| If you are having a small dinner party it can be nice | | | | Two Minute Starter Recipes |
| to spend hours making starter recipes. You can make | | | | What if you have a real emergency and you do not |
| something fiddly and elaborate to impress your | | | | have vol-au-vent cases? You probably have some |
| guests and have fun while you do it, while the main | | | | ham and cheese. Sliced ham and cheese is the |
| course is baking gently in the oven. However, that is | | | | quickest to work with. Put a slice of cheese on top |
| not always ideal. | | | | of a slice of ham (or turkey ham or smoked chicken) |
| Sometimes what you need are quick starter recipes, | | | | and roll it up. There - how easy was that? You can |
| either because you are catering for a buffet, for a | | | | put a gherkin, a spoonful of pickle or some tomato |
| lot of guests, for unexpected guests or because you | | | | chutney inside the roll ups. |
| are running late! There are starter recipes you can | | | | When people are peckish, a very quick starter like |
| make in a few minutes but you will need to have the | | | | this is fine. They just want something to fill the gap. |
| right ingredients. | | | | Drained olives from a jar, walnut halves, cubes of |
| Rapid Ideas for Vol-au-Vents | | | | cheese on cocktail sticks (combine them with |
| If you have vol-au-vent cases you can easily make a | | | | pineapple chunks or silverskin pickled onions) are |
| cold filling to stuff into them, so keep some | | | | great. |
| vol-au-vent cases on standby. They do keep for a | | | | Toppings for Toast Squares and Crackers |
| long time. Make some egg mayonnaise by boiling a | | | | Make some toast, cut each slice of bread into four |
| few eggs for fifteen minutes, then mash them with | | | | squares and top each one with some ham and pickle, |
| mayonnaise and a little tomato ketchup or tomato | | | | cheese and pineapple, cottage cheese and a hulled |
| puree. | | | | black olive, smoked cheese and jam or brie and a |
| Add salt and black pepper, to taste, then spoon this | | | | walnut half. Simple starters like this are fine and |
| mixture into the vol-au-vent cases. If you have some | | | | nobody has to know you rushed them together in |
| cress, use a little to garnish the tops of these egg | | | | two minutes! Use crackers if you do not want to |
| starters, else you can use half a cherry tomato, a | | | | make toast. |
| sliver of cucumber or a sprig of parsley. These can | | | | You only need to make quick starter recipes when |
| be served warm or cold so theoretically you can | | | | people are hungry and if you are looking for |
| make and serve them in just over fifteen minutes. | | | | interesting starter recipes just look in your fridge. |
| Another idea for these is tuna mayonnaise. Mash | | | | Combine crackers or bread with one or two toppings |
| some drained, tinned tuna (or salmon) with | | | | for a very quick canape recipe. Spoon cream cheese |
| mayonnaise. Add salt, black pepper, a few capers or | | | | into celery ribs or put some cheese cubes on cocktail |
| some finely chopped gherkins. Spoon this filling into | | | | sticks. You can make these starters in record time, |
| the vol-au-vent cases. This is even quicker than the | | | | so even if you have last minute guests you will be |
| egg mayonnaise ones! If you don't have vol-au-vent | | | | able to offer them something tasty. |
| cases use toast squares or water biscuits. | | | | |