BBC good food Guide to Festive Entertaining
| Published date | 06 December 2021 |
My Christmas dinner sausage rolls are always a hit, with turkey, cranberry, chipolatas, sage and stuffing all wrapped in puff pastry, they taste like Christmas in one bite! I like to serve them with turkey gravy for dunking (make sure you have napkins to hand!) Cheesy bites always seem to disappear in minutes and everyone will love our cheese and onion rolls or kimchi cheese pinwheels, they are incredibly moreish so stick a couple of extra trays of them in the freezer for Christmas movie nibbles.
If you have vegan guests visiting, try our clever twist on smoked salmon, using smoky carrot ribbons served with vegan cream cheese on little toasts, they're irresistible.
As for the drinks, be inspired by the flavours of the season with our Stollen sours, Cranberry margaritas or non-alcoholic cocktails.
Sweet treats are often overlooked at a canape party, but a tray of mini New York cheesecakes or mince pies are the perfect way to round off the evening, a glass of classic eggnog wouldn't go amiss either!
The December issue of BBC Good Food magazine is out now, get your copy in-store or order direct from MagsDirect.co.uk
Honey mustard cocktail sausages mini toad-in-the-holes) rep: 15 mins Cook: 35 mins Difficulty: Easy Serves: 12
Enjoy the little sausages in this recipe on cocktail sticks, or serve them in mini Yorkshire puddings for Christmas canapés and other special occasions
ngredients 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard 2 tbsp honey 1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for the tins 12 mini vegetarian sausages, or 6 large vegetarian sausages, halved or the Yorkshire puddings (optional) 120g plain flour 2 large eggs 100ml milk
Method If making the yorkshires, heat the oven to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Whisk the flour and eggs together in a bowl with a pinch of salt, then whisk in the milk until smooth. Oil a 12-hole cupcake tin, then put in the oven for 10 mins until hot.
Carefully remove the hot tins from the oven and divide the batter between the holes of the tins. Bake for 15 mins until risen and firm. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. When cool, transfer to an airtight container until ready to serve.
Reduce the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Combine the mustard, honey and oil, and season. Pour over the sausages, stirring to coat. Transfer to a baking dish lined with baking parchment and bake for 10-12 mins until the sausages are sticky and cooked, stirring halfway through. Serve with cocktail sticks, or arrange in the middle of the mini yorkshires and reheat in the hot oven for 3-4 mins until warm. NUTRITION: PER SERVING Kcal 128 Fat 6g Saturates 1g Carbs 13g Sugars 4g Fibre 1g Protein 6g Salt 0.5g
Pastrami cured salmon
Prep: 30 mins Cook: 35 mins plus 3 days curing Difficulty: More effort Serves: 4-6 Serve this gravadlax-style salmon on Christmas morning with bagels, or for festive canapés. It's inspired by a New York deli breakfast
Ingredients 800g side of salmon (the freshest you can get) 250g coarse sea salt 100g light brown soft sugar 2 tbsp coriander seeds 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tbsp caraway seeds 1 tbsp black peppercorns 1 bay leaf 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika ½ tsp cayenne pepper 2 tbsp black treacle To serve soft cheese, rye bread or bagels, dill pickles and chopped dill
Method 1 Three days before you want to serve the salmon, put it, skin-side down, in a rimmed dish. Combine the salt and sugar, then set aside. 2 Fry the coriander seeds, ground coriander, caraway seeds and peppercorns in a small dry frying pan set over a medium heat for 2-3 mins. Tip into a spice grinder or small food processor along with the bay, and blitz until finely ground. Stir the spice mixture into the salt and sugar mix. Pat the spiced salt mixture all over and around the salmon so it's well packed onto the flesh. Wrap tightly in cling film, then set a plate or board and something heavy (such as a couple of cans) on top to weigh the fish down. Chill for 48 hrs.
3 Heat the paprika, cayenne and black treacle in a pan until loosened, then remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly until just warm. Brush the excess salt off the salmon and rinse the fish under cold running water. Pat dry with kitchen paper, then transfer to a clean dish. Brush with the warm treacle mixture until well coated (you may need to generously brush the fish several times before the coating covers the fish well), then wrap in a fresh sheet of cling film. Chill for another 24 hrs. 4 When you're ready to serve, set the salmon on a board and thinly slice with a sharp knife, avoiding the layer of skin at the bottom. Serve with soft cheese, rye bread or bagels, pickles and some chopped dill for everyone to help themselves.
Nutrition: Per serving (8) Kcal 312 Fat 20g Saturates 4g Carbs 5g Sugars 5g Fibre 1g Protein 27g Salt 2.4g
Cheese & onion rolls
Prep: 25 mins Cook: 1 hr plus chilling Difficulty: More effort Serves: 8 Try this take on the classic sausage roll for veggies. Making your own flaky pastry is well worth the extra few minutes, and is surprisingly easy
Ingredients 1 egg, beaten 1 tbsp nigella seeds ketchup, brown sauce or hot sauce (or whatever you fancy), to serve For the pastry 300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting 1 tsp mustard powder pinch cayenne pepper 200g block of butter, very cold
For the filling 2 medium potatoes 30g butter 2 large onions, sliced few thyme sprigs, leaves picked ½ tsp English mustard 200g vegetarian extra mature cheddar, grated handful gherkins or pickled onions (or a mixture), roughly chopped
1 To make the pastry, sift the flour into a large bowl, then stir in the mustard powder, cayenne and 1 tsp salt. Grate the butter into the flour, dipping the end of the block in flour from time to time to prevent it from clumping. Stir the flour and butter together using a table knife, then pour in 120ml ice cold water, mix and bring together to form a dough. Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 1 hour. 2 Meanwhile, make the filling. Cook the potatoes in a pan of salted water until tender, then drain and steam dry for a few mins before mashing and leaving to cool. Melt the butter in a...
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