Easy Canapés suggestions

[mug2018]

This year my partner (of 18 months) & I are hosting Christmas Day for my brother & his family. I'm super excited to at last be able to share my Christmas with family after years of control & isolation caused by my ExH.
My DP is cooking & wants to do canapés & cocktails but neither of us want to be stuck in the kitchen for ages.

Any suggestions for quick and easy to prepare canapés ( not sure canapés would've been my choice, but I'm not going to talk him out if it as he's really excited about a family Christmas and wants to make it special for us all)
Thanks 😊

Blinis topped with smoked salmon and a little crème fraiche or sour cream

Pigs in blankets

Sausage rolls

Dates wrapped in bacon

Roast baby potatoes and serve as mini jackets

Cherry tomatoes and mozzarella on a stick

Greek salad on a stick...cube of feta, olive, tomatoe and cucumber

Half a date or a bit of fig, teaspoon of mild goats cheese, Parma ham round the outside

Quails eggs

Crostini with tapenade on top

If you can bear last minute cooking, there are some v easy cheesy dumpling things in the honey & co cookbook

www.thetastiestbook.com/bouikos/

You can make them ahead and put them in the fridge then just cook last minute. They are lovely.

Blinis with stuff on top. I've done roast beef and horseradish, brie and cranberry, smoked salmon, pesto and goats cheese...basically any protein plus relevant sauce or dip.

Also honey glazed sausages.

Yep, blinis are good. We get the kids to make them, cream cheese blobs then smoked salmon, or various ham for non fish people.

Oh and you can buy the blinis for extra easiness.

Vol au vents, mushroom or chicken fillings are popular.
Mini quiche, make them in a jam tart baking tray, or buy ready made.
Cubes of frittata
Devils on horseback
Crackers with a base of cream cheese garnished with things like chopped olives, chopped sun dried tomatoes, roasted artichokes or aubergine, slices of fresh fig.
Cheese straws
Tapenade or anchovy puff pastry twists.

Honey mustard cocktail sausages
Chorizo cooked in cider (both to be served with cocktail sticks or little forks)
Crostini topped with mozzarella/goats cheese, half a cherry tomatoes and a bit of pesto

Ready rolled puff pastry cut up into squares and topped with either cheese and caramelised onion chutney or mozzarella, pesto and tomato. Chuck in oven for 10-12 mins. These are literally wolfed down by our family. Not very fancy though!

Mini Yorkshire puddings (if you can buy them) filled with roast beef and horseradish cream.

Ready made blinis (mini pancakes) with a bit of cream cheese and salmon on top.

A dish of olives and some cocktail sticks so people can help themselves.

The inevitable crisps and nuts (sorry to lower the tone, but someone had to !)

Lisa Dawson has an amazing series of canapé recipes on her blog which are really simple.

www.lisadawsonstyling.com/blog/tag/canapes

Ready rolled puff pastry spread with marmite, sprinkled with cheese, rolled back up, sliced thinly, put on a baking sheet and baked for about 10 minutes makes cheese and marmite pinwheels.

Alter the filling according to taste, i.e. a little tomato puree and mixed herbs spread on the pastry before rolling, slicing and baking.

Good old garlic bread served hot and sliced. Or put some cheese on top before it goes into the oven for baking.

Cherry tomatoes, a basil leaf and mozzarella balls on a toothpick.

Oops. Saw that ComedyCook got there first.

Mini spring rolls.

The inevitable sausage rolls ? Cocktail sized and served hot from the oven ?

Or am I lowering the tone again 'cause I haven't understood the brief.

Yes, blinis (ready-made, don’t make your own!) with sour cream, smoked salmon, topped with dill, a half boiled quail’s egg and some caviar.

Vol-au-vents (again, ready made) filled with mackerel/salmon/trout/crab mousse, topped with a tiny piece of cucumber and/or lemon.

German grain bread cut into small squares, each with a slice of roast beef, topped with horseradish and a slice of cherry tomato or some pickled beetroot.

Delia’s mini tarts (very easy to make and very tasty) - you can adapt toppings to your liking

Grissini

Olives

Salami

Walnuts and dried cranberries

*The inevitable sausage rolls ? Cocktail sized and served hot from the oven ?

Or am I lowering the tone again 'cause I haven't understood the brief.*

Buy frozen cocktail sausage rolls to bake them. Get as much as you can pre-prepared.

I realise you want to make things, that's good, just don't do yer noggin in with the preparation !

Don't forget dips and ketchup and lemon / lime wedges.

Have a couple of cocktails before you start the food prep. It's amazing how confident and relaxed I feel about food prep, cooking and serving with a couple of drinks inside of me !

(No, I don't have an alcohol problem.)

I just did a gathering and a few that were a real success (and super easy) were:
Parma ham wrapped around a mini mozzarella ball and a small basil leaf, on a stick with half a cherry Tom on the end and a bowl of balsamic to dip in - can be made well in advance and so tasty.
Walnut pesto in chicory leaves. I can't get the link to work but it's on Delicious.com. I put the left over pesto (it made loads) in a bowl with celery sticks too.
Smoked salmon and caviar blinis with creme fraiche, capers, lemon zest and dill
Tzatziki dip with crisps
Bruschetta with creamy goats cheese and a beetroot and red onion topping (precooked beetroot).
I also made grilled peached and burratta sticks with a chilli dip - tasted great but a bit messy.

I've hosted a Christmas party for lots of people foe many years and always make canapés - usually made ahead up to assembly point if on toast or cracker as soggsville otherwise.

Key is bite size and packing a flavour punch.

Here are some go tos I usually do:

Homemade chicken liver pate with cornichon or cucumber on a cracker/toast

Caprese skewer - cherry tomato cut in half and sandwiched together with a mini mozzarella Pearl and basil leaf drizzled in balsamic syrup

Feta cream cheese dill mix stuffed into hollow of cucumber left by scooping out seeds and cut into bite size pieces

Sun blush tomato, cheese of choice on stick

Cold roast beef with Stilton cream spread on toast

Homemade smoked mackerel pate with cucumber or tomato on toast

Mango chutney and cucumber/carrot mix in mini poppadoms

Stilton, celery and walnut on cracker with honey drizzle

Also a few sweet ones eg brownie bites etc

I always make Delia’s tarts with a cheese element which is why I haven’t put another specific cheesy canapé. Really anything you do with cheese should be a crowd pleaser.

Mini Melba toast is nice for liver pâté!

Deffo blinis with things on top, I like the waitrose ready made blinis.

Crostini/Melba toasts with pate and a smear of some chilli jam on top of that

Nigella ginger and mustard cocktail sausages are easy and really tasty

Mini Bruschetta

Blinis with cream cheese/primula and smoked salmon

buy it all ready made from M & S and shove in the oven ! Make a couple of salads the night before and put them in the fridge