Christmas menu: 4 great last minute options

Shots of avocado cream and prawns

If you can't think of what to make for an appetizer, try these avocado and prawn cream shots. It is a super easy recipe that, in addition to having a frankly spectacular and irresistible look, is not excessively caloric (something to take into account on these dates so given to excesses …). See recipe.

·Christmas decoration. You can put some toothpicks with a skewered shrimp and a cardboard star on the end.

Goat cheese with jam and nuts

Cut the chilled goat cheese from the fridge into approximately 1 cm thick slices. Lay the cheese slices flat. On each one, put a teaspoon of orange marmalade or whatever you like best. Before serving, put it in the oven for 1 minute, already off but previously preheated to 100º. It is about tempering only. Then, remove them, and decorate with chopped nuts on top and tender or sprouted sprouts.

Other presentations. You can also place the montaditos on slices of bread and heat them for a few moments in the oven to melt the cheese a little.

Montaditos of cucumber, salmon and cheese

This appetizer is more than easy, it is ultra-easy. Peel a couple of cucumbers and cut them into slices about 1 cm thick. On top of the cucumber slices, put a tablespoon of cream cheese and, on top of it, a piece of smoked salmon. Repeat the assembly of cucumber, cheese and smoked salmon, mount it on top of the first one, and prick with a toothpick so that it does not disassemble.

· The final touch. Sprinkle fresh dill on top.

Stuffed tartlets

To make this appetizer, you just have to take some pre-cooked tartlets or volcanoes. Fill them with pate, spread cheese or Russian salad. Top with strips of piquillo pepper or smoked salmon, berries or mango, or fish roe. And decorate with aromatic herb leaves.

·Alternative. If you have not found tartlets or volcanoes, you can substitute them for a sliced bread base cut with the help of a star, heart, circle-shaped pasta cutter …

Prawn Christmas cream

Based on prawns, pumpkin and other vegetables, here you have a soft Christmas cream with an incredible flavor. Try it and you will not regret it. It will be so easy for you and it will be so delicious that it will not surprise you that it ends up being a staple of your party recipes. See recipe.

· Party look. If you prefer it with the peeled prawns, do not remove the tips of the tails, which give it a more festive touch together with the whole chives leaves, which are very elegant.

Lamb's lettuce salad with goat cheese

You only need lamb's lettuce or a mix of assorted lettuces that they sell already washed, goat cheese and fruits. To give it the party touch, coat the goat cheese with sesame and chopped nuts, and opt for tropical or exotic fruits (mango, pineapple, currants, berries …).

· How to coat the cheese. Cut it into 12 cubes and reserve them in the fridge. Chop some peeled pistachios. Do the same with some hazelnuts. Prepare three bowls, one with the pistachios, one with the hazelnuts, and the third with sesame seeds. Put four small cubes of cheese in each bowl, roll them carefully and add them to the mixture of lamb's lettuce and fruit.

Prawn salpicón

Make a mixture of diced red, yellow, green and avocado peppers. Join it with cherry tomatoes cut in half, pineapple cubes and some cooked, peeled and sliced prawns. And garnish it all with a vinaigrette of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pink pepper.

· Plating. Divide the salpicón into glasses, topped with a whole prawn, chopped chives and, if you want to give it a more sophisticated touch, some raspberries.

Mango and pomegranate salad

It is one of the easiest Christmas salads … and lightest. It only has 59 calories! And it is also a vegan recipe, that is to say 100% vegetarian, in case you are one or have a guest who does not want to eat anything of animal origin, not even dairy or eggs. On a bed of tender salad sprouts, you place carrot sticks, mango tacos or balls, pomegranate grains, halved tomatoes, and garnish with some of the easy and tasty salad dressing.

Easier. To easily remove the kernels from the pomegranate, pound it against the table or with a pestle before shelling.

Sirloin with port sauce and roasted apple

Heat some oil in a nonstick skillet. When hot, brown the pork tenderloin for 2 minutes on each side (it should be golden but pink inside). Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat, roll over toasted sesame seeds, and slice. Pour a glass of Port into the pan and deglaze the cooking juices of the meat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Let it reduce over high heat until it thickens. Arrange the slices on the plates and serve with roasted apple and the Porto sauce.

How to roast apples. Peel them, cut them into cubes and sprinkle them with lemon juice so they don't get rusty. Heat some butter in a frying pan and brown the apple for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with a drizzle of honey, add a piece of lemon peel and a cinnamon stick and cook for 2 more minutes. Lightly salt and pepper and season with a pinch of cinnamon.

Rack of lamb with honey

It is an easy to make and very colorful recipe that, since it is baked, allows you to concentrate on other things while it is just being made. In our recipe, we have accompanied the rack of lamb with a potato cake to give it an even more festive look, and we have given it that sweet touch that suits meats so well with the help of rosemary honey. See recipe.

·More options. If you prefer a lighter garnish, it is also super delicious accompanied by some apples or pears cut into eighths or quarters, cored and roasted.

Turkey breast stuffed with apple

Peel 2 apples, remove the core and cut into eighths. Sauté them for about 5 minutes, remove and reserve. Cut the turkey breast into a cross section to open it up like a booklet, spread the inside with mustard, sprinkle with lime zest and fill with the sauteed apples. Close the breasts and tie with kitchen string. Brown the breast on all sides. Transfer it to a refractory dish with rosemary, a glass of poultry stock and a glass of cider or white wine. And roast it in the oven preheated to 180º for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the string and cut into slices.

·Sauce. You can make one by mixing the cooking juices with a little liquid cream, rectify the salt and pepper, and heat it.

Dried fruit stuffed rabbit

Peel some pistachios and leave some dried apricots and plums to soak for a few minutes in warm water. Salt and pepper a boneless rabbit (or a turkey breast). Put it open on the plate with the inside facing up and spread the dried apricots and plums well drained and most of the pistachios over it. Roll it up and tie it with kitchen string and brush it with a little oil. Cover with parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 175º. Take it out, flip it over and wash it down with wine. Put it back in the oven and let it cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes at 180º.

·Garrison. You can make some Brussels sprouts and some onions cooked in salted water for about 10 minutes. Then sauté them with a little oil. And add them to the sliced rabbit after removing the string. And top with the leftover pistachios.

Prawn, fish and mushroom pitches

Prawns are ideal for making or improvising party recipes at full speed. Here we have combined them with monkfish and mushrooms, but they can be made with practically any fish (sea bass, sea bream, hake, cod …). Wash the prawns and monkfish, and dice the latter. Thread the monkfish, prawns and mushrooms cut in half alternately on the skewers. Brush them with an oil-based vinaigrette, chopped lemon parsley and a touch of chilli; and grill them on a very hot griddle brushing them with the same vinaigrette several times during cooking.

Sauce. Remove the skewers, add the remaining vinaigrette to the pan, mix it with the cooking juices and let it reduce a little. If you want a bittersweet touch, you can also add a tablespoon of honey.

Fish with seafood

Soak 250 g of clams in water for 30 minutes. Clean and wash 250 g mussels. Peel, grate and sauté an onion with a drizzle of oil. Grate three tomatoes and add them. Season, add a pinch of sugar, sauté for 5 minutes and remove. Sauté 250 g of peeled prawns in this oil and set aside. Add the mussels and clams, ½ glass of white wine and 1 bay leaf. Cook until they open, remove them and reduce the sauce for a few minutes. Wash the fish, salt and pepper it and sauté it with oil for a couple of minutes. Add the sauce, the sofrito, 200 ml of broth, 1 teaspoon of paprika and cook for 5 minutes.

· Versions. You can do it with sea bass, hake, cod.

Scallops Galician

Any recipe that includes seafood is a triumph as a party dish. And if they are Galician scallops, as in this case, it has everything you need to win. Because scallops are one of the tastiest and most exquisite mollusks. See recipe.

·Presentation. Take advantage of the scallop shells to present the dish. They are very showy and so you don't have to make your head hot thinking about how to present them. And if you want, save them to serve appetizers or entrees on other occasions.

Sea bass rolls with ratatouille

It is the typical super easy recipe for fish with vegetables, but in a "red carpet" version thanks to the sum of three elements. The protagonist: the sea bass, which is one of the most desired stars in fish. The presentation: in the form of cute and tempting stuffed rolls. And a luxury companion: an irresistible cava ratatouille that tastes as good as it sounds. See recipe.

·Sauce. You can add some old mustard, or one of our easy to make light sauces and vinaigrettes.

Christmas tree made of puff pastry and cocoa cream

A good idea as a Christmas dessert when you don't have the typical nougat, marzipan and others on hand is to make your own sweet. For example, this Christmas tree made of puff pastry and cocoa cream. We love it because it is a dessert that is as colorful as it is easy to make, and it appeals to young and old alike. See recipe.

· Other sweets. If you want more easy proposals to fill your desserts with Christmas spirit, don't miss the improvised Christmas sweets from our blogger Delicious Martha.

White chocolate nougat

If what happens is that you are tired of the nougat of a lifetime or you want to try making a homemade one, which is easy and original, here is the recipe for a white chocolate nougat with pistachios, blueberries and dried apricots that is delicious. It never disappoints … and it always tempts. See recipe.

· Chocolate version. And if you dare (and have a little more time), you can also encourage yourself to make your own chocolate nougat type "crunch" step by step.

Tropical fruit salad

And if you want a less heavy dessert, you can make a rich fruit salad like this one. For an exotic and sophisticated touch, use berries, tropical fruits or autumn fruits. This has orange, pineapple, pomegranate, mango, papaya, dragon fruit and raspberries. To dress it, mix the juice of a lemon with a glass of water and four tablespoons of brown sugar. It is one of the easy, pretty and delicious Christmas desserts.

·Alternatives. If you don't have tropical fruits on hand, you can make it with the ones you have at home. Another trick to give it a festive touch is the decoration: put it on. like here, in glasses, with a slice of fruit coated in sugar on the rim, and a Christmas garland at the base.

Chocolate bites with nuts

It is clear that there are no easy desserts is a myth. And if not, try preparing these chocolate snacks with nuts that we propose at CLARA. It is one of the easiest recipes that exists on the face of the earth, and it is no less sophisticated or delicious for that. Her only complication, melt the chocolate, add nuts and let it cool to harden. If you want to try them, discover how to make chocolate snacks with nuts step by step. But beware that they can cause addiction.

Presentation. You can make them on a tray with holes like this one or on greaseproof paper with more irregular and informal shapes and, instead of nuts, cereals, red fruits …

Yes, it is true, it is advisable to plan the Christmas parties, think about the menus months in advance, the ingredients in advance to freeze them and save money …

But how many of us are caught by surprise with nothing prepared? Or does a dinner or an improvised meal fall on us that we did not have? Well, as you have seen, all is not lost.

Easy and delicious appetizers

We have opted for avocado shots, cucumber montaditos and tartlets. But you can also improvise some simple canapés with pre-cooked toast or puff pastry. And for the topping or the filling, prawns, salmon, pâtés, cheeses and pickles.

Also, remember that you can also do without the toast, bread or puff pastry bases and serve the canapé ingredients in shot glasses, individual flaneras, cupcake molds, ceramic spoons, wooden skewers … This way they have a more festive look.

Christmas menu: starters that are eaten with your eyes

One of the keys to a party menu is that it enters through the eyes before anything else. And the starters, as the first course on the menu, have to be the most colorful. That is what we have tried with our Christmas prawn cream, the goat cheese salad and the prawn salad. They are recipes without excessive difficulty that have an irresistible appearance and taste as a common denominator.

Christmas menu: seconds with chef's star

Depending on whether you want a lighter or stronger menu, you can opt for lighter or heavier recipes. We have opted for three meat dishes: a rabbit stuffed with dried fruits, a rack of lamb with honey and a turkey breast stuffed with apple. And three fish and seafood dishes: Galician scallops, sea bass rolls with ratatouille, and fish with mussels and clams.

But you also have other options. Both large pieces of meat and whole fish can be cooked in the oven, which helps you save time, and they are very tasty.

Christmas menu: surprising desserts

Finally, as a Christmas dessert, we have thought about how to surprise our guests without having to overheat our heads, but at the same time look like kings of the stove. To achieve this, we have chosen a Christmas tree made of puff pastry and cocoa cream, which is as easy to make as it is delicious, a white chocolate nougat with pistachios, blueberries and dried apricots, which is made in a pinch, and a tropical fruit salad. to lighten but without giving up glamor.