12 Days of Christmas Ideas – Day 9
What is any social gathering without nibbles or appetisers? For many years it was the good old chips and dip or nuts and raisins. More recently it seems to be the deep fried mini spring rolls and samosas served with sweet chilli dipping sauce. Now most guests would probably be happy any of these options, but why not step out of the box and wow your guests with any, or all, of these fresh and tasty shot glass appetiser recipes.
Veggie Shooters
Ingredients: Your favourite dip, veggies like carrots, celery and capsicum cut into sticks.
My favourite dip is the Classic Kiwi dip that uses the Nestle Reduced Cream and Maggie Soup – although I like to swap the Onion soup mix for a Tomato or Tomato and Onion soup mix. Other alternatives you could use are hummus or guacamole.
Put a couple of teaspoons of dip in the bottom of a shot glass and add the veggie sticks.
Satay Chicken Skewers
Ingredients: 400g of chicken breast chopped into pieces approximate 2cm in size. Two bottles of Watties ‘Bit On The Side’ Java Satay Sauce.
Mix the chicken with one bottle of the satay sauce, then leave in the fridge to marinade overnight or for at least a few hours.
Soak the wooden skewers in cold water for at least an hour, then thread at least 3 pieces of chicken onto each one. It should make approximately 25 skewers. Cook them on the BBQ, in the frying pan or under the grill. To serve, place a couple of teaspoons of the remaining satay sauce into each shot glass and serve with a skewer on top.
Lamb Skewers with Tzatziki
- This recipe is based on one that I found in the ABC Delicious Cookbook named ‘Let’s Entertain’.
- It makes approximately 25 skewers.
Skewer Ingredients: 500g lamb mince; 3 garlic cloves; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1/2 tsp paprika; 1/4 tsp of salt; 2 Tbsp greated lemon rind; 1/4 cup of olive oil.
Tzatziki – 1 Lebanese cucumber; 400ml of Greek yoghurt; 4 cloves of garlic; 3 Tbsp of mint chopped; 1 Tbsp of lemon juice
To make the skewers, place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together well using your hands. Mould small oval shapes onto each skewer. Put them into the fridge until you’re ready to cook them. When you’re ready, cook them on the BBQ, in the frying pan or under the grill.
To make the Tzatziki, halve the cucumbers lengthwise and remove the seeds but leave the skin on. Grate it into a bowl, sprinkle it with salt and set it aside for 15 minutes. Rinse the cucumber well, place in a clean tea towel and squeeze all the moisture out. Place it back into the bowl and add the remaining ingredients, mix together well and add salt and pepper to taste. To serve, place a couple of teaspoons of Tzatziki into a shot glass and serve with a lamb skewer on top.
I like many things about this idea. Firstly they look fabulous and very appetising when put on the serving tray. There is just something about individual serves that captures people’s interest. Secondly, each of these recipes is full of flavour and offers a healthier fresher option to their deep fried counterparts. Lastly, they eliminate those infamous double dippers that we all dread.
Now if you don’t have a supply of shot glasses on hand, then there is no need to fret you can still make this idea work. Most supermarkets and even the ‘$2’ type stores sell little plastic tasting cups that work just as well and are usually a very reasonable price. But I would say that any little, food safe containers that you have available could be used.
So enjoy the recipes, and have fun wowing your guests. And if you have any tried and true ideas for other shot glass appetisers or what to use as little containers we’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.