Weekend Foodie: Bite-sized treats to celebrate Women’s Little Christmas
Happy new year! 2025 may be upon us, but we still have one more festive celebration to enjoy before we take the tree down and put the decorations away for another year.
1 medium or 2 small sun dried tomato foccacia
2 tbsp pesto sauce
12 tsp ricotta cheese
3 slices Parma ham, cut into 12 strips
1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry
1 egg, beaten, for brushing
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to finish
12 even-sized baby potatoes
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
75ml sour cream
4 slices smoked salmon, cut into 12 strips
Dill sprigs to decorate
Method
For the Focaccia, spread pesto over bread and warm in a hot oven for about 5 minutes.
Cut bread into 12 bite-sized squares.
Top each square with a dob of ricotta and a curl of Parma ham.
For the cheese straws, lay pastry sheet out on a floured board with long sides top and bottom.
Brush with egg and scatter with freshly grated Parmesan.
Cut into approx 1cm strips vertically.
Halve the strips horizontally, then twist like barley sugar and lay on a non-stick baking sheet.
Sprinkle with extra Parmesan then bake in a pre-heated oven, Gas 6 400F 200C for about 10 minutes or until golden and crisp.
Serve warm, or cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight tin till required.
For the potatoes, score the skins of the potatoes on the top using the point of a sharp knife.
Place on a baking sheet and season with sea salt.
Bake in a pre-heated oven, Gas 5 190C (180C fan assisted) for 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Cover with foil if they get too brown. Pierce though top with a skewer to check if they are done.
When ready, split and squeeze to open. Season. Fill each potato with a little sour cream and top with smoked salmon. Decorate with dill sprigs to serve
300mls cold water
75g best quality plain chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
50g caster sugar
1 tsp cocoa powder
Marshmallows and pieces of fresh fruit for dipping
Place half the water in pan with chocolate, sugar and cocoa powder.
Heat and stir till the chocolate has melted.
Add remaining water and bring to bubbling. Bubble rapidly till the sauce has reduced and is shiny and glossy.
Serve warm or cool and reheated later.
Something a bit different this weekend.
As this is a girlie gathering, a cocktail favourite in miniature version to get the party started!
Bloody Mary Cups are a stylish way to greet your guests for Women’s Little Christmas.
For the Bloody Mary Cups, combine 100mls chilled vodka with 200mls tomato juice and juice of a lime over ice in a jug. Season with freshly ground black pepper, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce to taste.
Pour into small glasses or espresso cups and decorate with celery leaves to serve.
Look out for Minke Irish Vodka made in Clonakilty, West Cork, a vibrant vodka which takes its name from the Minke whales often spotted along this coastline.
A great buy right now at Supervalu stores, at just €22.50 a 70cl bottle till January 8, 2025, and a superb local vodka to use for these fabulous little cocktails.
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