Chocolate Orange Mini Meringues

These are delicious little desserts and can be made with bought meringues to save time.

Makes approx. 30 mini meringues

Ingredients

For the Meringues

3 large Egg Whites

175g Caster Sugar

For the Topping

200g Cream Cheese

Fine zest of an Orange

Juice of half an Orange

200g Double Cream

4 tablespoons Icing Sugar

100g Dark Chocolate

• Preheat the oven to 150C (fan) and line a couple of baking trays with greaseproof/baking paper.  If you want to make neat meringue circles draw them on the underside of the paper for you to use as a guide when piping.
• In a large, clean bowl whisk the egg whites until frothy then gradually add the sugar and continue to whisk until it is glossy and holds peaks.
• Pipe onto the lined tins in small circles, piping an extra layer around the outside to form mini nests.  When all piped, put the trays into the preheated oven then immediately reduce the temperature to 125C.  Bake for 30-35 minutes then turn off the oven and leave the meringues in to go completely cold.  Store the meringues in an airtight container until needed.
• To make the filling, mix the cream cheese with the orange zest and juice until smooth.  Whip the cream and the icing sugar in another bowl until thick but not stiff then fold this into the cream cheese mixture.
• To assemble these little lovelies, pipe or spoon the orange cream onto the meringues then trickle with melted dark chocolate (I pipe it over in a zigzag motion using a narrow piping nozzle) and leave for an hour to set.  Serve within two hours of making.

Smoked Salmon and Cucumber Crackers

A classic combination of flavours but the addition of a zingy, flavoured mayonnaise and an interesting cracker elevates this to an elegant canape.  You can use any thin cracker but the contrast of colours with these charcoal crackers looks particularly good.

Ingredients

Packet of sliced Smoked Salmon, cut into rough squares

Fresh Cucumber, sliced into small squares

Thin crackers of your choice

For the Dill and Mustard Mayonnaise

2-3 tablespoons of good bought Mayonnaise

Approx. 1 dessertspoon of chopped fresh Dill

1 teaspoon of Wholegrain Mustard

1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

a squeeze of Lemon Juice

Black Pepper

• Put all the ingredients for the mayonnaise into a bowl and mix to combine.
• Spread about half a teaspoon of the dill and mustard mayonnaise onto each cracker.
• Top with a piece of smoked salmon then a few squares of cucumber and another small dollop of the mayonnaise.  Serve within an hour of assembling.

Salami and Manchego Skewers

This is a simple idea that is very effective and delicious!  I use a mild chilli jam from The Wiltshire Chilli Farm (www.justchillies.co.uk), it is soft-set so spreads easily...and is very addictive!  If you are not keen on heat you can use quince or redcurrant jelly instead.
A good mature cheddar is also great here if you can't get Manchego.

Ingredients

A packet of sliced Italian Salami

Manchego cheese, cut into small cubes

Fresh basil leaves, torn in half lenghways

Chilli Jam

• Spread each slice of salami with a little chilli jam then fold it into quarters.  Wrap the cheese cubes in a piece of basil then tuck into one of the gaps in the salami 'cones' and secure with a cocktail stick.  Repeat with all the salami slices.

Artichoke and Basil Dip

This dip is great served on melba toast strips (like in the photo) as a canape but also works well in a bowl surrounded by crunchy vegetable crudites and bread sticks to dip in.

I normally use tinned artichoke hearts in brine but it is also lovely made with deli-style artichokes in oil, you can then use the oil they come in rather than adding olive oil.

Ingredients

Approx. 250g Artichoke Hearts, roughly chopped

1 small clove of Garlic, roughly chopped

Bunch of Fresh Basil (approx. 10 large leaves)

2 tablespoons Cream Cheese

2 tablespoons Mayonnaise

Juice of half a Lemon

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

Salt and Black Pepper

• Put all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and whiz until creamy and almost smooth but with some texture.  Check for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed, according to your taste.
• If you don’t have a food processor just use a large knife to finely chop the artichokes on a board with the basil.  Then transfer to a bowl, add minced garlic and the remaining ingredients and stir thoroughly to combine.