Quick and easy entertaining drinks and canapes from the pros

• 70+ canapes guaranteed to get the party started

Top chefs share the go-to canape or drink recipe they'll be whipping up over the festive season.

Jeff Schroeter's (Beckett's in Glebe) chef's martini

Summer holidays are a great excuse to have a martini earlier in the day. This is a dirty wet martini best served before a meal. It's what I'd call an approachable martini. Jeff Schroeter

INGREDIENTS

• 120ml gin
• 90ml vermouth
• ½ tsp olive brine
• 1 large ice cube

METHOD

1. Combine gin, vermouth and olive brine in a cocktail shaker. Add a big cube of ice – let it sit for 2-3 minutes so the ice melts slightly.
2. Shake, then strain in a martini glass. Garnish with one or three olives (never an even number – it's just not done!)

Makes 2

Tips:

• Make sure everything you are using, including the glass and cocktail shaker, is ice-cold before you start.
• Use a dry vermouth and a dry gin. North of Eden Oyster Shell Gin is my new favourite.
• Ratios are important. Three parts gin to two parts vermouth is perfect.
• Opt for Sicilian or Queen Green olives. Keep the jar in the fridge and use the brine from the jar.

Frank Camorra's (MoVida) white sangria

This sangria recipe is always such a party-pleaser – it looks and tastes like a lot of effort, but in reality is simple, meaning you can get out of the kitchen and spend more time drinking them. But be careful. It goes down very easily. Frank Camorra

INGREDIENTS

• 310ml white wine
• 125ml white rum
• 60ml Cointreau
• seeds from 1 pomegranate
• 4 lemon wedges
• 4 lime wedges
• 500ml soda water or lemonade, chilled
• 6 mint sprigs (leaves only)

METHOD

1. Combine the wine, rum, Cointreau, pomegranate seeds and lemon wedges in a pitcher and mix.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
3. Fill four large tumblers with ice and add a lime wedge to each glass.
4. Pour the soda water into the pitcher, then pour the sangria into the glasses over the ice.
5. Garnish each glass with mint leaves.

Makes about 1 litre (4 glasses)

Jacqui Challinor's (Nomad) grilled padron peppers stuffed with cotechino

​This was a little dish I came up with for Nomad when we moved to the Longrain site after the fire. Dad is always cooking chorizo over the fire at Christmas. We normally pick up sticks in the backyard to skewer them so I guess this is a bit of a fancier version of this, no backyard twigs required. Jacqui Challinor

INGREDIENTS

• 12 large padron peppers
• 1 cotechino sausage (or any sausage you like just as long as it's not too spicy as the padrons can pack a punch!)
• 25ml cabernet sauvignon vinegar (I use Forvm)
• 50ml extra virgin olive oil
• fleur de sel, to taste

METHOD

1. Wash and pat dry the padrons.
2. Slice down the length of the padrons to open them up, being careful not to cut through both sides.
3. Break up the cotechino in a bowl so it's easier to handle.
4. Use your hands to stuff the sausage into the pepper.
5. Heat a barbecue (charcoal or wood-fire is best for flavour but gas or a hot oven will work, also) and cook the padrons until charred all over.
6. Transfer to a serving platter, drizzle with vinegar and olive oil, finish with a sprinkling of fleur de sel and serve immediately.

Makes 12

Andrew McConnell's (Gimlet) gildas

My festive season gatherings this year will be kick-started by our interpretation of the classic Basque pintxo, the gilda. Typically, three tasty morsels – a pickled guindilla chillies, an anchovy and an olive – are assembled on a small skewer or toothpick so they can be easily eaten in one bite. Whether you're drinking sherry or champagne, a plate of gildas passed around among your guests is both delicious and low-fuss – a great scene-setter to get your party under way. Andrew McConnell

INGREDIENTS

• 4 green olives, halved and spread with soft goat's cheese
• 4 guindilla chillies
• 1 marinated (bullhorn) pepper, cut into 4 strips
• 4 Ortiz anchovies
• 1 tbsp soft herb leaves (parsley and basil)
• extra virgin olive oil

METHOD

1. Take four cocktail skewers, and on each skewer place one olive half (with the goat's cheese), one guindilla, one anchovy, one piece of pepper, some of the herbs and another olive half.
2. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Makes 4

• Also try: Katrina Meynink's gildas (tapas on toothpicks)

Tony Twitchett's (Taxi Kitchen) baked scallops

​A seafood summer always reminds me of visiting my grandparents. At Christmas, Pop would always go to South Melbourne Market to buy fresh prawns, crayfish, oysters and scallops, which he would serve through the entire festive season. Tony Twitchett

INGREDIENTS

• 24 scallops, cleaned, in half shell
• 35g Lao Gan Ma chilli sauce
• 40g miso
• 500g butter, room temperature
• 1 tbsp brown rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp white soy
• 20g chives, chopped
• 10 parsley stalks, chopped
• 1 tsp salt

METHOD

1. Crush Lao Gan Ma until smooth using a mortar and pestle then add miso to make a paste.
2. Transfer to a bowl and add butter, vinegar, soy, herbs and salt, mixing until combined.
3. Roll the butter into a log using plastic wrap and freeze. (Tip: This freezes well for up to three months.)
4. When needed, cut butter into 5mm thick slices.
5. Heat oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
6. Place scallops in a tray, put a slice of flavoured butter on top of each scallop and bake for five to six minutes.
7. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Makes 24

Guy Grossi's (Grossi Florentino) Fiori di zucca, stracchino (Zucchini flowers with stracchino and mint)

These little tasty morsels disappear as the conversation builds around the kitchen counter. A prosecco in one hand and a crunchy zucchini flower in the other – now that feels festive. The most fulfilling thing about this dish for me is that it takes me back to childhood. Mamma would make dozens of these at almost every celebration. We would sneak in and attack before guests had even arrived. Guy Grossi

INGREDIENTS

• 12 male zucchini flowers
• 300g stracchino cheese or fresh ricotta
• 6 mint leaves, chopped
• 40g grana padano parmigiano, grated
• sea salt

Batter

• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsp freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 50g grana padano parmigiano, grated
• salt and pepper

To cook

• olive oil
• plain flour
• sea salt

METHOD

1. Make the batter by whisking together the eggs, parsley and parmigiano and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Carefully remove the stamen from inside each zucchini flower.
3. Place the stracchino and parmigiano into a food processor and blend to combine. Fold through the mint and season with the sea salt. Place mixture into a piping bag.
4. Open the zucchini flower carefully without breaking it and fill with stracchino mix. Close the flower to enclose the filling. Repeat with each flower.
5. Heat olive oil in frying pan on a moderate heat.
6. Coat each zucchini flower in flour, dip each flower in the batter, holding the flower by the stem. Pan-fry until golden on each side. You can do this in batches.
7. Place onto paper towels, sprinkle with sea salt, and serve while hot.

Makes 12

Joel Alderdice's (TarraWarra Estate) MonteNegroni

This is sweeter than a classic negroni. The spices in the gin pair nicely with the chinotto/cola flavour in the vermouth, and the Montenegro gives a slight bitterness and caramel flavour. I don't have a huge sweet tooth so this is my treat over the holidays. Joel Alderdice

INGREDIENTS

• 30ml Four Pillars Christmas Gin
• 30ml Amaro-Montenegro
• 45ml Fot-Li Vermut

METHOD

1. Pour straight over lots of ice and stir for five seconds.
2. Garnish with orange peel and serve.

Makes 1