Clodagh's Christmas party food
Clodagh has our Christmas party food covered with some sparkly spins on some classics... an oozing camembert bread wreath and pigs in blankets with flavours of sage and honey!
Sticky piggies
Makes 36
Ingredients
18 smoked streaky bacon rashers
36 cocktail sausages
36 sage leaves
2 tbsp honey
Method
1. Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C.
2. Stretch the rashers using the back of a knife. Cut in half length-ways.
3. In a bowl, toss the sausages with the honey until coated. Wrap each sausage with a sage leaf then wrap with a stretched piece of rasher, winding it round until neatly wrapped.
4. Arrange the bacon-wrapped sausages on a baking sheet. Roast for 30-35 minutes, until golden in colour.
Baked Camembert star
Serves 8
Ingredients
2 x 375g sheets ready-rolled puff pastry
A little flour to dust
1 x 250g whole Camembert
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Splash of white wine
Black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Method
1. Preheat the oven to gas 6, 200°C or 180°C fan.
2. Lightly flour the worktop and unroll 1 sheet of pastry onto it. Roll out the pastry 2mm in thickness in a square shape. Lift the pastry sheet onto a large sheet of baking paper, and sprinkle ½ tbsp of chopped fresh rosemary evenly over the pastry.
3. Roll out the second sheet of pastry as before. Gently lift up and place on top of the first pastry sheet.
4. Unwrap the Camembert and place it in the centre of the pastry square. Cut a cross in the middle of the cheese, through the top rind. Sprinkle 1 tbsp rosemary, crushed garlic, a splash of white wine and a good sprinkle of black pepper on top of the cut cheese.
5. Take a sharp knife and cut the pastry in a straight line from the bottom edge of cheese to the outer edge of the pastry. Repeat cutting every 2 inches until all of the pastry is cut into strips, you should get about 16 strips. Twist each pastry strip around a few times all along the length, like making a cheese straw.
6. Brush the pastry all over with the beaten egg then sprinkle the remaining finely chopped rosemary on top and some black pepper. Gently press the rosemary and pepper into the pastry
7. Bake in the oven for around 25 minutes until the pastry is golden and crisp.