Christmas Appetisers - Feed The Drinkers - When Only White Bread will do

It's that wonderful time of the year again Christmas and it is usually full of good cheer
It is really important that you feed the drinkers
The best soaker upper, is of course...White bread
Of course offer lovely crisp vege and dips, also I do have some gluten free appetisers in another blog
Click here to view.

You can serve a cheese board with cherries, for those who are not eating bread, but for the majority,

How about these Little Chicken and Pistachio Sandwiches, and some Mushroom filled Patty Cases

I have stolen the Sandwich filling from my good friends Mary and Catherine
Probably a little different from theirs, but any way you do it,
Guaranteed Tasty!

So first buy some white sandwich sliced bread
Butter well

Filling
1 medium chicken breast poached and finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped pistachio nuts
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
2 tablespoons finely chopped gherkins
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mix together well

Place filling on one slice of the bread
Cover with another buttered slice
flatten with your hand and cut off the crusts
Cut into triangles
Pop on a little plate
Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley

So for the Mushroom Savouries
I found these in one of my Cajun Cooking Bibles

Terry Thompson’s “Cajun-Creole Cooking”.
I have just checked out Amazon.com and you can buy Terry’s book from them.
It is a great addition to your Cookbook Library

First make the Patty Cases.
These are the best ones I have ever made.
You must use the (as we call it) "plastic" white sandwich bread.
You know that soft white bread that the food police say “DON’T EAT”…

I have to say when one has a hangover, a little sandwich made from this bread, maybe bacon and mashed egg, is just the ticket.

So cut the crusts off and roll the bread both ways

Butter the bread 
Cut out shapes with a pastry cutter.

I used these mini muffin tins. I got 2 rounds per slice of bread.

Butter the muffin tins and carefully press the bread rounds in.
Buttered side down
Bake 200C for 10 minutes. You can keep them in an airtight container for a few days or they will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

 Mushroom Filling.
¼ cup unsalted butter
4 green onions chopped
2 tablespoons minced parsley
2 tablespoons minced chives
250 gm mushrooms finely chopped
3 tablespoons flour
¾ cup cream
¼ teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme finely chopped
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt
1 tablespoons lemon juice
24 baked Patty Shells
Grated Parmesan Cheese.
2 tablespoons butter at room temperature

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat
Add green onions parsley and chives

Cook until wilted about 3 minutes
Add mushrooms
Cook 10 minutes, or until liquid evaporates.
Sprinkle flour over mixture, stir till blended
Cook 2 minutes stirring it will be dry be careful it doesn’t stick to pan.
Stir in cream, thyme cayenne freshly ground black pepper, salt and lemon juice.
Reduce heat to low cook 5 minutes or until thickened.

Preheat over to 175C
Place patty pans on baking tray and fill with cooled mixture.
Top with a little Parmesan cheese and ¼ teaspoon butter
To add to the Christmas Theme, 
I topped them with a little slice of tomato and a little touch parsley

Bake about 10 minutes until mixture is bubbling

 I made the Mushroom Savouries for a drinks party yesterday and they were gone in minutes
BUT There is more
There was a lot of buttered scraps of bread left over and being a good Waste Not Want Not girl
I decided to make these into crisps to have with our pre-dinner wine
I sprinkled them with Dukkah which I had leftover from some yummy cheese balls I made last week
Then finely grated some Pecorino over the top

Bake at 190C for about 10 minutes, check after 8 to make sure they don't burn

On the left the breadcases about to be frozen for use next week
On the right the crisps
They all disappeared in one sitting
Very pleased with those