Christmas Canape Inspiration

07 Dec Christmas Canape Inspiration

Hosting friends and family this Christmas? We have some great christmas canape inspiration to get you in the mood! We had a special evening in the showroom last week with the lovely Karen Taplin from Taplin’s Hospitality. Read on for some fresh ideas and tips on festive entertaining.  

The do’s and don’ts when it comes to festive canapes

• Be organised.
  Many recipe components can be made ahead and just kept in the fridge.  So take any opportunity the day before, or in the morning to start measuring, chopping and mixing. Any prep you can do beforehand, makes your job much easier when it’s time for cooking or final touches just before the party.
• Don’t overcomplicate the menu, you only need four or five types of canapes.
  If you’re experimenting with some new flavours recipes, make sure the others are really simple and easy to execute.

• Write your recipes and timings down.
  Even if you know the recipe off by heart, or plan to have them on your tablet. You don’t want the screen to go to sleep at the critical point, when you’re hands are covered in dough! Writing it down will help to clarify what you need to do and when.
• Include at least one canape that takes minutes to prep and you can just pop in the oven.
  This means you have at least one really simple canape that you can just ignore while you get on with other things. A baked camembert is a great option here.
• Don’t feel pressure to make EVERYTHING from scratch.
  Be realistic how much time you have and if homemade mincemeat is just not going to happen between now and the party, pick up a nice jar from the supermarket. Your homemade sweet pastry will set your mince pies apart by a mile!

Festive Canapes by Karen Taplin

Karen treated us to a wealth of treats over the course of the evening. What we all really loved was not only how unbelievably tasty everything was, but how simple each recipe and method was.

The Menu

• Pecan and Sweet Chilli Baked Camembert
• Indian Spiced Warm Tenderstem and Carrot Salad
• Portobello Mushroom Pittas
• Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese on Homemade Blinis
• Mini Mince Pies

The Pecan and Sweet Chilli Baked Camembert was our absolute favourite of the night and everyone had seconds and thirds… and maybe a fourth. It was such a hit, one of our guests served it up at home over the weekend and got the same resoundingly positive response!

Method:

1. Cut your camembert in half.
2. Tip a bag of plain pecans into a mixing bowl. Add a few tablespoons of apricot jam and sweet chilli sauce. Now, mix together until the nuts are well covered.
3. Spoon half your mixture onto the bottom half of your camembert. Pop the other half of the camembert on top.
4. Spoon the remaining mixture on top of the Camembert sandwich.
5. Place slices of ciabatta all around the Camembert and pop in the oven for about 15-20 mins at 180 (fan oven).
6. Simply, top up your wine and put your feet up until the buzzer goes.

That’s it. You must try this at home, we have tasted it, tested it at home and are still raving about it a week later.  

We hope this has given you some real Christmas canape inspiration for your hosting plans this December and New Year. Just remember these tips and your guests will remember your party (for all the right reasons!) for many Christmases to come. If it is all too much to fit in with the neverending to do list, there is never any shame in admitting you are only human and calling in the professionals for assistance. We thoroughly recommend local caterers Taplin’s Hospitality for your festive entertaining needs. Call the team on 07754 068820 to discuss your requirements.

If you’re looking for some inspiration for a new kitchen, check out our recent projects page, or come to one of our demo nights to see the showroom kitchens in action! We demonstrate all the gadgets, learn a few new skills, enjoy some fizz and share lots of tasty treats. Get in touch at info@kitchensbespoke.co.uk.