Party nibbles

My friend Kerry is hosting a party at her house and wants some suggestions for nibbles. Here's a few ideas.

Honey and mustard cocktail sausages

You will need:

• William Rose cocktail sausages*
• Runny honey 
• English mustard

1. Heat the oven to 190 degrees C (the magic cooking number)
2. Mix together equal quantities of honey and mustard in a large dish
3. add the cocktail sausages and toss to coat
4. Add a few grinds of black pepper
5. Tip into a roasting dish
6. Roast for about 10 minutes, then shake the tin and roast for another 10 minutes
7. Serve warm or cold

Variation

If you don't fancy using mustard, or just want to have a couple of different flavours, try sprinkling the sausages with dried chilli flakes instead of coating with honey and mustard.

*William Rose is the excellent butchers in East Dulwich. I always buy meat from there when I have people round. Of course if you don't live near East Dulwich you will have to get your sausages elsewhere, but do try and get them from the butchers and not the supermarket.

Pesto pastry puffs

Pesto pastry puffs ingredients

• 1 quantitiy ready rolled puff pastry
• I quantity homemade pesto
• Parmesan or good cheddar cheese

How to make pesto pastry puffs

1. Spread the pesto over the pastry.
2. Sprinkle with a thin covering of finely grated cheese.
3. Either roll up the pastry into a tiht roll, then thninly slice the roll, and lie each piece flat on a baking dish.
4. Bake at 190 degrees C for about 20 mins, or till the pasty is golden and cooked through.

Variation:Feta and sundried tomato puffs

• 1 quantitiy ready rolled puff pastry
• I quantity homemade pesto
• 1/2 pack feta cheese
• About 5 sundried tomatoes

1. Spread the pesto over the pastry then cut the pastry sheet into small squares and place on a baking sheet.
2. Bake for 20 mins, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
3. Cut 1/2 pack feta cheese into small cubes.
4. Cut the sundried tomatoes into small pieces using scissors.
5. Mix the feta and tomatoes together in a bowl with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
6. Top each square with about a teaspoon full of the cheese and tomato mix.

Salmon and cream cheese rolls

Salmon and cream cheese rolls ingredients

• Smoked salmon or trout
• 1 tub Philadelphia cream cheese
• 1 bunch watercress
• lemon

How to make salmon and cream cheese rolls 

1. Cut the salmon into long strips.
2. Spread each strip with a thin layer of the cream cheese.
3. Place a sprig of watercress in each strip.
4. Roll each strip up lightly.
5. Place on a serving plate, grind over some black pepper and squeeze over some lemon juice.

Cannelini bean hummus

Make just like normal hummus but use cannelini beans instead of chickpeas. You probably won't need as much oil as for chickpea hummus as the beans are very creamy.
Serve with toasted pitta bread.

Smoked salmon and new potato salad

Heaven, Courtney, Kate, Danielle, Yuki, Andrea, Gina, Joyce

The problem with writing up Salad Club recipes is that quantities are rarely specified. This means they can be little vague, although generally the quantities seem to work out fine.

This week, however, we had a large turnout, and thought a few extra potatoes were needed. We 'steamed' these in the microwave by cutting them in half, placing in a large tupperware container, covering with boiling water and cooking on a high setting for 10 minutes. I have to say they worked well. Thanks to Kate for the instructions on microwaving potatoes. . 

Smoked salmon and potato salad with horseradish ingredients

Enough for 12

• 3 packs smoked salmon
• New potatoes, boiled
• 1 cucumber, cut into matchsticks
• String beans (aka green beans or French beans)
• 2 avocados, roughly chopped
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 3 bags watercress*

Creme fraiche and horseradish dressing ingredients

• About 500ml half fat creme fraiche
• 1/2 large bunch dill
• Small amount chopped fresh parsley
• 1 bunch chopped chives
• Rind of 1 unwaxed lemon
• Juice of half a lemon
• 2 tablespoon hot horseradish sauce
• Salt and pepper

How to make fraiche and horseradish dressing

1. Chop the herbs finely and mix together with all the other ingredients.
2. Season to taste, adding more lemon and horseradish till the dressing has the right balance.

A word on watercress

*I watched some rubbish programme last week where James Martin annoyed me about how watercress was underused. Rubbish! Watercress is ubiquitous!

Watercress is a great salad ingredient but doesn't hang around in a good condition for very long. If you get it mixed with other leaves in packets from the supermarket its always the first one to go soggy. You end up either throwing out the whole lot or picking out the rotten watercress to salvage the rocket and spinach. Packs of just watercress from the greengrocer need using up within a day or two before they turn slimy and unusable.

Of course, watercress doesn't just belong in salads. Its peppery taste and vivid green colour can be turned into a cracking sauce to go with fish, or, my favourite, fishcakes.