'Tis the season to treat yourself and your loved ones. I adore a civilised soiree, well, the intention of a civilised soiree- It normally ends up being carnage in full swing by 9pm but after a very wholesome close to the end of the year, I have decided to lay on a little food and drink for friends- party hats and all!
Accessories
For baking accessories I have previously used a Parisian company called My Little Day but these guys provide all the accessories required for a stylish soiree. For my get together I used; Christmas tree decorations, garlands, napkins, muffin cases, straws, cups, plates and party crowns (naturally).
Drinks
As tedious as the task was, I did a lot of sampling of champagnes, sparkling wines, and prosecco to establish the best ones out there. So let's start with the good stuff, champagne.
Laurent-Perrier Brut Champagne - £24.50 – available from one of my favourite drink connoisseurs and distributors, 31Dover.com. Definitely a must for Christmas with it's citrusy notes, and affordable price.
Prosecco. I adore prosecco and in some instances more so than champagne. Upon my guests arrival they were presented with a glass of this lovely bubbly stuff. We're used to seeing the ever popular combination of Chambord and Champagne, so what I decided to do was try out a strawberry cordial from Bottlegreen, topped up with Divici prosecco and garnish with a few fresh cranberries for a festive touch. They both work really well together and is a much more affordable option when catering for a crowd.
Divici Prosecco, £8.50 – Avaiable from 31Dover.com
Bottlegreen Cordials, I used their strawberry one, but they have so many available to cater for your specific cocktail creation! Their pomegranate & elderflower cordial could also have worked with bubbles! Cordials are £3.15, widely available from supermarkets. They also now have a range of sparkling tonics.
Sparkling Wines. I am not normally a fan of sparkling wines but my definite favourite out of the ones I tried was Jacob's Creek Sparkling Chardonnay. Again, another one with citrus-y tones that I love at this time of year. Available at most supermarkets.
If you're looking for glassware, check out some of Lakeland's offers. Right now they have LSA champagne flutes (pictured below) on special offer for £29.99 for 4
Cannellini & Fennel Dip
For me and my kitchen stress head it's all about taking it easy in the kitchen and not overloading yourself with too much to do before your guests arrive. Getting up early and prepping is key. I decided to make my own bread which is laced with pureed beetroot, later turned into my Camp Crositini served alongside a warm Cannellini & Fennel Dip.
We have aniseedy fennel with garlic, rosemary, lemon parmesan, white beans and smoked cheese, blitzed then baked in the oven making this one hot yes!
2 fennel bulbs, outer leaves removed and cored cut into chunks
4 cloves garlic
440g cannellini beans, cooked
1 sprig rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
45g parmesan, grated (with extra for topping)
45g smoked cheese, grated (with extra for topping)
Preheat your oven to 200c / 180c (fan) / Gas Mark 6
On a baking sheet combine the fennel chunks and 2 of the garlic cloves with a drizzle of oil. Season. Roast for 30 minutes, having tossed around once during. Set aside and raise the oven temperature to 230c / 210c (fan) / Gas Mark 8.
In a frying pan, pour 120ml of olive oil in over a medium heat. Add the remaining 2 garlic cloves and cook until golden.
Add in the beans and rosemary, cooking for a couple of minutes more. Remove from the heat.
In a food processor, blitz the beans and garlic, fennel and garlic, lemon juice, smoked cheese, parmesan, and 60ml more of olive oil, until smooth.
Transfer the blitzed mix into a small casserole dish, sprinkling with some extra grated cheeses. Bake until bubbling and gold for around 30 minutes.
Camp Crostini
Warm slices of griddled blushing crostini ready to be adorned in a topping of your choice or dipped into something like my Fennel Cannellini dip. Bold and beautiful beetroot provides a bit of colour, adding an edge to the welcomed wonderful simple idea of home-made bread.
200g cooked beetroot, blitzed in a food processor until smooth
650g strong white bread flour
300ml water
25g yeast
25g sugar
50g salted butter
In a large mixing bowl combine; flour, beetroot, water, sugar, yeast, and a sprinkle of black pepper and mix thoroughly.
Add in the butter and combine.
Flour your work surface a little and begin the kneading process, continuing to knead for 10 minutes,
Place the dough ball in flour dusted bowl and cover, placing somewhere warm and cosy until the dough has doubled in size (could take up to 2 ½ hours)
Remove the dough from the bowl and place on your work surface.
At this point you could cut and shape into small roll sizes or divide the mixture between loaf tins. Either way, line your baking sheet or load tin with greaseproof paper.
Preheat your oven to 200c / 18oc (fan) / Gas mark 6
Dependant on how small big your rolls are they should need about 15 minutes in the oven.
Leave the bread to cool before slicing into rounds / thins. Brush with oil on each side, place on a baking tray to crisp up in the oven for 10 minutes (5 minutes each side).
Cocktail Sausages
It's not a party without sausages. I marinade these in a sticky combination finished off with a bit of heat from fresh red chillis. These literally lasted 5 minutes once the guests had arrived!
Based on a Nigella recipe that combines sesame and soy, I add garlic granules and chilli to give these moreish sausages an extra kick of flavour.
1kg chipolatas
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp garlic granules
1 large fresh red chilli, finely chopped
120ml honey
Preheat your oven to 220c / 200c (fan) / Gas Mark 7
In a large roasting / casserole dish tip in all the ingredients and mix around with your hands to combine well.
Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes , shaking the dish at the half way mark.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately! Any marinade at the bottom of the dish can be poured into a dipping bowl.
Mince Pie Muffins
Not your usual mince pie. Here I combine sweet mincemeat, with a touch of ginger, dark muscovado sugar, and orange zest to create a mince-pie-gingerbread-muffin cake-thing! Lots of compliments over these and they really are lovely.
I used My Little Day baking cups, but paper cases will work fine (they just won't look as lovely!)
2 tiered serving dome available from Lakeland.
175g self-raising flour (I only had Dove's organic gluten free so used this here)
175g butter, salted & soft
140g mincemeat
100g dark muscovado sugar
½ tsp ginger powder
3 eggs
2 tbsp milk (I used Koko as I avoid dairy)
1 orange, the zest of
icing sugar, to dust
Preheat your oven to 190c / 170c (Fan) / Gas Mark 5
Lay out muffin cases on a baking sheet or a muffin tray.
In a large mixing bowl combine; flour, sugar, GINGER, eggs, milk, butter and orange zest. Whisk thoroughly until fluffy.
For each muffin case, add a tablespoon of cake mix as the bottom layer, followed by a teaspoon of mincemeat. Top with cake mix and smooth with the back of a spoon.
Bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean from one of the muffins.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes before dusting lightly with icing sugar.
Cookie-Creamy-Cranberry Baby Bars
Mini chocolate bars embracing the classic cookie and cream combo with a festive nod from dried cranberries. Don't anticipate leftovers with these naughty little delights!
680g white chocolate
450g Oreos or similar sandwich style biscuit, Custard creams could even work!
100g dried cranberries
Line a large baking / casserole dish with greaseproof paper. I used a dish measuring 32cm x 23cm.
In a food processor or smashed in a freezer bag, turn your cookies into smithereens.
Have a small amount of water simmering in a saucepan that a heat-proof bowl can sit on top of.
Place the white chocolate into the bowl above the simmering water and melt, stirring every now and then until smooth.
Pour in the bashed biscuits and combine with the melted chocolate to mix.
Pour the combined mix onto the greaseproof paper lined dish and scatter the cranberries on top and press in very lightly.
Transfer the dish to the freezer to set for at least 1 ½ hours.
Remove from the freezer, lifting out your chocolate slab from the dish using the greaseproof paper and begin to cut into desired shaped/sized bars.
For storage, keep them in the fridge unless you are eating straight away!
By Jordan Lohan
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