Christmas Platter of Nibbles, New ideas.

valentino, Dec 24, 12:41am
Love these nibbles where they are open to be picked on during this wonderful festive occasion.

My latest addition is nice red mini - peppers, ( little red balls similar size to a cherry tomato) with a small circular cap cut off, hollowed a little then filled with a nice herb mixed-in Laughing Cow soft Cheese filling then recapped with that small cutting. Those red peppers only need a quick bake but not roasted as the colour remains that nice red.

Now some other new ideas to try or have tried.

Cheers

valentino, Dec 24, 12:49am
Mini Burgers
Ingredients
120grams mince beef
3 slices process chesdale like cheese
4 slices white bread (heels of loaf recommended)
2 tablespoons prepared Thousand Island salad dressing
2 pearl onions, thinly sliced
4 baby pickled gherkins, thinly sliced
3 cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced
Directions
Shape beef into twelve 1-in. patties.
Place on a microwave-safe plate lined with paper towels.
Cover with another paper towel; microwave on high for 1 minute until meat is no longer pink.
Cut each slice of cheese into fourths; set aside.
Using a 1-in. round cookie cutter, cut out six circles from each slice of bread.
Spread half of the bread circles with dressing.
Layer with burgers, cheese, onions, pickles and tomatoes.
Top with remaining bread circles; secure with toothpicks.

valentino, Dec 24, 12:51am
No-rice sushi rolls


Directions
Beat 2 eggs with a little salt and fry in a large non-stick frying pan with a little oil until just set. Turn out on to a board and cut into a square the same size as a sheet of nori.
Place the egg square on 1 nori sheet and then, with the square in front of you, place a row (from left to right) of salmon (or tuna, canned tuna or cooked chicken) about one third of the way down the square. Place a row of avocado slices tight against it, followed by cucumber cut into small sticks and carrot peeled and cut into small sticks, or whatever your chosen fillings are.
Lift the end closest to you and roll it over the fillings tucking it in tightly. Keep rolling until you reach the end of the square.
Slice into six rounds. One roll feeds one person. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi.

valentino, Dec 24, 12:55am
Salmon Mousse Cups Recipe
Ingredients
85 grams cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
FILLING:
Tub of cream cheese, softened
1 cup fully cooked salmon chunks or 1 can (200g) salmon, drained, bones and skin removed
2 tablespoons chicken stock
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Directions
In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add flour and mix well. Shape into 24 balls; press onto the bottom and up the sides of greased miniature muffin cups.
Bake at 180c° for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add the salmon, broth, sour cream, onion, lemon juice and salt until blended. Spoon into the shells. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Sprinkle with dill.

valentino, Dec 24, 12:57am
Smoked Salmon Cherry Tomatoes Recipe
Ingredients
30 cherry tomatoes
100 grams smoked salmon finely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup finely chopped green pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tub 200g approx cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon milk
Fresh dill chopped

Directions
Cut a thin slice off each tomato top; scoop out and discard pulp.
Invert tomatoes on paper towels to drain. In a large bowl, combine the salmon, onion, green pepper, salt and pepper.
Spoon into tomatoes.
In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and milk until smooth.
Insert a star tip into a pastry or plastic bag.
Pipe a small amount of cream cheese mixture onto tomatoes.
Garnish with dill

valentino, Dec 24, 1:00am
A real nice one but more involved.

Twice-cooked honey & five spice chicken wonton cups

1 small (about 1kg) whole chicken
60ml (1/4 cup) fresh lemon juice
2 small fresh red chillies, bruised
5cm-piece fresh ginger, halved, bruised
1 stem lemon grass, pale section only, halved lengthways
1 bunch coriander, leaves picked, roots and stems reserved
48 wonton or gow gee wrappers
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice
1 teaspoon salt
2 avocados, peeled, mashed
1 shallot, trimmed, cut into thin strips
Sweet chilli sauce, to serve

Pickled cucumber
125ml (1/2 cup) rice wine vinegar
60ml (1/4 cup) water
100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
4 Lebanese cucumbers, thinly sliced crossways
3 large fresh red chillies, halved lengthways, seeded, thinly sliced
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded

• Method
Rinse the chicken inside and out under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towel. Place the chicken in a wok or large saucepan. Cover with cold water. Add the lemon juice, chilli, ginger, lemon grass and coriander stems and roots. Cover and bring to the boil over medium-low heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until just cooked through. Drain.

Meanwhile, to make the pickled cucumber, combine the vinegar, water and sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Cook for 5 minutes or until syrup thickens. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly. Transfer to a bowl and add the cucumber, chilli and kaffir lime. Place in the fridge for 1 hour to chill.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Spray sixteen 150ml-capacity muffin pans with oil. Place 3 wontons or gow gee wrappers in each pan and press to line the base and side, brushing pastry with water where it overlaps. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until crisp and golden.
Line a roasting pan with baking paper. Combine the honey, sesame oil, Chinese five spice and salt in a bowl. Transfer chicken to the pan. Brush with honey mixture. Roast, brushing occasionally with pan juices, for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Set aside for 15 minutes to rest. Slice chicken off the bone.
Spoon the avocado among wontons. Top with the pickled cucumber, chicken, shallot and coriander leaves. Serve with sweet chilli sauce.

valentino, Dec 24, 1:08am
This is a real biggie, for larger gatherings, hmmm.

Cascading Fruit Centrepiece Recipe
Ingredients
PINEAPPLE GINGER DIP:
2 tubs (200grams approx. each) cream cheese, softened
5 tablespoons DOLE Canned Pineapple Juice
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 cup flaked coconut, toasted
CENTERPIECE:
1 fresh pineapple
1 large grapefruit
1 large navel orange
1 medium lemon
8 Styrofoam rounds (four 10 inches x 1 inch, four 6 inches x 1 inch)
2 wooden dowels (one 8 inches x 1/4 inch, one 4-1/2 inches x 1/4 inch)
Floral metal greening pins
1.5 to 2.5 kilo seedless green grapes
1.5 to 2.5 kilo seedless red grapes
500grams fresh strawberries
Silk flowers with leaves
3 cups yogurt of your choice

Directions
In a small mixing bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Stir in coconut. Chill until serving.
Cut off pineapple top with a fourth of the pineapple attached; set aside. For dip bowl, cut a third from bottom of pineapple; remove fruit, leaving a 1/2-in. shell. Remove peel from centre section of pineapple; core and cut pineapple into chunks.
Cut the grapefruit, orange and lemon in half widthwise. Remove pulp from one half of each; set aside. (Save the remaining grapefruit, orange and lemon halves for another use.)
Stack two 10-in. Styrofoam rounds and two 6-in. rounds; cover each stack with heavy-duty foil. Repeat with remaining rounds. On a 19-in. x 15-in. platter, pile the stacks on top of each other, staggering them and anchoring with dowels.
Place pineapple top on the top circle; position lemon, orange and grapefruit cups on other circles. Place pineapple bowl on platter.
With greening pins, attach clusters of grapes onto circles. Randomly add strawberries, pineapple chunks and more grapes to cover the foil and platter. Decorate with silk flowers. Just before serving, fill pineapple bowl with pineapple ginger dip. Fill lemon, orange and grapefruit cups with yogurt.

Picture.
https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/full/435246283.jpg

sally63, Dec 24, 1:44am
Looks beautiful Valentino:)

fifie, Dec 24, 1:55am
Wow, valentino lovely centre piece and some nice ideas.

dbab, Dec 24, 2:52am
We like slices of telegraph cucumber with thick slices of tomato on top. Place a square of feta cheese on top of the tomato.
Christmas colours, and good for you.

valentino, Dec 24, 3:11am
Love those real simple ones and very nice.

Reminds me of the Bulgarian main meal, their salad with feta and tomato only, sometimes with cucumber, quite often without cucumber and the juices of all intermingled, they serve this as individual dishes or a bigger platter in the middle of the table and simply use a fork and peck away at it.

Cheers.
Editing Spelling.

dogbond, Dec 24, 5:46am
I am doing nibbles as a starter, rather than sit down starter as we have friends round for a BBQ tea.
Got those little breakfast sausages and will wrap them in streaky bacon, basically devils on horseback, but will cut the sausages in half and put a toothpick through them so more of a bite size, also have smoked salmon, sour cream and capers on Balinis ( sp?),rice crackers with pate, then of course dips and chips.

valentino, Dec 24, 6:53am
Love the bilinis and the sausages sounds great, rice crackers, dips, chips, cheese logs, hummus all all great anytime.

Here's a Sausage roll recipe that may interest you. That dough is the tricky part, try to locate some dough only, hmmm.

Sweet Sausage Rolls Recipe
About 250 grams plus refrigerated Croissant Dough
24 miniature smoked sausage links
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped nuts
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions
Flatten the Croissant dough and separate into triangles if rolled; then cut each lengthwise into three triangles.
Place sausages on wide end of triangles; roll up tightly.
Combine the remaining ingredients in an 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish.
Arrange sausage rolls, seam side down, in butter mixture.
Bake, uncovered, at 190° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

summersunnz, Dec 24, 7:03am
A very cool idea. thanks :-)

valentino, Mar 1, 4:09pm
Above posted a recipe involving Won Ton Cups.

Using that same Won Ton Cup method with muffin trays, one can pre-cook them a little, perhaps use rice or those baking beads for cups to keep shape.

Once baked enough and cooled then fillings can go in, a wee bit of potato salad, bit of this and a bit of that (whatever you like).

Should be great and no cutlery to worry about and served as a good size nibble.

Cheers.