Need your (easy) festive canape recipes please!

[NorkyButNice]

I'm hosting a christmas gathering next weekend and we're going with buffet/canape/finger food - can anyone help me out with easy ideas, or recommend which supermarket is best for buying?

Thanks in advance!

ah ha - i can help you on this.

1. Buy some puff pastry - roll it out in 2 peices. put grated strong cheddar on the bottom and top with ham. cover with the other bit and then cut into bite sized squares (press the edges). Bake in the oven and serve. Or you can bae, then cool and reheat at the last moment.

1. Buy some little cocktail sausages and cook them in the oven. Cover them before cooking with a mix made of 1tbsp honey, itbso of soy sauce, i tbsp of tom puree and some mustard with a bit of sugar added. They go lovey and bbqish and sticky. At the last mo - drain off any sauce that might be a bit much and coat with sesame seeds - serve with coctail sticks

1. Buy some goats cheese and sour ream and a pot of red onion marmalade from tesco. cream the goats cheese with the sour cream, spread on little crackers or bits of melba toast and top with goats cheese.

1. see if you can buy some little blinis. Cover with smoked salmon bits, top with a dollop of sour cream and some chopped chives, or caviar if you are feeling very flush and flash

1. If you like fish pate, then buy a smoked mackerell. Add a small tub of philly and blitz in the food processor with lots of pepper and the juce of at least half a lemon. Serve on melba toast or think slices of toasted baguette.

1. Buy some parma ham and bread sticks - roll the ends of the sticks in the ham and arrange on plate. You ca serve a dip wiuth it if you like.

1. Do some crudites with hummus dip and the likes which you can buy at the supermarket.

1. Add copious amounts of olives, nuts, crisps and so on.

I did most of this last year, and it was quite sucessful. My top tip would be to see if you can know a teenager who would like to earn a few pounds - we did this and they were a great help at taking nibbles round and topping up drinks which left me enough time to actually talk to people and only have to pop back to the kitchen occasionally.

have fun

oops - typing too fast #3 should read...top with the red onion marmalade.

Thanks! Like the idea of fiddling with ready made pastry...

Mini caesar salads are easy. Squash some white or brown sliced bread a little and cut out with a pastry cutter. Brush with olive oil and put into a cup cake baking tray. Bake for 5 minutes or so, until brown and crispy.

Finely chop lettuce and mix with some caesar salad dressing and pop into the cases. Make sure you don't put the lettuce on too soon though, as the cases go a bit soggy!

hoarsewhisper, what a fantastic list of canapes (Lilo prints them out). One I had at a do recently: thin rounds of fresh French bread (the thin ones) with cranberry sauce and brie

LOL I just read the thread title as canary ideas!!!

1. Dates, stuff with chorizo (sainsburys do little cubes), wrap in bacon, secure with cocktail sticks and bake for about 10 mins - scrummy!
2. marischino (sp?) cherries wrapped in bacon and baked (honestly!)
3. Sear a peppered fillet steak. Toast slices of baguette, top with horseradish mayo, thin slices of steak and parmesan shavings. (One steak goes a long way)
4. I also do sausages but just with honey and sesame seeds.
5. Individual leaves of a cos lettuce filled with prawns in cocktail sauce.

My best ones are tiny oatcakes wiht smoked salmon pate on them( bought) then a big fuck off prawn.

Blinis(bought) warmed in oven for 5 mins then creme fraiche and s salmon.

puff pastry rolled out, cut out, pricked then bung on cayenne and cheese and put in HOT oven for 5 mins.

Also get some tiny chunks of raw chicken, kebab (ahead of time) with a cherry tomato and a chunk of chorizo.
drizzle.
cook on non stick backing tin for 15 mins tops.

hot crab dip with cumin pitta chips.
mini yorkshires with horseradish and rare roast beef
sundried tomato chilli and fets tartlets
wild mushroom tarlets
chicken satay with peanut sauce
thai prawn cakes with sweet chilli dipping sauce
spiced pumpkin soup serve in mugs

Thanks everyone - looks like I need to get busy!