Christmas can be a very busy time of year, from shopping runs, to visiting friends, to spending quality time with your family, the stress can build up! If you’ve decided that you’re entertaining guests at home, and are looking for some simple ideas and recipes to try, why not give these a go? Here are our top recipes for easy entertaining.

Parma Ham, Apple and Dubliner Vintage Cheese Toasts

Makes 24

• 1 baguette, sliced into 24 rounds
• 40g Parma ham, sliced into 24 pieces
• 2 apples, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 x 200g Dubliner Vintage Block, sliced into 24 pieces
• 70g walnuts, roughly chopped

Method:

1. Preheat the grill. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking tray and grill for two minutes per side until golden brown.
2. Place one piece of Parma ham and two apple slices onto each round. Top with a slice of Dubliner Vintage Block and a few walnuts.
3. Place under the grill again for two minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Vintage Cheesy Mince Pies

Serves 8

• ½ tbsp olive oil
• 15g butter
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 500g mince
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 500ml beef stock
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• Salt and black pepper
• 4 sheets of frozen puff pastry, thawed
• ½ x 200g Dubliner Vintage Block, cut into eight slices
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp milk

Method:

1. Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the onion for five minutes until soft. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute.
2. Add the mince and carrot and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mince is browned and cooked through.
3. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, flour, mixed herbs, stock and tomato purée and season with salt and pepper.
4. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature.
5. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180˚C fan/gas mark 6. Butter eight individual ramekins and line with pastry. Cut eight circles out of the extra pastry, big enough to cover each ramekin.
6. Spoon the mince mixture into each ramekin and top with slices of the Dubliner Vintage Block. Add the pastry tops over each and use a fork to seal the edges with the pastry used to line the ramekins.
7. Whisk the egg and milk together and brush over each pastry top. Use a knife to make two slits in the top for steam to vent.
8. Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is golden.  Leave to cool for five minutes before serving.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

• Betty Crocker’s Red Velvet Cupcake Mix
• 30ml vegetable oil (2 tbsp)
• 60ml water (4 tbsp)
• 2 medium free range eggs
• Regular size muffin tray

Icing:

• Vanilla Buttercream Style Icing

Method:

1. Mix the eggs, oil, water and cake mix gently together and whisk (by hand or electric mixer) for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy.
2. Pour the mixture evenly into the cupcake cases.
3. Bake in the centre of the oven for 16 minutes or until a rounded knife inserted into the deepest part of a cupcake comes out clean. Leave to cool. 
4. Ice with Betty Crocker Vanilla Buttercream Style Icing

Tortatta

Serves 4

• 250g (9oz) bacon lardons
• 3 medium onions, finely diced
• 1 red pepper, finely diced
• Boiled potatoes, cooled and thickly sliced (or if using raw potatoes, sliced really thin)
• 6 eggs
• 50ml (1. fl oz) full fat milk (or cream)
• 200g (7oz) grated cheddar cheese
• Handful of basil leaves, torn into small pieces
• Handful of pine nuts, toasted on a dry hot pan
• Maldron sea salt & cracked black pepper

Method:

1. Fry the bacon first in a little oil until nice and brown. Add the onions and pepper and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Season with cracked pepper and some sea salt.
2. Arrange the potato over the onion mix. (If you’ve forgotten to boil the potatoes, use raw potatoes sliced very thinly. Top with the remaining cheese andAfter you’ve added the them to the onion mix, cover and very gently heat for 10 minutes). Season again. Beat the eggs with the milk/cream. Add half of the grated cheddar cheese and all of the basil to the eggs. Gently, work the egg & cheese into the bacon and potatoes.
3. toasted pine nuts. You could add grated Parmesan also if you want to indulge!
4. Bake covered, in 175°C (350°F), gas mark 4 oven for 30 minutes. Take the cover off ten minutes before it’s done. The tortatta should be nicely risen, and not runny in the centre. If in doubt, leave it in the oven for a few more minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving with lots of coffee and buttered toast.
5. Some tips on this: (1) You can also serve this cold for a picnic with a nice summer salad. (2) A tiny thin spread of Vegemite on toast goes really well with this! (3) For a vegetarian option, add chopped asparagus to the onion and pepper.

Red Fruit Coulis with a Cranberry and Meringue Top

Serves: 4

• 1 egg white
• 300g icing sugar
• 50g of Ocean Spray Craisins®Dried Cranberries
• 400g of red berriese.g. raspberries, redcurrants, blackberries
• 30g sugar

Method:

1. Remove the stalks and wash the berries.  Place in a pan with the 30g of sugar and a little water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes until the fruit is soft.  Cool a little, whizz in a blender then strain through a sieve rubbing it through with the back of a spoon.
2. Lightly beat the egg white and then sift the icing sugar over the top. Stir thoroughly, adding the Craisins® Dried Cranberries,until the mixture is malleable and can be rolled into four balls. Place on greaseproof paper and then onto a heat proof dish.
3. Place in the microwave on high power for1minute to 1minute 30 seconds.
4. Pour the coulis into 4 glasses, top with the meringue and chill before serving.

Vintage Cheese Jalapeño Poppers

Makes 12

• 12 fresh jalapeño peppers
• 1 x 200g Dubliner Vintage Block, grated
• 1 tsp Tabasco
• Salt and black pepper
• 100g breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 3 eggs, beaten
• Vegetable oil, for frying

To serve:

• Tomato salsa
• Sour cream

Method:

1. Cut a lengthwise slit down each jalapeño. Make a crosswise incision at the stem end, forming a ‘T’, and open the jalapeño. Use a small knife or teaspoon to scrape out the seeds.
2. Stir together the grated Dubliner Vintage Block, Tabasco and a pinch of salt and black pepper.
3. Fill the jalapeños with the mixture and press the seams closed so it retains its shape.
4. Stir together the breadcrumbs, oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Place the eggs in a separate bowl and the flour in another.
5. Dip the jalapeños in the flour, then the egg, then coat in the breadcrumbs. Repeat the egg and breadcrumbs for each jalapeño to form a second layer. Place in the fridge to chill for at least an hour, but up to 8 hours ahead would be preferable.
6. Heat enough oil to come 5cm up the sides of a saucepan over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, fry the jalapeños in batches for 5-7 minutes until brown and crispy. Drain on plates lined with kitchen paper and serve with salsa and sour cream to dip.

Recipes courtesy of Dubliner Cheese, Two Rooms | Breakfasts & Brunches Cookbook, Ocean Spray and Betty Crocker