Your party, your rules
If your evening schedule is over-saturated, like Aimee Phillips’s, think about starting earlier. “Every year I throw a Christmas Eve french-toast brunch,” says the creative consultant and events planner. “French toast made with fresh challah, champagne mimosas, fruit. All on colourful chalice bowls and platters, surrounded by lit candles so it feels festive.”
Perhaps, like chef Anissa Helou, you want to keep it relaxed, and that’s fine too. “I’m not really a party person, but I make an exception at Christmas,” she says. “Not too many people, though, and more of a casual dinner than a cocktail party.”
Perfect puff pastry
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The most useful thing to have in your party arsenal? A sheet of puff pastry (all-butter, if availability and dietaries allow). The first thing you should make, and greatest of all party snacks, is cheese straws.
Cheese straws Unroll your puff sheet and arrange it in front of you so that it’s in portrait mode. Spread the top of it with Marmite or Vegemite. Sprinkle over lots of grated mature cheddar, lots, and then fold the bottom half of the pastry over the cheese and press it all to seal. Brush with a beaten egg, then shower with very finely grated parmesan and sprinkle with paprika and nigella seeds. Slice into 1cm-wide strips (you can twist them if you want, but we overfill, so find it doesn’t work), place on a baking sheet and bake according to packet instructions until everything looks cooked and dark golden-brown and toasty.
If you don’t like a ’mite, try dijon mustard or the sediment from a chilli crisp jar. This works with so many cheeses: stilton and apple chutney; brie/camembert and cranberry relish; goat’s cheese and chilli jam; any cheeseboard leftovers.
Sausage rolls Unroll your puff sheet so it’s landscape format in front of you. Cut it in half horizontally across the middle. Spread each half with nice mustard or a fruit chutney, then put your favourite sausagemeat or stuffing (perhaps with chopped chestnuts for festive appeal and some extra sage) down the centre. Bring up the edges of the pastry over the sausage, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with fennel or sesame seeds. Slice into portions and bake according to packet temperature until the pastry is golden and sausage cooked through (it really will depend on how thick the sausage rolls are).
Pissaladiere Finely slice some onions, season and fry till deeply caramelised. Unroll your puff pastry, score a frame about 2cm from the edge, then bake the sheet till golden and cooked. Gently push down the centre of the pastry, gently, then top with the caramelised onions, some anchovy fillets and olives, or some feta cheese. Bake briefly till the top is toasted. (This kind of galette technique also works with whipped ricotta spread over, scattered with whatever topping you like: artichoke hearts, tomato halves, herbs …)
The ultimate sweet
Mince pies are the only dessert a Christmas party needs. If you want to make them yourself, at scale, ready-made puff (see above) is the key. Cut out your circles to fit a fairly shallow fairy cake or tart tin. Butter the tray and push in the circles. Add a spoonful of mincemeat, press over another circle of pastry and bake till risen and deep golden, then dust with icing sugar and pass round while still warm.
Simple pleasures
Quick and easy can be a form of generosity. When your guests arrive you want to give them your time and energy, not vast mountains of food that you’ve exhausted yourself cooking.
“As long as guests have something to nibble on and a drink in their hand within five minutes, they’ll be happy,” says Itamar Srulovich, co-founder of the family-run Honey & Co. Don’t feel you need to rely on solely festive flavours, he says, as there will be plenty elsewhere. “Good kalamata olives, pickles from the jar, crisps, yoghurt and tahini are all a great starting point to riff from.”
Writer and cook Kate Young mixes homemade and shop-bought snacky bits. “Supermarket dips can be quickly jazzed up to look really special,” she says. “Spoon them on to pretty flat plates, swirl them, and scatter something delicious over the top: crisp fried capers on taramasalata; fresh dill and toasted coriander seeds on tzatziki; olive oil and chickpeas roasted with salt and ground cumin on hummus.”
Dudley scans the pantry before making her to-do list. “I love whipped ricotta and will mix up the toppings depending on what’s in the cupboard. At the moment it’s hazelnuts, chilli and honey, sizzled together with some sage in butter until golden,” she says.
To mull or not to mull
Mulled wine is the drink for warding off the chill at a Christmas market, but is it welcome at parties? “It makes me sleepy,” says Dudley, “which isn’t the energy I’m going for.”
“I have never and will never mull wine,” Phillips says. “You can’t go wrong with champagne for a sense of occasion.”
If you’re short on glasses, retailers such as Majestic offer free hire when you buy wine or champagne from them. “Returning them the next day so they don’t clutter up your cupboards is truly life changing,” says Phillips. If you host regularly, Phillips also recommends investing in a countertop ice machine. “I’m completely obsessed with mine. There’s nothing less chic than a party host who has run out of ice.”
Making cocktails can be a time-zapper in larger groups, but for more intimate gatherings we think margaritas batch well, and can be tweaked with seasonal flavours. And we love the occasion of a French 75 (gin, champagne, sugar syrup, lemon). Dudley is also a fan, with a festive twist: “Swap the gin out for brandy or rum.”
One big thing
If there’s lots of booze, or the party is going on for longer, or it’s cold outside, consider something heartier. Making one big thing is often less fiddly and can be done in advance.
“I like the idea of a meal rather than nibbles,” says Helou. “Roast lamb that’s been marinated in a heady Arabian spice mixture, carved into bite-sized pieces and served with an Emirati biryani that my guests can eat standing.”
A pan of meatballs in a rich tomato sauce can be left on a low heat to gently bubble throughout the evening, for guests to help themselves. Or a one-soup-feeds-all approach, tweaked with whatever you have. Saute finely chopped onion and carrot in a generous splash of olive oil. Add chopped garlic and fry until fragrant, then add red lentils, chopped sweet potato, a tin or two of your favourite beans and vegetable stock to cover. Season, cover, bring to the boil and then simmer until the sweet potato is cooked through, adding more water if needed.
Because it’s a party, it’ll need accessories. “Don’t give me soup without at least three bits on the side,” Srulovich says. “Something creamy, something fresh and something crisp, so everyone can customise.” For this recipe, chopped parsley, croutons and grated parmesan would work, although freestyling is welcome – think creme fraiche, crisped bacon, toasted and crumbled chestnuts … “The more, the better,” says Srulovich.
Go retro
You may have met a cheese and pineapple “hedgehog” at a party in your childhood. This year, we’ll be taking a more grown-up approach. Slice the base off a large orange and spear it with a gilda variation: thread a cocktail stick with a cube of manchego cheese, a chunk of pineapple, one gordal olive and a good quality anchovy, folded into an S shape. Olives and chillies for the eyes and nose are optional, but recommended because parties are meant to be fun.
If we’ve got the cocktail sticks out, we may as well spear some cocktail sausages. Roast the sausages in the oven, then towards the end, mix a generous amount of honey and mustard (dijon or wholegrain according to your mood) in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon, then stir the glaze into the sausages and cook until all toffee-ed and delicious.
Celery may seem like a token nod to health at a party, but we welcome its palate-refreshing crunch. Chop up stalks into finger lengths and fill the grooves with labneh or a mild, spreadable goat’s cheese, and dot with Lao Gan Ma (or other brand of) chilli crisp.
Top-tier crisps
Crisps are a party standard, but can be made special. Put out a bowl of nice, sturdy, ready-salted crisps, a bowl of some light creme fraiche with very finely chopped dill stirred through, and a small bowl of lumpfish caviar, or salmon or trout roe. Leave out some little spoons and let guests add the toppings to the crisps. Feel free to use more expensive caviar if that’s how your budget rolls, but even the stuff you can buy in a supermarket looks and feels special, and adds a welcome salty pop against a glass of something crisp and bubbly.
Presence not presents
Some guests wouldn’t dream of turning up to a party without a contribution, but Helou points out it can be more hindrance than help. “I prefer to send a gift before or after, so I don’t add work to the host. Flowers are always lovely, or a bottle of something delicious.”
Check with your host in advance if you can bring something to be eaten that evening; chances are, they’ll decline, giving you the opportunity to present them with a treat for the morning after.
Food writer Alexandra Dudley suggests a breakfast package: “Good fresh bread and eggs or a quality jam.” For Phillips, a scented candle or incense hits the right mark. “Christmas clutter can feel overwhelming, so a gift that is thoughtful but not permanent is a nice touch.”
Good guests don’t clean
Offering to wash up or load the dishwasher at the end of the evening is a valiant pursuit, but one that should be considered beforehand. For Srulovich, it’s not worth the hassle: “Marriages are ruined over a badly stacked dishwasher. Why risk your friendship?”
Young recommends weighing up how well you know your host before you offer. “Have you washed up at theirs before? Are you often standing in stark kitchen light together?” For Phillips, the answer is simple: “Blood relatives or chosen family only.” Otherwise, take this as a cue to say your farewells.
Home time
Don’t start yawning loudly, hoping your guests will get the hint. “Be straightforward and say, ‘I need to rest,’” says Helou. “I’m sure they also need to.” On the other hand, “If someone leaves at 10pm, I’m borderline offended,” Srulovich says. “Eleven is perfect. Twelve is maybe too late.” For Phillips, it’s never too late. “I always go the other way and beg people to stay. Normalise adult sleepovers!”