These colourful skewers are delicious. The paprika and garlic from the chorizo ooze over the other vegetables so that every mouthful has a spicy kick. Quick and simple to prepare and freezable, they are perfect for easy entertaining. I cut this recipe out of a food magazine some time ago and I have altered it a little over the years, like dusting the skewers with paprika and serving them with a sour cream and chive dip. Ingredients: makes 10 80g Cooking chorizo, cut into 1 cm slices 200g Salad potatoes, such as Charlotte, cut into thick slices. 1/2 Red pepper, de-seeded and cut into rough squares 1/2 Yellow pepper, de-seeded and cut into rough squares 1/4 tsp Paprika Olive oil Salt and

Need one more little foodie surprise for Christmas guests? The quickest and easiest yet with just 2 ingredients. All you need are quails eggs (the ready peeled ones are more expensive but make this a whole lot simpler) and edible gold dust. Get ready to impress: Ingredients (as above) Quails eggs Edible gold dust - Waitrose and Lakeland stock this. Celery salt to serve Method Spear an egg with a cocktail stick and spray all over with the glitter. Spray a few or spray them all. Can be done several hours ahead. Keep in the fridge till needed. Serve with celery salt.

These little cookies are a great idea for Christmas, but they are also lovely for any celebration at any time and always popular with just about everyone, littlies and oldies. They are fairly simple to make, although they need to be cooked a few at a time (see below) so the baking takes a while. However, they keep happily for at least a week, in an airtight tin with a silica gel sachet (available from Amazon), so they can be made ahead. Coming up with original little messages in the cookies can be fun, but if you get writer's block, there are lots of websites dedicated to just this cause, so there is really no excuse. Ingredients - makes approximately 30 2 large Egg whites 3 tbsp Sunflower

These little pastries are brilliant for any time you are busy, although I think with the red, white and green they are good for Christmas, especially as they freeze. We made them at the recent Canapease class and found out, if you are not keen on goat's cheese or Stilton, that they work with mozzarella too, so all tastes are catered for. They are pretty quick to make, so there's still time to get them in your freezer and they cook from frozen too - perfect. Ingredients - makes 12 1/3 sheet Puff pastry 1 or 2 Medium sized cooked beetroot (fresh or pre packed) 1 Goat’s cheese roll (I used a small Soignon log from Waitrose) Butter (for greasing tin) 60g Caster sugar 30ml Water Fresh thyme Se

This recipe makes a delicious canapé and a great starter, both made ahead, so a brilliant one for busy cooks over Christmas. The presentation here is definitely with Christmas in mind, but can easily be altered - maybe leave out the nori strips and just cut out some cucumber for decoration instead. We have served it on a Japanese platter, which gives it an oriental feel, but it also looks good on a simple white plate to show off the vibrant colour of the fish. Ingredients - makes 30 approx: 250gms Fresh salmon fillet, skin on For the cure: 75g Black treacle 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 50g Sea salt Black pepper Zest 1 lemon 1.5 tbsp Fennel seeds, toasted and crushed To decorate: Nori sheets Pic