Nifty nibbles

An American recipe for egg nog and some surefire snacks to get an impromptu party rolling, writes DOMINI KEMP

INEVITABLY IT’S GOING to happen. You’ll casually ask someone round for a drink and bam, you’ll end up in a blind panic as to what to serve them as you know that a packet of dry roasted peanuts just won’t do. Therefore, here are a couple of nifty nibbles ideas that could potentially be whipped up from store and freezer ingredients.

I’ve also included a very seasonal drink recipe for egg nog, which I’m predicting will be the thing to drink this Christmas, mainly because it’s delicious and will get you sozzled fairly quickly. This recipe has been given to me by my dear friend and colleague, Roark Cassidy, who now calls Ireland his home, thanks to Angelyn, the fine Irish woman he married. The US’s loss is most definitely Ireland’s gain. He kindly converted this from US measurements to metric and he tells me this recipe has been adapted from a recipe fabled to be from the hand-written papers of George Washington, which was served to Christmas guests at his estate in Virginia called Mount Vernon.

Cassidy quite rightly points out that this egg nog (aka Santa’s rocket fuel or holiday grog) contains raw eggs, so therefore may not be too popular with anyone pregnant, very young or very old, or anyone with a weakened immune system. Eating raw eggs is not that big a deal as far as I’m concerned, if they are good quality. But, needless to say, it’s up to you.

Roark’s egg nog

Makes at least 10-15 drinks

450ml Cognac

225ml bourbon

225ml dark Jamaican rum

125ml medium dry sherry

1 litre milk

1 litre cream

12 eggs, separated

200g caster sugar

Pour all the alcohol, the cream and milk into a jug and set aside. Add sugar to the egg yolks and mix with an electric mixer until thick, pale and creamy (about five minutes). Slowly add half of the cream and alcohol mixture to the whisked eggs and sugar. Beat the egg whites until stiff and gently fold these into the egg and sugar mixture and then add the remainder of the cream and alcohol mixture. Add everything slowly and gradually. Let this sit in the refrigerator overnight, but shake well before serving cold, with some freshly grated nutmeg.

Grilled chorizo with romesco sauce

In fairness, you’re not going to just “whip up” this romesco sauce, but these grilled bits of chorizo don’t need anything except a napkin and a glass of vino.

Serves 4-6

1-2 chorizo sausages

drizzle of olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

This couldn’t be easier. Slice the chorizo into one-centimetre-thick slices. Heat up the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and when it is nearly smoking, fry the chorizo over a high heat until it is starting to caramelise. A lot of oil will start oozing into the pan. When they’ve got good colour, add the balsamic and let them get all glazed up. Remove with a slotted spoon or just drain on kitchen paper and serve with some romesco sauce to dunk them into.

Romesco sauce

2 red peppers

4 tomatoes

50ml olive oil

Salt and pepper

Few cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

30g flaked almonds

Good pinch of smoked sweet paprika

1 slice of stale bread, roughly torn

Splash of sherry vinegar

Pre-heat an oven to 240 degrees/gas mark nine. Slice the red peppers and chuck away the seeds and green bits. Cut the tomatoes in half and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with half the olive oil, season well with plenty of salt and pepper and roast for 20-25 minutes until just starting to char. Transfer to a food processor and add the rest of the ingredients. Whizz until your have a thick but smooth paste. You may need to add some more olive oil. Season well and serve with the chorizo.

Prawns with garlic and feta

It’s up to you what way you want to serve this: either as individual prawns with some of the feta and garlic butter drizzled on top, or do as we’ve done here and put them on some bread for a kind of really delicious, posh prawns on toast. Use whatever prawns are handy – frozen, cooked or uncooked.

Serves 10

100 g butter

8 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

Good pinch of chilli flakes

Splash of olive oil

1 kg frozen prawns

Salt and pepper

Bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Juice of 2 lemons

1 x 200g pack feta cheese, finely diced

You might need to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your frying pan. But regardless, have a big platter or some bits of toast ready.

Melt half or all of the butter and add the garlic, the chilli and a splash of olive oil. When it is hot (but don’t let the garlic burn) add the prawns and turn up the heat. Cook them out, tossing regularly so they are well coated in butter and garlic. Season with plenty of black pepper and just a little salt. Add the chopped parsley, the lemon juice and finally the feta. Mix well, and when it’s hot through and the prawns are fully cooked, spoon on to the platter or on to toast. Eat immediately.

See also itsa.ie