When people can help themselves to great food for the whole night, you’ve got the recipe for a perfect party! New Year is a time for celebrating, especially after the year we've had, and even if your party plans are up in smoke, you can at least enjoy yourself at home.
Here are four great tasting recipes you can easily put together at home.
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1. Mozzarella, Red Pepper & Bacon Skewers
Ingredients
- 6 red bell peppers sliced into 32 squares
- 32 fresh basil leaves
- 11 slices unsmoked cooked bacon, cut into thirds
- 32 cherry-sized mozzarella balls
- 4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of ground black pepper
Method
- Heat an oven to 200℃, or 180℃ with fan assist.
- Put the chopped pepper on a baking tray and drizzle with 2 tbsp of the olive oil.
- Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the peppers.
- Roast the pepper for about 20 mins until they are soft.
- On a skewer, put a red pepper slice, a basil leaf, a piece of bacon, and a mozzarella ball.
- Arrange them on a plate.
- Drizzle the skewers with the olive oil.
- Season the skewers with salt and pepper.
2. Spicy Oven-Baked Wings
Chicken wings are the ultimate party favourite. This recipe will add some zing to your New Year's Eve festivities. These party-starters are super moreish, so make sure you have enough for everyone at home. This recipe makes 20 chicken wings so you can reduce or increase the measures as you see fit.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 20 chicken wings
- ½ cup melted butter
- ½ cup hot pepper sauce
Method
- Line a baking tray, large enough for the chicken wings, with foil.
- Grease the tray with butter.
- In a resealable bag, add the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt.
- Shake the bag until mixed.
- Put the chicken wings into the bag and toss until the wings are coated in the mixture.
- Put the coated wings onto the prepared tray and refrigerate to chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 200℃.
- Whisk the melted butter and hot pepper sauce.
- Remove the wings from the fridge.
- Dip them into the butter and the hot pepper sauce mix and put them back onto the greased baking tray.
- Bake the wings in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Turn the wings over and make sure they are cooked on one side. Put the wings back in the oven for another 5 minutes if they are not.
- Once you have turned them over, put them back in the oven for another 25 minutes.
- Ensure they are cooked through; no longer pink in the middle, and crispy on the outside.
- Serve on a plate with some delicious dips and enjoy!
3. Prawn and Chorizo Quesadillas
This dish will fill you up and keep you going until 2022. Quesadillas are an excellent party pleaser, full of flavour and spice. You may want to bring out the paper plates and serviettes for this one, as they can get messy when trying to eat them. This recipe makes one quesadilla so you adjust the quantities as necessary.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ small red onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 70g chorizo, finely sliced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tbsp chipotle paste
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- 100g raw king prawns, peeled and chopped (frozen is fine!)
- 1 lime, squeezed
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- Pinch of dried thyme
- 1 handful of grated mozzarella
- 2 large flour tortillas
- guacamole, to serve (optional)
Method
- Heat the oil in a pan.
- Fry the onion and the pepper in the pan for about 10 minutes or until they are slightly soft.
- After 10 minutes, add the chorizo slices. Fry these for a further 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, chipotle paste, cumin, ground coriander and prawns, then fry for two more minutes.
- Add lime juice and season with salt, pepper and thyme.
- Spread the mix over one of the flour tortillas.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella over the top, then place the second flour tortillas on the top.
- Heat a clean frying pan over high heat.
- Once hot, cook the quesadilla on each side for 1-2 mins.
- Cut into four slices with a sharp knife or a pizza cutter and serve with guacamole or any other dips you’d prefer!
- Enjoy!
4. Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Cucumber Bites
These bite-sized snacks are the perfect finger foods, and salmon and cream cheese is always a winning combination. Here’s how to spice up the dish with some extra tasty trimmings.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup cream cheese (do not use light cream cheese)
- 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tbsp minced fresh dill
- 1 small garlic clove, grated on a Microplane or very finely minced
- A pinch of sea salt
- 3 mini cucumbers, sliced
- 5 ounces cold smoked salmon cut into bite-sized squares.
- 1 handful of dill, chopped, to garnish
- Black pepper to garnish
Method
- In a large bowl, add the lemon, dill, and cream cheese.
- Use electric beaters to whip together.
- Once the mix is blended, put it into a piping bag. If you don’t have a piping bag, put it in a freezer bag and cut off one of the corners.
- Put the slices of cucumber on the serving tray.
- Place one salmon slice on each cucumber slice.
- Pipe the cream cheese mixture onto each of the slices.
- Sprinkle the dill over the serving tray to garnish the canapes.
- Season with black pepper.
- Serve and enjoy!
Here’s to 2022
And there you have it, the perfect dishes to help you and your loved ones kick off the new year with a bang! These dishes will keep people talking (about your delicious food) and up and at it until the stroke of midnight.
