Amuse bouche – Perfect little bites for Christmas gatherings |20 December 2021

So this is Christmas. Yes, in five days we will all be gathering among friends and families to celebrate one of the most important events on the calendar. I hope my recipes throughout this month have inspired you to do something special, something different this Christmas. Today I propose three different bites for a perfect gathering…what I’m proposing are sumptuous and not your typical snacks which you can easily make at home and which will instantly impress your guests.

Grilled button mushrooms, beef sliders and chicken cordon blue with ham and cheese centre…

Grilled button mushroom is very easy to make. Make sure you get whole fresh button mushrooms. These days they are readily available at most major supermarkets in Seychelles.

Ingredients:

Button mushrooms, parsley finely chopped, garlic finely chopped, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Halve your mushrooms, if they are small, you can keep them whole, so long that they are bite sizes. Marinade the mushroom in olive oil, parsley and salt, garlic and pepper to taste. In a grill pan pour some olive oil, and grill your mushroom on all sides. Do not overcook, as your mushroom has to remain firm. Let it rest and serve.

Beef sliders with sauteed onions – This gives heavy snacks a whole new meaning. Its filling, tasting and very easy to make requiring very few ingredients

Ingredients:

Mini buns, (I prefer to make my own but you can buy from shops, just make sure that they are not too big), white onions chopped into large slices, parsley, garlic, beef, salt and pepper, BBQ sauce.

Method:

Roast your beef well done (just make sure it’s not too dry), with salt and pepper. Set aside and let it rest. In a well-oiled pan throw in some garlic, then onions allow it to sautee well, add salt and pepper to taste, then add some BBQ sauce.

You can do your sliders two ways, toast both (butter both sides of your buns then toast onto a flat pan), spread sides with mayonnaise, place sliced beef, then add sauteed onions into buns and voila, you have a perfect bite sized beef slider. You can also opt to pull your beef into shreds, mix with sauteed onions and stuff your buns. Whichever way your guests will really enjoy this one.

Chicken cordon bleu with ham – This takes slightly more effort, but once you’ve mastered the rolling technique, you will find yourself making this all the time. Perfect for kids and adults alike.

Ingredients:

Chicken breast butterflied and flattened, ham sliced thinly, mozarella cheese, eggs, flour, bread crumbs, cooking cream, salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Place a piece of cling wrap plastic on your board, on top of your cling wrap place a piece of grease proof paper. Place your butterflied and flattened chicken breast onto the grease proof paper, on the breast season with salt and pepper to taste, add thinly sliced ham and on top of the ham, some mozzarella cheese. From one side of the breast start rolling the breast and tucking it to form a roll. As you’re doing it, remove the grease proof paper. Once this is done use the cling film to wrap the breast into a complete roll tightening both sides firmly. Put it in the freezer for about 2 hours to take shape.

Beat egg and cream together and season, place flour into a separate plate, and then breast crumbs into another flat plate. Remove chicken roll from cling film, coat it into flour, then dip the roll into egg mix, finally coating it thoroughly with breadcrumbs.

Deep fry into medium heat oil until golden brown all over. Let it rest and slice and serve.

Enjoy those delicious yet simple snacks with your friends and family… Merry Christmas…Next week, we will make a delicious meal with Christmas left over!

Tips: How to butterfly your chicken breast – Cut your breast into two leaving one side of the edge together, leaving it to look like a butterfly (So do not cut through into two separate pieces)…Wrap into cling wrap, use a rolling pin to flatten the chicken breast.

Contributed