Donald Russell Christmas Party Box
Christmas parties can be such a drag as there is so much to shop for and prepare. How great would it be if we had a team of elves helping us out in the kitchen. It’s not just the big Christmas lunch, there are also all the canapes and tid bits that we ambitiously want to make to thrill our guests with.
How about a little short cut? I got a Party Pack from Donald Russell to try and it came with a variety of finger foods like meatballs, little ham croissants, sausage rolls, fish cakes, mini burgers and chipolatas.
They all came frozen and oven ready which made is a cinch to prepare. Half an hour before my guests arrived, I egg washed the sausage rolls and ham croissants and brushed the fish cakes with some oil. I then popped them in the oven as they took about the same time, 20 minutes. I served them as canapes but you could serve the fish cakes as a starter with some salad.
Next I started pan frying the mini burgers while I prepped the buns for my designer sliders. I slathered on some beer mustard, fried some onions and out them all together. I also fried the meat balls and served them with a sweet chilli dip but in hindsight should have done something different with them.
My guests were really impressed by the sausage rolls and fish cakes. They also loved the meaty sliders.
For main course, the meat fest continued. We had a roast belly of veal which came all trussed up and ready for the oven. I roasted this with some vegetables in a pan and added some red wine, orange juice and some stock about half and hour before the end to make some gravy. This was also used to baste the veal.
The veal came out tender and delicious and was so easy to carve. Served with roast potatoes, it was a very substantial meal. The veal served about 6 and there was some leftover.
To finish, we had the Anton Mossiman’s Christmas Pudding. This we microwaved in the oven for 4 minutes and served with some double cream and custard. This was declared the best Christmas pudding by my guests as it was not overly sweet or stodgy and had quite a light texture. My friend who does not eat Christmas puddings even had 2 helpings.
If you are fretting over how to cater for your New Year’s Eve party, get one of these packs. It’s easy and delicious and saves you time to doll yourself up and enjoy the party instead of slaving in the kitchen. You can order from their online store here and pick your own delivery dates.
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