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Impromptu gatherings back at your place, or dinner parties that have been in the calendar for weeks, it never hurts to have a few recipes handy to whip up when hosting duties call. Luckily, Alexandra Dudley has it covered.
Ingredients
4 sheets of phyllo pastry
¼ cup melted, unsalted butter
7oz brie
5oz fresh cranberries
Small bunch of thyme, leaves only
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
1.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 4.
2.
Keep your pastry covered under a damp tea towel (to prevent it drying out). Remove one sheet and brush it with the melted butter. Using scissors, cut this into roughly 5cm squares and then repeat for every sheet.
3.
Arrange three squares and place them on top of each other turning them as you go so that the corners create an almost star-like effect. Place the pastry stacks into the holes of a mini muffin tin and push to create 24 tartlet shells.
4.
Chop the brie into roughly 24 equal sized pieces and push into each tartlet. Then, top each one with a few cranberries and a pinch of thyme and salt.
5.
Bake for 10 minutes or until the pastry looks golden brown and the cheese has melted.
6.
Sprinkle over some more fresh thyme and grind over a generous amount of black pepper.
Ingredients
For the rosemary syrup:
(Note: this is best added cold so prepare in advance and refrigerate)
200ml water
200ml granulated sugar
3 sprigs of rosemary, with the leaves removed
For the Negroni:
100ml gin
100ml Campari
50ml sweet vermouth
50ml rosemary syrup
Sprig of rosemary, to serve
Ice, to serve
Method
1.
Place the water, sugar and rosemary leaves into a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer until sugar has completely dissolved. Switch off the heat and allow this to cool completely.
2.
Strain the syrup mix through a sieve to remove the rosemary leaves and transfer to a bottle or jar. Cool in the fridge until ready to serve.
3.
To make the cocktail, fill a jug with ice and add all of the negroni ingredients and the syrup. Stir well, then pour into glasses and garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary.
Create a magical table to gather round with Alexandra’s three top tips
“I love thinking of the table almost as another present to open. Layers and height really add the spectacle of this and are a clever way to save space if you have a large family. Perhaps place the bread, or side plate, on top of the main-course plate. You could even top it with a napkin or small gift. Instead of having a classically folded napkin, I often tie them in the middle, or even with a length of plush velvet ribbon. This adds another element of height – unravelling it is almost like unwrapping a present. I kept my table quite neutral this year, focusing on greens and whites and natural elements.”
“I love to use pine fronds and herbs on the Christmas table or sideboard. The smell is so evocative and Christmassy, but too much can be overwhelming, so I weave in some pine snipped from the back of the Christmas tree with a look-alike garland. It’s fun to use things that people can eat, too – creating almost a grazing effect. Clementines or clove-studded oranges, hazelnuts and walnuts are so redolent of Christmas – they almost encourage everyone to sit round the table for longer. Pile them up in bowls, or create a tower of leafy clementines on a cake stand as a simple – but effective – centerpiece. Think about things that can be nibbled with a cheese course, or with coffee, minus the need to get up! You could hide chocolates on the table, too, which is a delight for both children and adults.”
“Candles add magic to the table and the more the merrier at Christmas, but make sure you go for good-quality, slow burning candles as it means you will have atmospheric candlelight the whole way through. Similarly with setting the table, I like to play with different heights, particularly of pillar candles and dinner candles, as well as tea lights. Glass stands are a beautiful way to frame the table, too. I love the Winter pillar candles as they add such a delicious Christmassy scent. However, I tend not to keep them around the table, sticking to unscented candles there so as not to interfere too much with the flavor and sensation of the food.”
