December 23, 2018

Christmas party ideas

The holiday season is upon us, so I thought I’d share some of my holiday favourites. All of these photos were taken last year during Xmas season, except for the custard.

Veggie platter- for those that know me well would know how much I love colours and eating the rainbow. I am still a newbie at putting together platters but I have so much fun every time I do one. It’s such a great starter to serve as your guests are coming in. It’s relatively easy to put together and keeps your guests busy!

Garlic, butter and chilli prawns – I’m a big lover of all things seafood. Chilli and garlic are two of my favourite ingredients in cooking. And cherry tomatoes marry well with just about everything. I’m not a big user of butter in savoury dishes but you need to be a little on special occasions like these!

Roast chicken and veggies- although I’m a big fan of plant-based diet, some occasions are celebrated better with meat. And I truly feel that Xmas is one of these. I have a small family but feel free to upgrade to a turkey if that’s what you prefer. I also added baby chat potatoes and pumpkin here. It’s super easy because it gets cooked in the same bag.

Quinoa pilaf with veggies – this is a great dish for any vegetarians you might have to cater for and wholegrains are something we should be eating more of. Quinoa is one of these. It is technically a pseudograin but has the properties to classify as a wholegrain. I love the touch of seafood flavours in this dish. Quinoa is very versatile, so free to add any other seafood if you like.

Stir-fry veggies- I have used fresh cauliflower, broccolini, mushrooms and zucchini here but you can go with frozen veggies for convenience. I have added a small amount of chicken but you can leave this out if you prefer a vegetarian dish.

Fruit custard- this one is probably one of the easiest desserts to whip up. The best thing is that you can prepare this ahead of time. All you literally need is milk, custard powder, sugar and fresh fruits. I chose to use a sugar substitute which were sent to me from Nuvia. It is a natural sweetner made from the Stevia plant.

Yoghurt barks-this is another relatively easy dessert to make and you get to pick what toppings you like. The original recipe I had looked up had used rose petals and pomegranates but I did not have these at home. So, I chose to use some stone fruit (apricot and nectarine), pistachio and white chocolate chips.