Food with passion: My favourite Go-To Christmas Party Food

John Paul Kennedy is a self-taught cook and an avid fan of collecting cookery books with a passion for good old-fashioned home cooking.

His passion for proper family cooking stems from his TWO Grandmothers, who were both excellent cooks, one of whom was a trained chef.

JP promises to bring us plenty of family-inspired recipes and tasty treats while showing us how to get the basics right.

While it’s very easy to go and pick up shop bought party food, I want to show you how easy it is and more cost effective to create your own.

I have shared some of these recipes before but they are tried and tested recipes that always go down a storm and are my go-to fail safe recipes every Christmas.

These are really simple recipes, easy to prepare and all can be made ahead, so it takes the stress out of Christmas entertaining and you can impress your guests and enjoy yourself all at the same time.

Delicious and easy honey and wholegrain mustard cocktail sausages are first up.

A party just isn’t a party without a cocktail sausage or three and these are joyously seasonal, followed with my fully loaded potato skins.

As I said, these can be prepared the day before your party and  cooked just before your guests arrive.

Honey & Wholegrain Mustard Cocktail Sausages (Makes 40)

Ingredients:

• 450g cocktail sausages
• Good dollop of honey
• Large tablespoon of wholegrain mustard
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Ground black pepper

Method:

1. Place all the cocktail sausages into a large freezer bag and add all of the other ingredients and smoosh everything around until all the sausages are well-coated. Seal the bag and place in the fridge overnight to marinade.
2. When ready to cook, pop onto a baking tray and place into a 200° Celsius preheated oven and cook for around 20-25 minutes until burnished and browned.

Fully Loaded Potato Skins (Makes 20)

Ingredients:

• 10 medium to large baking potatoes
• 225g red Cheddar cheese
• 10 streaky rashers – chopped / diced
• 4 spring onions, finely chopped
• 250ml sour cream
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• A little oil for frying
• Sea salt and ground black pepper

 

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 200° Celsius. Prick each potato with a fork and place on a baking tray for 1½ hours.
2. Allow them to fully cool before cutting them in half. Scoop out the potato filling and pop into a large mixing bowl. Place the potato husks onto a large baking tray.
3. Fry off the bacon bits until nice and crispy and leave to soak on kitchen roll.
4. Let the potato cool fully before adding spring onions, cheese, sour cream, Worcestershire Sauce, salt and pepper. Mix everything well until all are well combined.
5. Spoon the potato mixture into the fill of each husk. Sprinkle on some grated cheese and bacon bits and pop into a preheated oven at 200° Celsius and cook for 25 minutes until golden brown.
6. Scatter with some freshly chopped parsley and serve on a large serving platter and enjoy. You can of course prepare the loaded potato skins the day before, cover with clingfilm and pop into the oven just before your guests arrive – these are seriously delicious.

Crab & Avocado Crostini

Ingredients: (Serves 6 people)

• 1 French baguette
• 200g pre-cooked crab meat
• 2 teaspoons of fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon of freshly chopped mint
• 2 avocados
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons of olive or rapeseed oil
• Sea salt & ground black pepper to season

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees / gas mark 6
2. Thinly slice your baguette and lightly brush each slice with oil.
3. Pop onto a baking tray and cook in the oven for 3 -4 minutes until lightly golden brown.
4. In a mixing bowl mix together the crab, mint and season with salt and pepper.
5. In a smaller bowl mash up the avocado, lime juice and cayenne pepper and add a pinch of sea salt.
6. Spread the mashed avocado mix over each slice of bread and top with the crab meat and adorn with a sprig of mint – serve and enjoy.

A good tip always is to buy your avocado a few days beforehand to ensure it’s really soft and ripe.

I really hope you give these delicious Christmas-inspired recipes a go this Christmas.

I promise you will love them.

And there you have it- crispy, cheesy loaded potato skins, sticky, irresistible cocktail sausages, and elegant crab crostini to add a touch of sophistication to your Christmas spread!

These three crowd-pleasers are perfect for sharing, full of flavour, and guaranteed to keep everyone coming back for seconds.

Pair them with your favourite holiday drinks, sprinkle in some laughter, and you’ve got the recipe for a truly magical celebration.

Wishing you a season filled with joy, good food, and unforgettable moments. Merry Christmas and happy feasting!