Christmas canapé ideas

[foodiemama26]

Rathet than a traditional starter I want to do a sharing platter this year. Ideally I want it all to be prepared before and served when needed. Any suggestions of what Icould include?

Pork pie is traditional in Birmingham

I like Aldi stuffed peppers, I’d get olives and hummus with crudités and some prawns

I agree about pork pie being essential.

Parma ham, salami, air dried beef, pastrami, various pickles.

If you are going to include fish, I would do a separate platter, smoked salmon, prawns, smoked trout, crab, with appropriate dressings.

Blinis with smoked salmon
Brie and grape crostini
Little puff pastry discs with fig and blue cheese
Breaded prawns with a sweet chilli dip
Cherry tomato, basil and mini mozzarella balls on skewers
Slice melon and Parma ham
Olives
Keep everything tiny, any thing that needs heating can be prepped in advance and just heated for 10 mins on a bak8ng sheet.

Last year's efforts- olive penguins, smoked mackerel pate, borscht shots with vodka and sour cream, chicory leaves with gorgonzola, pears and balsamic

This- Bloody Mary seafood platter

It looks great, tastes amazing and the sauce can be done in advance then the platter just cobbled together at the last minute. I don't bother with the avocado or croutons, and is just as nice without and much quicker

How did you make the olive penguins ? They look amazing !

They're just a big olive cut down the front with cream cheese in, slice of carrot with a wedge cut out for feet. Stick the wedge in the cross shape on the end of a smaller olive for beak and skewer together. Very easy, but effective

Today I’m going to make little feta, spinach and sundried tomato Filo parcels for Christmas and freeze them uncooked. I also do smoked salmon and blinis, dips, prunes wrapped in bacon can be prepared in advance, gazpacho Bloody Marys are good, Parma ham and figs, oven nibbly things that I buy ready made and foie gras with spiced apple jelly.

Love the penguins!

ready roll pastry sheets.lay out and spread with bacon and cheese.roll up into length the slice and cook.make lovely little pin wheels.can vary with pesto.peppers.ham etc.
get those pastrami salami selection packs that all supermarkets do nowadays.spread out.french stick cut into slices.
roast some peppers,tomatos,sweet pototos and onions and serve in a bowl.
carrot sticks
celery sticks
little bowls and smoked salmon pate.
wraps,mini nans pittas.
pate
use iceberg lettuce as little bowls for prawn salad and sauce.
samosas
shot glasses of tom soup with slices cheese toastie on side.
kids loved cheese toasti variations cut into squares or length
sausage rolls
pork pie
olives
cucumber topped with a spread of cream cheese then slice of smoked salmon.
mini Yorkshires with slice of beef and horseradish.
little rostis.