We all love a good canapé after a prosecco or two, right?

You can’t go wrong with the classics. Anything wrapped in pastry is always a winner, but realistically who’s going to prepare and bake dozens of mini sausage rolls by hand when you can grab them from the supermarket?

For eye-catching party pick-ups that are simple yet effective follow our fuss free guide, so you can spend more time perfecting your look for the night. Winning.

Getting Sticky With It

For a twist on the traditional cheese and pickle ‘a la toothpick’, here are a few combos to try;

• Melon, prosciutto and mozzarella skewers with balsamic glaze
Go for Canary or cantaloupe melon, Parma ham as an alternative and mozzarella pearls where available

• Olives, Manchego cheese and chorizo skewers with chilli jam
We like lemon olives, always pitted, with chunky diced cheese and slices of cooked chorizo or kabanos sausage

• Seared steak with your favourite dip
Choose your fave cut of steak, allow it to come to room temperature out of the packet, rub with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, cook on a griddle medium rare. Leave it to rest and then cut up into bitesize chunks, one per cocktail stick.
TIPS
 Dress your platter with rocket first and place a ramekin for your sauce in the centre. Display your canapes in a circular pattern around the dip for easy grabbing! The steak looks great with printed cocktail stick flags to match your party theme.

Time For Tea

Dig out your retro teaware for the fanciest looking appetiser that will appeal to all your vegan and veggie guests too. Soups are really simple to whip together and look totally chic served in a teacup and saucer. The key is going for something colourful and avoiding recipes with cream or meat stock.

‘Carrot and Coriander’, ‘Roasted Red Pepper’ and ‘Butternut Squash with Fresh Chilli’ are all crowd pleasers. You can make in advance and reheat just before serving.

Lettuce Entertain You

Anything that you’d put in a salad works here. The trick is keeping it quite chunky and using nothing too runny so it’s easy to pick up and eat without it going down your dress!

Method:
Tear the individual leaves from a baby gem, rinse and pat dry before filling with your toppers.
• Pulled chicken with sun-dried tomatoes and pesto
Buy a cooked chicken and jars of tomatoes & pesto

• Prawn, mango, chilli and lime with a itsy drizzle of olive oil
Buy cooked prawns and diced mango from the frozen section, defrost before preparing

Make A Toast

Bruschetta will never go out of fashion if you style it out with trendiest toppers.

• Smashed Avocado, Feta and Sriracha

• Hummus & Roasted Peppers
You can buy roast peppers in the antipasti jar section in most supermarkets

• Flakes of smoked salmon with cream cheese, sweet chilli sauce and black pepper
Tip; buy the cooked chilli smoked fillets and add a squeeze of lemon juice

All of the above work on wedges of toasted sourdough, sliced crusty baguette or toasted ciabatta.
With a line-up that you’ve got the recipe for killer evening, time to pop open some bubbles and let loose.

Image credit: @ktforrester