5 Easy Recipes for Holiday Finger Food
Be different this Christmas!
This Christmas, let's strive to make fancy finger food that will make your guests love you even more! In most of the parties I have attended to the hors d’oeuvres are limited to a Crisco biscuits, fish cutlets, tempered chickpeas or manioc chips. Everyone is too busy focusing on the main meals that they overlook the appetizers. Let’s be different this Christmas and try out these easy finger food recipes.
Bacon Wrapped Potatoes
All you need is:
8 bacon slices, cut in half crosswise
16 small potatoes
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap each bacon piece around a potato and secure with a toothpick. Season as you wish. Place in a baking dish and bake until bacon is crisp and potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife.
(Baking time is around 40 to 50 minutes)
Creamy Devilled Eggs
All you need is:
8 large eggs
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon mustard paste
1 teaspoon white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced red onion
1/4 teaspoon chillie or sriracha sauce
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Chillie powder for garnish
Place eggs in a medium saucepan and boil them in cold water for about 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, minced red onion, and hot sauce. Peel eggs, and halve lengthwise. Then remove yolks, leaving whites intact. Transfer yolks to bowl with mayonnaise mixture, and season with salt and pepper. Mash with a fork until smooth. Mound yolk mixture into whites. Sprinkle some chillie powder just before serving. (Optional)
Sausage Cheddar Balls
All you need is:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon red chillie finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups grated cheddar (1/2 pound)
1 pound jumbo sausage
1/2 large onion, grated on large holes of a box grater
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, pepper, chopped red chillie and baking powder. Add cheddar and toss to coat. Add sausage, onion, and butter. With your hands, mix until well combined and roll mixture into 1-inch balls. Place balls, 1/2 inch apart, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until balls are golden and cooked through, 25 minutes. Serve warm.
Lemon Parsley Choux Pastry
All you need is:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon chillie finely chopped
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
3 spring onions finely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
Bring 1 cup water, the butter, salt and chopped red chillie to a boil in a saucepan; boil until butter has melted. Remove from heat and stir in the flour. Return to burner; cook, stirring, until mixture comes together and pulls away from the pan. (Roughly about 2 minutes more.) Remove from heat. Using a wooden spoon, beat in 4 eggs, 1 at a time, until they are incorporated and smooth. Stir in zest, spring onions and parsley. Transfer mixture to a piping bag, and cut a 1/2-inch opening. Pipe 1-inch rounds onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper or some butter. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together remaining egg and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl and lightly brush on top of each puff. Bake until lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Savoury Shortbread
All you need is:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon red chillie finely chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
(If you're out of Worcestershire sauce, use 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon sugar and a dash of hot sauce for every tablespoon of Worcestershire)
Add flour and the chopped red chillie to a food processor and combine them. Add butter, and mix until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
Add cheese to the food processor and mix until combined. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Using a fork, stir in milk and Worcestershire sauce until well combined. Form mixture into two 1-inch-diameter logs, and wrap in parchment paper. Transfer the logs to the refrigerator and chill until very firm. (For at least 1 hour) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or some butter. Remove logs from refrigerator, and cut each one into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place the rounds on prepared baking sheets. Bake the shortbread until golden, about 12 minutes to 15 minutes.
Try making these appetizers this Christmas and trust me your family and friends will shower you with more love. They might even trouble you for the recipes! In fact I’m sure they will. But no one has to know how easy they were to make and you can continue to be the sophisticated host who serves the best finger food!
Text by Jithendri Gomes
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