Featured

Christmas party season is here again! What better way is there to catch up with friends and family than throwing a festive soiree, filled with delicious nibbles and sweet treats?

If you’re throwing a Christmas party this year, take a look at these fabulous party food recipes from some of our favourite bloggers, guaranteed to be a hit with all of your guests.

Bacon Wrapped Stuffing Bites

This recipe from Rachel Phipps comprises of stuffing, wrapped in bacon and decorated with cranberries for a perfect bite-sized taste of Christmas! A double-threat, these delicious bites aren’t only ideal for a Christmas party, but are also a fantastic addition to your Christmas dinner menu.

Devilled Eggs

Retro-fabulous and once a staple at dinner parties in the 1970s, devilled eggs are making a fashionable comeback, and this recipe from Nigella Lawson is one you’ll definitely want to try for your Christmas party.

Sage & Onion Beetroot Nuggets

This fantastic vegetarian recipe from Easy Cheesy Vegetarian comprises of slices of cooked beetroot coated with an onion, cashew and sage mixture, covered in breadcrumbs and then air fried for a crispy (and healthy!) perfect party canape.

Christmas Chocolate Tiffin

Perfect for the sweet-toothed party guest, this Christmas chocolate tiffin recipe from Veggie Desserts combines amazing Christmas flavours such as cinnamon and nutmeg with crushed ginger biscuits. This tiffin isn’t only ideal for offering as a sweet Christmas party treat, but would also make a fantastic homemade gift for your guests to take away with them at the end of the night!

Sage & Cranberry Turkey Meatballs

Putting a Christmassy twist on a classic, Chris from Don’t Go Bacon My Heart has created this wonderful recipe for sage & cranberry turkey meatballs – an absolute must have on your party food table. Super easy to make and packed full of flavour, they’ll be enjoyed by adults and children alike.

Gluten-Free Blini with Avocado Cream & Salmon

What would a Christmas party be without a few blinis to nibble on whilst you sip your champagne? This blini recipe from The Petite Cook doesn’t only combine the perfect partners of avocado and salmon, but is also gluten-free, so is a great one to try if any of your guests require gluten-free food.

Turkey, Cranberry & Feta Sausage Rolls

Just when you think sausage rolls can’t be perfected anymore, Eb from Easy Peasy Foodie brings these Christmassy treats to the table! Perfect for passing around your Christmas party, or simply to have a stash of ready-to-hand for any unexpected visitors over the festive season, we’re certain these Turkey, Cranberry & Feta sausage rolls will be a hit with everyone.

Puff Pastry Mince Pie Squares

A Christmas party wouldn’t be a Christmas party without a mince pie now, would it? These puff pastry mince pie squares from The Last Food Blog are not only easy to make, but offer a fun alternative to the standard mince pie and are guaranteed to impress your guests.

Lead image: ViewApart via Getty images.

The smell of mulled wine and mince pies is beginning to fill the air, twinkling lights are being strung throughout town centres, and we’re starting to get that ‘Christmassy’ feeling.

But the idea of trawling the high street or spending endless hours online looking for that perfect gift for friends and family can leave you feeling a little, well, less-than-festive! So, we’ve taken the hard work out of it with our foodie fanatics gift guide – everything that the budding chef in your family could ever wish for!

1. Coffee & Spice Grinder

Ideal for the coffee enthusiast in your life, this compact, yet powerful machine uses a 200W motor to drive its stainless steel blades and make short work of grinding whole coffee beans, nuts and spices.

2. Double-Walled Wine Cooler

Available in stainless steel and copper finishes, these double-walled wine coolers are perfect for keeping wine chilled in style. Ideal for the budding sommelier in your family, the double-walled design means that these coolers are able to keep wine chilled without the need for ice!

3. Slushy Maker

Perfect for making cocktails, iced coffees and slushies, this slushy maker will be adored by both adults and children alike. With a choice of finely or coarsley crushed ice, and complete with a handy measuring guide, this clever machine is ideal for anybody who loves to entertain throughout the year.

4. Set of Two Double-Walled Coffee Mugs

Another one for the coffee lovers out there, these mugs are designed to retain heat whilst being cool to the touch at the same time. Not only that, but their thermal design means that, come summer, they will also keep cold drinks cooler for longer!

5. Retro Candy Floss Maker

This fun kitchen gadget is a great one for the kids! Using super-safe halogen heating, it transforms sugar into delicious candy floss in next to no time. Endless hours of fun are to be had with mixing different flavours and colourings to the mix until you find your perfect combination!

6. Double-Walled Cafetiere

Designed to keep coffee hot, whilst ensuring the outside of the pot is cool, this double-walled cafetiere makes a wonderful present for any coffee lover. It even includes a handy measuring scoop and a bag clip to keep your coffee fresher for longer! Available in a stylish copper finish, or a more traditional stainless steel.

7. Picnic Hamper

If you’ve got an ‘outdoorsy’ friend, then this picnic hamper is the perfect gift! Available in 2 person and 4 person sets, they come complete with cutlery, glasses and a picnic blanket. There’s even a wine cooler bag to keep that cheeky bottle of plonk chilled! All stored in an environmentally friendly wicker basket with a handy carrying handle, this is every camper’s ideal dining set.

8. Gravity Mills

No buttons and no manual grinding, these gravity mills are designed to automatically grind salt and pepper by just tilting! The kitchen gadget lover’s perfect gift, they are available in three different colours to suit any kitchen.

9. Five – Piece Kitchen Storage Set

Perfect for anybody that likes to keep their kitchen organised! Designed from durable, powder coated metal, this super stylish kitchen storage set is available in three colour combinations and will look stunning at any kitchen. The set comprises of a bread bin, biscuit tin, and canisters for tea, coffee and sugar, meaning there’s a home for everything!

10. Stand Mixer

Do you have a budding bake-off contestant in your family? Why not treat them to a stand mixer so they can really perfect their craft! Available in five gorgeous colours, they come complete with a dough hook, flat beater and whisk – ideal for making a variety of tasty treats! As if that wasn’t enough, there are 6 speed settings, a pulse function, and a 4.5L mixing bowl, allowing you to make more mix in one go – perfect for bake sales and parties!

11. Teapot with Infuser

Perfect for the tea-lover, this stainless-steel teapot has a removable infuser core, making it easy to brew fragrant, aromatic herbal teas as well as a good old cup of English breakfast tea. Available in 1L & 1.2L capacities, its ergonomic, cool-touch handle makes lifting and pouring easy.

12. 15-Bar Digital Coffee Machine

Ideal for all enthusiastic home-baristas, this 15-bar digital coffee machine makes all your coffee-shop favourites quickly and professionally. The integrated milk reservoir gives you hot, frothy milk and the one-touch digital operation makes creating homemade lattes, cappuccinos and espresso easier than ever before.

Lead image: Alinakho via Getty images.

Mother nature has a wonderful way of providing seasonal ingredients that are full of the nutrients we need at that time of year. So, what is in season, and what should we be eating in August?

Aubergine

Masquerading as a vegetable, this fruit with its gorgeous, dark skin is jam packed full of nutrients and vitamins including vitamin C, potassium and vitamin B6 which helps with brain development and mood regulation.

It can be difficult to think of an inspiring recipe when looking at an aubergine, but these little beauties absolutely soak up the flavour of anything they are cooked with and enhance it even further. Give our recipe for Italian stuffed aubergine a go, and see for yourself.

Beetroot

Associated with numerous health benefits, eating beetroot (or drinking beetroot juice) can improve blood flow, lower blood pressure and can even help to increase exercise performance! As if that wasn’t enough, they are also full of nutrients including folate, iron and manganese.

These beetroot burgers are a great way to get them into your diet.

Raspberries

A bowl full of freshly picked raspberries is quintessentially British, and it’s impossible not to fall in love with the bold, bright pink colour. Not only are they gorgeous to look at, they also host a plethora of health benefits including immunity boosting vitamins and can even aid in weight loss thanks to their low fat / high fibre content.

These sweet little berries are perfect strewn atop these summer berry tarts, which make a great addition to any picnic.

Crab

A fantastic source of protein, crab contains almost as much protein per 100g as meats without anywhere near the same levels of saturated fat. Not only this, but crab meat is super rich in Omega 3 which helps to protect against heart disease and aid brain development.

OK, so it can be a little daunting to look at a crab and wonder where to even begin. But you can buy crab meat already shelled for you, any any fishmonger worth their salt will be able to shell one for you as well, so it needn’t be something to be scared of. Give our recipe for crab cakes with dill mayonnaise a try, and rejoice in the light, yet flavourful meat of the glorious crab.

Rocket

One of the most nutritious leafy greens going, rocket is low in calories and high in vitamin A which studies have found helps to protect us from certain cancers. Our recipe for super green soup is a great way to incorporate rocket into your diet, and also contains watercress and spinach – both of which are also in season in August.

Courgette

Also known as zucchini, courgettes contain vitamins A, C, K and B6, as well as beta-carotene which can help to strengthen your vision. These super-veggies are also incredibly easy to grow from seed, and are best picked when they are around the size of a finger as they have a certain sweetness to them that gets muted as they become larger.

Our recipe for courgette fritters with mango yoghurt is the perfect way to get courgettes into your menu rotation, and are also ideal for encouraging children to eat their veggies too!

Lead image: emeliemaria via Getty images.