christmas party

Wilt spinach with garlic and spices, then pile onto small, warm pieces of naan bread and top with halloumi for an attractive vegetarian canapé

Naan, spinach & halloumi bites

tbsp butter

garlic cloves

tsp garam masala

baby spinach

packs halloumi cheese

naan bread

Warm the butter in a large pan with the crushed garlic cloves and garam masala. Roughly chop the washed baby spinach and add to the melted butter and spices. Cook until the spinach has wilted, then season to taste.

Cut the halloumi into cubes and grill the tops until golden. Heat the naan breads under the grill &ndash; just to warm through &ndash; then spread with the spinach mixture.

Evenly distribute the grilled halloumi over the bread, then cut the bread to fit the cheese, and secure with cocktail sticks. Serve warm.

It's easy to make your own mulled cider. As well as fruit and spices, we've added extra apple brandy to our version of this delicious winter warmer

Mulled cider

dry cider

Calvados

apple juice

dark brown sugar

cloves

cinnamon sticks,broken

tbsp allspiceberries

Pour the cider, Calvados, apple juice and sugar into a large saucepan, and gently heat to mull.

Add the orange zest and spices, bring to a simmer, then turn down and keep on a low heat for 20-30 mins. Ladle into glass mugs to serve.

Gooey, melted cheese and crispy, golden bread make a stunning centrepiece to share with friends over drinks or as a dinner party starter – make ahead for fuss-free entertaining

Baked camembert with bacon-wrapped breadsticks

strong white flour

sachet fast-action dried yeast

tsp English mustard powder

golden caster sugar

tsp thyme leaves,plus extra sprigs for the cheese

light olive oil,plus extra for greasing

whole camembertin a box

pancetta

Mix together the flour, yeast, mustard powder, 11/2 tsp fine salt, the sugar, thyme leaves and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Stir in 250ml lukewarm water, use your hands to bring together into a dough, then knead for 10 mins on a clean surface until it is smooth and elastic. If you have a tabletop mixer with a dough hook, use this instead and ‘knead’ for just 5 mins. Sit the dough in a large, clean bowl, cover with oiled cling film and leave at room temperature for about 1 hr until doubled in size.

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and line your largest baking tray with baking parchment. Sit the lid of your boxed camembert in the centre of the tray.

Knead the dough back into a smooth ball, then use your fingers to make a hole through the centre. Steadily stretch the doughnut shape into a large ring until the centre hole is large enough to fit around the lid. The best way to do this is to swing the dough around your fingers, then hand, like a hula-hoop.

Sit the dough ring on the tray around the box lid. Use kitchen scissors to snip the dough ring into 20 strips, from the outside in, but leave a few millimetres of dough still connecting the strips together around the lid in the centre. If using the ready-to-eat pancetta slices, halve each one lengthways. Twist one of the 20 dough strips to make it longer and thinner like a breadstick, then wrap a pancetta slice in a spiral around it. Repeat with all the dough strips.

Your breadsticks might look a little higgledy-piggledy at the moment, so use kitchen scissors to snip the ends off any that need it to make an even, round shape, if you like (see tip below). Brush with a little light olive oil and bake for 15 mins.

Meanwhile, unwrap the camembert and top with the thyme sprigs. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with a little more black pepper. Remove the breadsticks from the oven and sit the cheese inside the box lid, then bake for another 5 mins until the bread is golden and crispy, and the cheese molten.

Sticky spiced wings make great finger food or canapés, and this version skips the deep-fried stage so they're healthier

Baked buffalo chicken wings

garlic cloves, crushed

olive oil

tbsp cider vinegar

paprika

Worcestershire sauce

tsp celery salt

tbsp pepper sauce (we used Frank's hot sauce)

tbsp honey

½kg chicken wing, halved at the joint

In a large bowl, mix together the garlic, olive oil, cider vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, hot sauce, honey and a couple of cracks of black pepper. Add the chicken wings and toss around to make sure they’re fully covered in the marinade. If you have time, leave the wings to marinate for a couple of hrs in the fridge or ideally overnight.

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Drain and reserve the marinade, then spread the wings out on a very large baking tray. Bake for 30 mins, then pour off the excess oil, add the reserved marinade and toss well. Increase oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Return to the oven and cook for a further 30 mins, tossing a few times to coat in the glaze as they cook. They should be sticky and glazed with most of the marinade evaporated. Serve on a large platter alongside other party snacks.

With a dark chocolate digestive base and nutty cream cheese topping, this frozen dessert has a winter twist

Iced chestnut ripple cheesecake

dark chocolate digestive biscuits

butter

sunflower oil

chestnut pieces, roughly chopped

can chestnut purée

icing sugar

tbsp dark rum

pot double cream

vanilla extract

tub soft cheese

For the base, blitz the biscuits in a food processor or bash in a bag to make crumbs. Stir in the butter, then press into the base of a 22cm springform cake tin. Chill.

For the praline, line a tray with baking parchment and lightly oil it. Tip the caster sugar into a frying pan and place over a high heat. Cook for 5 mins, without stirring, until dissolved and you have a dark amber caramel. Throw in the chestnut pieces, then quickly tip onto the baking parchment and leave to harden. Break or chop into small pieces and set aside.

For the filling, blitz the chestnut purée in a food processor with the icing sugar and 1 tbsp of the rum. Set 3 tbsp of the mix aside. In a large bowl, whisk the cream with the caster sugar and vanilla until it holds its shape, then whisk in the soft cheese. Beat in the pieces of praline, then gently fold through the chestnut purée so that it ripples the cream. Spoon onto the biscuit base. Bang the cake tin gently on the work surface to level and smooth over the top. Cover with cling film and freeze for at least 12 hrs or up to 1 month.

For the drizzle, mix the remaining rum with the reserved chestnut purée and enough water to make it just runny. If serving the cake within 2 days, chill the drizzle; if keeping for longer, freeze and defrost when needed.

Put the cheesecake in the fridge to thaw a little 30 mins before serving. Using a sandwich bag with a corner tip cut off, pipe the drizzle over the top of the cake in a zig-zag pattern. Carefully remove from the tin and serve in small wedges – with a glass of rum if you fancy it.

Make our easy eggnog recipe for the perfect festive party tipple. This traditional Christmas drink uses just five ingredients, including egg yolks and brandy

Eggnog

caster sugar

vanilla essence

can of condensed milk

brandy

Put the sugar in a saucepan with 75ml water. Simmer until the sugar has dissolved, then cool and chill.

Beat the yolks with the vanilla until smooth. Add the condensed milk, brandy and cooled sugar syrup, mixing well.

Pour into a jug and chill for at least 2 hrs. Serve within 24 hrs, over ice.

Top 6 christmas party recipes from across the web

The most viewed christmas party recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Naan, spinach & halloumi bites

Mulled cider

Baked camembert with bacon-wrapped ...

Baked buffalo chicken wings

Iced chestnut ripple cheesecake

Eggnog

Top 6 christmas party recipes from across the web

The most viewed christmas party recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Naan, spinach & halloumi bites

Mulled cider

Baked camembert with bacon-wrapped ...

Baked buffalo chicken wings

Iced chestnut ripple cheesecake

Eggnog

The most viewed christmas party recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine