Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A Christmas Cocktail Party

Christmas in Australia means sunshine, beaches, tropical fruit and outdoor dining. This time of the year I love to entertain and show my appreciation and gratitude to friends and people that have been an important part of my life in the past 12 months. Because this includes around 40 people, the best way to do this is to throw a party!

When catering for these numbers, I love preparing a large variety of cocktail food (also known as canapés, hors d’oeuvres, appetisers, finger food). Preparing appetising bite-sized pieces really lends itself to creativity – the possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Cocktail food passed around on platters encourages guests to mingle, rather than remain in one place if a sit-down meal was served.  Plus, it lends itself to a wide variety of dishes, and guests enjoy the anticipation of what the next platter will bring!

 

As I have catered for these numbers many times before, I prepare pretty much everything from scratch. However, I would not recommend this approach if you lack confidence in the kitchen!

I commenced the planning of the menu about 3 weeks prior. When planning the menu, I chose a diverse selection of dishes that were visually appealing, with varying colours, textures, flavours and temperatures. Influences from different cuisines also added to the variety, and as no Australian party is complete without a barbeque in operation, a number of the dishes were cooked on the barbeque. Vegetarians and gluten-intolerants were catered for as well, and naturally a Christmas theme played in there as well – there really was something for everyone on the menu!

An essential factor in planning my menu was that each dish required minimal last minute preparation.  This is a key component of my philosophy to successful home entertaining. Almost all of the recipes are my own, created with this criteria in mind.

With the above in mind, the menu for my Christmas Cocktail Party was as follows:

Spiced Almonds
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House Marinated Olives
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Assorted Homemade Dips with crackers and crudités:
Creamy Tuna Dip
Guacamole
Broadbean Dip
Tzatziki
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Christmas Caprice Skewers
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Leg Ham on Baguette with Mustard Mayonnaise
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Gorgonzola Stuffed Mushrooms
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Smoked Salmon & Basil Mini-frittatas
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Roast Beef and Horseradish Cream Cups
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Greek-style Cocktail Meatballs with Tzatziki
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Thai Chicken in Wonton Cases
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Canapé Cups with Onion Jam and Goats Cheese
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Peking Duck in Witlof
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Smoked Trout on Cucumber Cups
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Barbequed Chorizo with Chimichurri
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Teriyaki Chicken Drummettes
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Spicy Barbequed Pork Ribs
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Fruit Mince Pastry Stars
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Sweet Coconut Cardamom Snowballs
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Festive Shortbread Biscuits
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Chocolate Hazelnut Christmas Cake

Quite an undertaking, you are probably thinking! Organisation and planning are paramount in preparing such a menu and are the key to a successful party. Lists and checklists will allow you to have fun and be a guest at your own party (instead of feeling like a kitchen slave). 

To get organised, I determined which dishes could be made up to a week in advance. Preparing some of the menu items ahead of time means you are not left doing everything on the day of party.

Naturally I wrote shopping lists, which were broken down into supermarket, butcher, fishmonger, baker, greengrocer, liquor store, gourmet store, Asian grocer.

I then formulated an action plan of the food preparation that needed to be done on the day, and the order it will be done.  It’s a good idea to determine roughly how long the total food preparation will take on the day, to make sure you are setting realistic goals!

It’s also wise to do an inventory of glassware, serving ware and equipment and make a list of what you need to hire, borrow or buy if necessary.

Another invaluable tool is a running sheet of what needs to be done after your guests arrive, ordered chronologically. You will be thankful for this if you have enjoyed a couple of drinks!

I commenced the food preparation about 5 days before my party, making a couple of dishes each day.  This greatly reduced the workload for party day, which meant that I even had time to spend an hour or so at the beach earlier in the day!

We are lucky enough to live in a home with a large outdoor entertaining deck, which is the perfect location for our annual Christmas party. The weather was kind to us, delivering a lovely balmy dry summer evening. I had decorated the outdoor area in a Christmas theme, including fairy lights and various Christmas props and decorations.

 My guests started to arrive at 7pm and by 8:30pm there were close to 40 people. Hungry people I might add!  As the vast majority of the food preparation had already been done, the only last minute preparation was heating and assembling some of the dishes and placing the various offerings onto platters. I had a number of willing helpers in the kitchen (the best parties always takes place in the kitchen in my opinion!) so we had a production line going.  Others offered to help pass platters around, so everything ran very smoothly and everyone got fed!

The food disappeared from the platters quicker than they could be refilled! As each platter brought a new dish, my appreciative guests declared that it was a fantastic and diverse selection of tasty morsels.

Hubby Paul fired up the BBQ, and in typical Aussie style the men huddled around with their beers. Thankfully there was not a total fireban on the evening, and hubby used the charcoal barbeque with hickory smoking chips to enhance the flavour of the pork ribs and the chicken.

The wine and champagne flowed very freely, and everyone was in good festive spirits. The upbeat music playing through the outdoor speakers added to the good mood, and it was clear from the laughter and interaction that a good time was had by all. And that included myself!

Our dogs Ainsley and Missi joined the party later in the evening, when the barbeque food was finished (didn’t want to risk the possibility of one of them eating a cooked bone…). They too were in good spirits and much admired by our guests. 

Despite the number of dishes and quantities of food, there were very little leftovers! The favourites of the evening were the Thai Chicken in Wonton Cases (“quintessentially Aussie Asian fusion”), the Smoked Salmon & Basil Mini-frittatas (“melt in your mouth”) and the Spicy Barbequed Pork Ribs (“finger licking good and a beautiful smoky flavour”). All the sweet goodies went down a treat too!

 

In summary, here are my keys to hosting a successful and enjoyable party:
•    Choose dishes that can be prepared ahead of time and require minimal last-minute preparation.
•    Know your limitations – both cooking skills and time available.
•    Cheat a little – it’s perfectly okay to buy quality store-bought.
•    Have a running sheet of everything that needs to be done after your guests arrive.
•    Accept your guests’ offers to give you a hand assisting in the kitchen or passing food around.
•    Be a gracious host and enjoy yourself, even if things don’t go exactly according to plan.

Here are a number of the recipes, all of which can be doubled or tripled to serve a crowd (which I did). A number of the other recipes are hyperlinked from the menu above.

MARINATED OLIVES
Home-marinated olives are so much better than most shop-bought marinated olives. These can be thrown together in minutes, but will need at least 24 hours to marinate and will keep for at least a week in the refrigerator. Any leftover oil is lovely for dressing salads or dipping bread into.

 
Ingredients (serves 4-6):
300g assorted olives in brine (eg Kalamata, green)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 small red chilli, finely chopped
4 x 2cm strips orange rind
2 fresh bay leaves (optional)

Method:
1.    Rinse the olives and drain well.
2.    Place the remaining ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Add the olives and combine.  Cover tightly with plastic food wrap, or transfer to a sealable container, and refrigerate for at least 24 hours to allow the flavours to develop. Stir occasionally.
3.    When ready to serve, discard the strips of orange rind and the bay leaves and allow to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. The olives will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week.

CHRISTMAS CAPRESE SKEWERS
Based on the famous Insalata Caprese, this colourful appetiser comprises cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and bocconcini (small mozzarella balls, available from deli’s and good supermarkets), seasoned with a balsamic vinaigrette. They can be prepared up to 3 hours ahead of time to step 3.

 

Ingredients (makes 20):
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground pepper to taste
good pinch salt, preferably sea salt
20 small bocconcini (baby mozzarella balls, from deli’s and good supermarkets)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, extra
20 small cherry tomatoes
20 large basil leaves

Equipment:
20 small-sized bamboo skewers

Method:
1. For the balsamic vinaigrette: combine the balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, pepper and salt in a screw-top jar or small bowl.  Set aside.
2. Toss the bocconcini with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and a good grinding of pepper.
3. Assemble the skewers: slide 1 cherry tomato onto a skewer. Fold 1 basil leaf in half and slide onto the skewer. Add 1 bocconcini ball.  Repeat for all 20 skewers. Put on a plate or platter. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. Take the skewers out of the fridge 30 minutes before planning to serve.
5. Brush the skewers with the balsamic vinaigrette and serve immediately.

THAI CHICKEN IN WONTON CASES
Crispy wonton cases house a Thai-inspired chicken filling – these tasty morsels go down a treat at a cocktail party. Both the cases and the chicken mixture can be made up to 2 days in advance.

Ingredients (makes 24):
24 fresh wonton wrappers (in the refrigerator section of supermarkets or Asian stores)
Oil spray
1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
500g chicken mince
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 stalk lemongrass, white part finely chopped (or 2 Kaffir limes leaves, shredded)
100ml coconut cream
3 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)
½ red onion, finely chopped

To garnish: coriander (cilantro) leaves

Equipment:
24 hole mini-muffin pan (30ml capacity each)

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Spray the mini-muffin pan lightly with oil spray to grease.
3. Place a wonton wrapper in each muffin hole and press to line the base and sides, but still extending above the pan.
4. Spray the placed wonton wrapper lightly with oil spray.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Allow to cool in the pan, then store in an airtight container (can be made up to 2 days ahead).
6. Meanwhile, heat the peanut or vegetable oil in a frypan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken mince, garlic and lemongrass (or limes leaves) and cook for 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked, stirring and breaking up any lumps as you go.
7. Add the coconut cream, sweet chilli sauce, lime juice, fish sauce, chopped coriander leaves and chopped red onion. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble.
8. Heat the chicken mixture in a microwave oven.
9. Spoon the chicken mixture evenly among the wonton cases. Top each with a coriander leaf and arrange on a serving platter.

SPICY BARBEQUED PORK RIBS
Spicy, smoky, tender pork ribs – definitely finger licking good! Even though these have a long cooking time, once they go on the barbeque they need no attention.

Ingredients (serves 4-6):
2 slabs American-style pork ribs (about 1.5kg)
2 handfuls wood chips (eg. hickory)
Spice Rub
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon chilli powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

Method:
1. For the Spice Rub: Combine all the Spice Rub ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Remove the thin membrane from the back of each slab of ribs and discard (you can ask your butcher to do this for you).
3. Place the ribs on a baking tray or similar. Sprinkle the rub over both sides of the ribs and pat in with your fingers or hands. Let the ribs stand in the refrigerator for up to 2 hours.
4. Soak the woodchips in cold water for at least 30 minutes.
5. Heat a kettle-style or a hooded barbeque to medium-high heat for indirect grilling.
6. When the barbeque has reached the desired temperature, add the wood chips to the coals.
7. Next, place the ribs in the centre of the hot grate, away from the heat. Cover and cook for 90 minutes or until the meat has shrunk back slightly from the bones and the meat is tender enough to be torn apart with your fingers.
8. Cut the ribs into individual pieces and serve.

Wishing you a happy & delicious Christmas!

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