Judie Cutting
Founder & Creative Director
The festive season is upon us, a flurry of parties, shopping, family gatherings, cooking and gifting is just around the corner. Guinea has pulled together all our favourites for creating quick, easy and delicious canapes and tasty tipples, together with some top Christmas tips to get you through to the New Year!
Our biggest piece of advice is to apply the CIFF rule to free up plenty of time to enjoy the season rather than be a slave to the kitchen. Translated as, ‘Can I Freeze First’? …. CIFF will revolutionise your Christmas. Roast potatoes, parsnips, and stuffing can all be prepared and pre-roasted then frozen the week before. Defrost and roast again, for a short blast in a really hot oven to crisp up and serve on the day!
Avoid buying oodles of Christmas wrapping paper – instead why not buy some recycled brown paper and titivate with bows, pop-poms, tinsel and ribbon or even little drawings for a personal touch – better for the environment, the brown paper can be used all year round and looks charmingly chic and traditional! If it’s good enough for super glam Victoria Beckham then it must be a winner.
Food is always a huge focus over the festive period, and with time precious for those hosting, every second prepping counts. Thinking about simple but tasty canapes, here are 3 of our favourites...
Halloumi and Melon – dice the halloumi and melon into small chunks (any kind, but for Christmas watermelon looks more vibrant and festive), fry the halloumi for 2 mins and stick on some cocktails sticks with the melon – really yummy and ideal if you have vegetarians.
Maple Chorizo Bites – chop up Spanish chorizo into 1 cm thick disks, cover with maple syrup and bake in a dish for 30 mins – serve in a bowl garnished with a sprinkle of coriander, mint or parsley (whatever you have in), and serve with cocktails sticks – heaven!
Smoked Salmon Blinis – The old classic! Chop smoked salmon, mix horseradish and cream cheese, blob onto some blinis and garnish with lemon and parsley – simple, light and delicious!
Now, one of the best things about the festive season is, that it’s the one time in the year when a steady flow of fizz throughout the day is allowed – pip pip to that. You can’t go wrong with a good old glass of Champers or Prosecco, however if you are feeling more adventurous, or just want to make it go a little further, then Guinea has tried and tested these fizzy favourites for you...
Grapefruit Spritz – simple, cheap and a total classic, not to mention a beautiful colour, and of course more appropriate for pre-lunchtime drinking, (it is Christmas after all). Just take a splash of grapefruit juice, a dash of Aperol (optional) and top up with fizz. Perfectly reviving and not too sweet!
Pomegranate and rosemary spritz – pop some pomegranate in a saucepan with a sprig of rosemary and slowly heat, then set aside to cool. When ready, pour 2 thumbs of pomegranate juice into a glass, and top up with fizz and add a fresh sprig of rosemary for a festive look. Not only does it taste delicious, but really does look gorgeous with its very festive and rich colour!
Alcohol free mint and apple fizz – simple and refreshing – a thumb of apple juice, poured over a bundle of fresh mint leaves and a squirt of lemon. Top up with soda water and garnish with a raspberry or strawberry - or if you’re feeling super creative and organised make some raspberry ice cubes and just pop those in - hey presto, super fun and fancy.
Have fun and have a very happy Christmas! Love Guinea x