I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, canapés are the Food of the Gods. As a woman who could quite happily survive on pigs in blankets and Walkers Chicken & Thyme Sensations, I like to think that I am an expert in the art of the hors d’ouevre, a master of the mini nibble. My diet during the month of December almost purely consists of duck spring rolls, pakora and tempura prawns. My family are also big fans of a party food platter. Our favourite meals involve Ella and I jumping into the car on a Saturday afternoon, heading to M&S and chucking the three for £7 tapas into the trolley, more than often accompanied by a few essential bags of Percy Pigs. Combined with a cold glass of wine, the X Factor and a blanket, it’s like heaven on a (very little) plate - you won’t find Greg Wallace popping his bald head up from behind the sofa to declare ‘cooking doesn’t get tougher than this’. It’s easy peasy, lemon squeezy, no fuss Saturday night dinner and we LOVE it.

Ever since I received my first cookbook (no prizes for guessing what it was - if you didn’t get The Naked Chef in your Christmas stocking twenty years ago, were you even there at the millennial?), I’ve been a sucker for an easy meal. I refuse point blank to cook anything that involves me having to stand at the hob last minute, flash frying fish, searing steaks or toasting croutons in garlic oil. I veer away from crouton cooking in general, actually, after an incident many years ago actually involving the King of the buttery biscuit bake. My friend Sam is Home Economist to the stars, in charge of the behind the scenes kitchen at the Masterchef Supertheatre at the Good Food Show and one year, she asked me if I was free to help for the day. I was tasked with crouton frying for the on stage chefs. Sounds easy, indeed, but I can tell you there is nothing more disconcerting than tentatively prodding the slice at your bread bits with Greg Wallace looking critically over your shoulder. Anyway, I definitely am a fan of in advance when it comes to cooking - last minute not only puts the fear of God into me but it also keeps me from the chat and the cava. Priorities. I steadfastly stand in the ‘by failing to prepare you are preparing to fail’ camp and the likelihood of failing in the last minute cooking department once I’ve had a few glasses of Vina Sol are significantly higher than Greg omitting the Lurpack from his biscuit bake.

My favourite 70’s serving platter which I used at my 40th birthday party. How delicious looking is the broccoli/ham/fag combo?

How you serve the canapés shouldn’t be an afterthought, either. The aim is to have as little washing up as possible so my top tip is to use slate tiles. Your local tile shop will have loads of big ones at very little cost - use felt (you can pick this up anywhere) to glue to the base and then wipe clean when they’ve all been scoffed. Multi task your chopping board or use floristry wood slices as platters (see my blog last week for links to sources). Or pop to your local thrift shop to look for large vintage decorated platters which are easy on both the eye and your budget (plus you’re recycling whilst donating to charity - win win for all). The only problem I find when serving is putting them somewhere that Buddy the dog can’t reach them - many is the time he's sneakily come up on the inside and snatched a sticky sausage, an act which causes us to not only hurl abuse at him, but also to make our hearts sink in the knowledge that later on we will all be suffering the consequences of his flatulence (so shocking that it could actually be used as an instrument of torture).

For the last three years, I’ve posted my favourite six canapés of the year on my blog and they’ve been pretty good ones, even if I say so myself. There’s something very satisfying about flinging out a platter full of delectable dishes that look like you’ve been slaving away for hours but have actually taken you the time it takes to prong them on a cocktail stick. I have to admit that I don’t strictly keep to the official description of a canapé in many of my recipes (the rules say it should be a piece of bread, cracker or pastry with something delicious on the top) but anyway, rules are made to be broken. Another tip: if you do an online delivery or collection order simply ordering the ingredients listed below, the whole lot will come to less than £40 and will easily feed three generations of family members on Christmas Day, alongside the traditional glass of morning fizz. Perfect. Oh, and I’ve tried to keep to recipes that can be adapted for vegetarians or vegans by using dairy and meat substitutes if needed. Anyway, enough rambling - I hereby give you Edition 4 of my best Christmas canapés.

Blush Tomato, Olive & Basil Swirl

6 jarred blush tomatoes, chopped

Handful of olives, chopped

200g cream cheese

Handful of fresh basil, chopped

2 large wraps

In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients, adding seasoning to taste. Spread the mixture equally on to the wraps. Roll the wraps, then wrap them in foil and place in fridge for two hours. Remove, cut into slices, garnish with extra basil.

(This recipe and the next one were given to me by my friend Sam Head, Queen of all things cooking and Home Economist to James Martin.)

Watermelon, Feta & Mint Skewers

2 slices of watermelon, approximately half an inch thick

1 packet of feta cheese

Fresh mint

Cut the watermelon into squares. Do the same with the feta cheese then add to the skewers in the following order - watermelon, mint leaf, feta cheese. Finito. Perfect with gin.

Bacon Halloumi Bites

Block of halloumi cheese

10 rashers of streaky bacon

Rosemary sprigs

Cut the halloumi into 20 sticks and season with black pepper. Cut each rasher into half, then wrap around the halloumi. Stuff a sprig into each parcel. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes until the bacon is crisp. Remove from oven and eat immediately.

Cranberry & Brie Puffs

Ready made puff pastry, cut into 24 squares

1 whole Camembert, cut into 24

Jar of cranberry sauce

Handful of walnut pieces

Fresh rosemary

Lightly oil a 24 small muffin tin. Place each square of puff pastry into each hole and press down lightly. Add a square of Camembert, top with cranberry sauce and finish with a few pieces of walnut. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes until the puffs are risen and golden. Remove from oven and finish with a sprig of fresh rosemary. PS: You’ll notice that I’ve used redcurrant as bloody Asda substituted it and I didn’t have time to go out and get more, but cranberry is MUCH better as the redcurrant burnt. As you can see.

Guacamole & Prawn Sourdough Toasts

2 ripe avocado

2 spring onion, thinly sliced

1 chopped red chilli

1 tablespoon of lime juice

1 packet of cooked tiger prawns

Sourdough loaf

Paprika

In a small bowl, mash the avocado with salt and pepper then add the lime juice, spring onion and chilli. Mix well and set aside. Thinly slice the sourdough and toast, cutting into squares approximately 2 inch square. Top with a teaspoon of guacamole, add a prawn and sprinkle with paprika.

Homemade Sausage Rolls

400g fresh sausage meat

1 red onion, chopped

Handful of chopped sage

Quarter tsp of nutmeg

1 ready made puff pastry sheet

Saute the onion with the sage for a few minutes, then add to a small bowl with the sausage meat, nutmeg and seasoning. Mix well. Lay out the puff pastry sheet and cut in half longways (short end top). Divide the sausage meat into two, laying it in a long sausage shape in the centre of each half downwards. Roll from the right to the left so that the sausage is fully covered in the pastry. With the join to the table, egg or milk glaze and then cut into sausage rolls. Use your knife to mark two slits in the top of each roll, then season, place on a lightly oiled baking tray and cook for 20 minutes at 200 degrees until nicely browned. PS: Yes, once again Asda failed and instead delivered sausages - this is fine, just take them out of the skins and add to bowl.

(This is a slightly bastardised Jamie Oliver recipe - sorry Jamie.)

So there you go - six recipes which will get you through the festive season with style, panache and the overriding aura of being an expert chef whilst still managing to mingle like a pro with your glass of champagne, Lorraine Chase stylie. If you’re looking for more ideas, look no further than my previous three posts - click here for Edition 1, Edition 2 and Edition 3 which each contain six recipes to make your Christmas easier. Fact. Just keep them away from the dog. Happy cooking!

Styling Your Christmas Table: Six Super Easy Canapés To Impress Your Guests (Edition 4)