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?

Tenderstem Broccoli and Sundried Tomato Quiche

Quiches and tarts are the perfect dishes for sharing at summer parties and picnics. At the beginning of the summer I shared with you my Pesto Picnic Tart, and last summer I posted a recipe for a Low Fat Spinach Quiche, today I present to you Tender stem Broccoli and Sundried Tomato Quiche.

I cooked this recipe for a family party we had last weekend. We don’t often see my Dad’s side of the family even though they’re just a town away, and after a spate of funerals, they decided that it wasn’t right that the only family get-togethers had to involve death. So, at Christmas my Dad’s cousin hosted the first party, and 6 months later it was our turn!

We had initially envisaged a Hawaiian themed BBQ, but when the weatherman said that we would be getting a month’s worth of rain in a day we soon had to change the plan. Instead, Mum, Dad and I cooked up a storm creating lots of different buffet/picnic style dishes.

Along with my Broccoli and Tomato Quiche, I made individual Cardamom Cupcakes with White Chocolate and Rose Icing and a Lemon and Amoretti Cheesecake. Mum added a Meat Pie to the table, and Dad whipped up a big batch of his Potato Salad and Coleslaw!

The recipe for the cakes can be found here: Cardamom Cake with Rose and White Chocolate Buttercream (simply divide the mixture into individual cake cases), and the Cheesecake recipe will be up in a few days time!

For now though I bet you’re wondering how to make my quiche...