Christmas Canapés – Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese / Brie and Cranberry Blinis



Morning guys and girls! Has anyone else noticed? Christmas party season has begun!!!



Canapés on the Christmas buffet table

We kicked off the party season on Sunday evening with our first festive party of the year. Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Grandparents all came round to celebrate my Granddad’s birthday and the beginning of the Christmas celebrations.

It will come as no surprise to you guys that my family does Christmas big time. For Christians there is truly something worth celebrating at Christmas and although all of the children of the family keep getting older and older (heck, I’m one of the youngest and I’m 22 next month) Christmas gets bigger and bigger every year! Who said Christmas was just for kids?!

With 20 people descending on our house on a Sunday afternoon/eve food was going to require a bit of preparation. So I sent the parents off to church (it is advent after all) while I stayed at home to get on with the cooking.

This is the first a series of posts. Next to come is a Spinach and Ricotta Pie, and mini-Christmas cakes (the perfect bite sized treat to finish off any Christmas buffet!) But I must admit I do feel a little cheeky posting this “recipe” at all! I think it could probably be better described as arty assembly. Nonetheless, I’m a firm believer that the key to a successful buffet is keeping the cooking simple, but the flavours exciting! You want every mouthful to memorable and hopefully I achieved that this weekend.

So...what are my Christmas Canapés?

I chose to do my canapés in two different flavours. Although smoked salmon and cream cheese is a classic this time of year (I don’t think I know anyone who DOESN’T have smoked salmon as a starter on Christmas Day) I wanted to provide a choice, in particular for those guests who are vegetarian. What’s more Christmassy and veggie friendly than brie and cranberry?

Miniature Carrot Cakes

Cake, cake and more cake...I have been swimming in cake batter the last couple of days! First was the bake-a-thon as I baked enough cakes to keep the birthday boy’s office happy, next I made a Red Velvet birthdaycake for Jon, and then last but not least, I made some miniature carrot cakes for afternoon tea at my Grandma’s with my Grandad, parents, and Aunty Lynne!

I thought doing miniature versions of a classic would give them a contemporary edge, and I also added a few extra chopped nuts and raisins to give the recipe a revival!

The best part though has to be the little carrots on top. Unfortunately I can’t take the credit for these, but I discovered recently that most of the supermarkets (at least Asda and Sainsburys) do their own little carrots perfect for decorating carrot cakes! Their ranges are really improving week on week!!!

If you’d like to give these cute little cakes a go for a tea party near you, I’d also recommend trying to get some miniature loaf cases (again many of the supermarkets stock them) but they would look equally cute as cupcakes.

Enjoy...

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

No matter how old you are you always deserve a birthday cake. For my Dad’s birthday last year I baked him a vanilla celebration cakewith butter cream, and last year I baked Jon a coffee and chocolate cake! Aren’t the men in my life lucky!

This year I thought I’d go super cheesy baking Jon a “Stevenage Boro” Cake...like I say...you’re never too old! To stick to the team’s red and white colour scheme, I thought what better than a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. YUMMY!

I’m sure you’re all very well aware of what red velvet is, the name kind of gives it away. But I have to admit, despite all the pictures of red velvet cakes, cupcakes, cakepops and more that appear of every cooking blog across the globe, I still didn’t know what to expect when it came to texture or taste. I had never previously cooked with buttermilk so I had no idea how this would affect the cake.

The way I would describe a red velvet cake is super moist, and most definitely velvety. It has a light crumb, yet still seems to be extremely rich and dense all at the same time! The cream cheese frosting also really compliments the cake; I think it would be far too sweet with my normal vanilla buttercream, and it’s nice for a change! Even without my normal super-sweet icing, the cake was still a little too sweet for some of our friends and family – I however, loved it.

Currently Craving: Fish!

This is the third post in my new series "Currently Craving." Each month I will look at another food or drink that I am currently craving sharing with you my favourite recipes, or branded goods!

Past posts included: Fentinman's botanically brewed drinks and home-made bread!

Currently Craving: Fish!

I mentioned in one of my posts a few weeks ago that I am now coming into the home stretch, with the final exams of my university career in just under two months time. It’s a very scary thought, but also a very exciting one! I definitely feel ready to leave uni behind and move on to the next challenge but unfortunately for me it’s not going quite how I planned just yet. I will be moving back home with my parents while I go to Law School in London. The fees are huge so it would be stupid to turn down free food and rent while struggling under a mountain of debt! So, all I can do now is try and do my best in these exams and as a result I started my first lot of revision today!

Just last week, I posted a fish recipe and discussed how oily fish in particular is great for your brain. Now I love fish at the best of times, but ever since doing that post I have absolutely been craving fish! Last night I was lucky enough to have fresh mackerel on toast for supper, and tonight I’ll be having salmon so I thought with fish at the top of my menu at the minute I would do a round-up for you of all of the fishy-posts from the first year of my little blogs life!

Twice Baked Sweet Potato

I do love a good jacket potato don’t you? There are endless topping choices from coleslaw to cheese, from chilli to beans and so much more! Even a simple dollop of butter will do.

But...they can get a bit boring...

Being a student I most definitely eat my fare share of jacket potatoes! In the winter I can easily eat 4 in a week and it can get extremely repetitive! So, I was determined to come up with a jacket potato with a twist, something new and exciting and perhaps more appropriate for a light dinner as winter moves into spring.

The rather delicious sweet potato was my starting point. I love its soft sweet flesh whether its mashed or turned into wedges, but I’d never actually had it quite simply as a baked potato.

Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Tagliatelle

This has to be one of my proudest dishes - it is perhaps the quickest and simplest dish I have ever come up with! So quick, it even rivals a stir fry, and can be from packet to plate in around 10mins! That's just as good as a microwave meal! But I bet you this is a lot nicer, and better on those purse strings!

At just £1.21 that's much cheaper than a ready meal which you can guarantee will be no where near as tasty as this!

Mackerel and Cream Cheese Pasta

One of the main things that stops me being a vegetarian is that I would miss fish too much! Red meat I can do without, though it is nice for a treat once in a while, and chicken and turkey are just nice for a bit of variety, but fish...I definitely couldn't live without! I need my brain food!

Not so long a go a friend of mine introduced me to this dish - I don't know his exact recipe, and didn't have him around to ask so I thought I would experiment, luckily for me it was a success!

The pasta is hearty, cheese is creamy, brocolli is fresh, and mackerel salty which makes it the perfectly balanced dish!

What's more, the combination of cheap ingredients and the omega 3 (a.k.a. brain food) makes it brilliant for students!