cocktail) Crushed ice 1measure brandy1measure crème de cacao1 measure double cream
Freshly-grated nutmeg, to decorate
1 Half fill the cocktail shakerwith ice and pour in the brandy, crème de cacao and, finally, the cream. 2 Ensure the lid is screwed firmly in place and shake for about 20 seconds, tomix the ingredients togetherwell. 3 Strain the chilled cocktail intoa smallwine glass. 4 Finely grate a little nutmeg over the top of the cocktail and serve at once.
Perfect Christmas, publisher: Southwater 28 | THE WEST COUNTRY FOODLOVER 3
WE HAVE SELECTED A FEW STAPLE RECIPES THAT WILL SEE YOU THROUGH THE FESTIVE SEASON. MIX THEM WITH KATY’S SUGGESTIONS AND THEY SHOULD KEEP YOU GOING FOR AT LEAST TWO WEEKS!
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The recipes for successful entertaining this
Christmas
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