10 easy recipes for entertaining during the holidays

With a turkey, pig’s feet stew, a holiday yule log and everything else to accompany a meal, entertaining for Christmas can quickly become long and complicated. But it doesn’t have to be! We found 10 festive recipes from aperitif to dessert that are easily prepared, with simple ingredients. Happy holidays!

For the aperitif

1. Cranberry cocktail

To kick off the celebrations, there is nothing more apropos than a holiday-coloured cocktail. With bright red cranberries, cranberry cocktail juice and cranberry marmalade, it’s a perfect fit. Add carbonated water to lengthen the drink to serve as a mocktail, or a little vodka to serve it as a cocktail.

See the full recipe: Cranberry Celebration Cocktail

2. Gravlax and sour cream hors d’oeuvres by Ricardo

Making homemade gravlax requires a few days of marinating, but there are also prepared gravlax options available at the grocery store, such as RICARDO's, which can be used instead in this recipe. Place it in small shells topped with mustard sour cream for chic hors d’oeuvres that come together in just a few minutes.

See the full recipe: Gravlax and sour cream hors d’oeuvres by Ricardo

3. Maple cocktail wieners

Give your guests a hit of nostalgia with small maple wieners! Simply prepare a sauce made with maple syrup, chili sauce and sambal oelek and pour it over the hot sausages. Smiles and success are guaranteed!

See the full recipe: Maple cocktail wieners

Side dishes

4. Maple-glazed carrots

Simple carrots for Christmas? Yes, but with a refined touch! Let the carrots simmer in a pan with chicken broth, then add butter and maple syrup until glazed. For an even more elevated effect, choose carrots with their tops and leave them whole.

See the full recipe: Maple-glazed carrots

5. Beets with balsamic vinegar

The biggest challenge of this recipe is peeling the beets; the rest is child’s play (to skip this step, buy precooked beets at the grocery store!). Top the sliced beets with oil and balsamic vinegar, roasted walnuts, crumbled goat cheese and thyme. Serve the plate of beets in the centre of the table to create a beautiful effect.

See the full recipe: Beets with balsamic vinegar

6. Apple and cranberry stuffing

A turkey meal is never really complete if it is not accompanied by stuffing. This recipe requires a little more preparation than the others on this list, but it does prove that making stuffing is not complicated. It includes simple ingredients such as bread, cranberries, apples and sausages that are all cooked in a single pan.

See the full recipe: Apple and cranberry stuffing

Main course

7. Smoked cheese and mushroom-stuffed turkey breast

This year, opt for turkey breast rather than a whole turkey that needs to be brined and requires constant attention. With this recipe, you only have to prepare a stuffing with ground chicken, mushrooms and smoked cheese and place it in the centre of the already cut turkey breast to form a pouch. All that remains is to tie it up and pop it in the oven for an hour.

See the full recipe: Smoked cheese and mushroom-stuffed turkey breast

8. Christmas meatballs

To surprise guests, give them a little taste of Italy with holiday meatballs. These ones are made of ground pork and turkey, herbs, breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. Serve them with a marinara sauce and mashed potatoes (for a little bit of tradition!). Buon Natale!

See the full recipe: Christmas meatballs

For desserts

9. Panettone trifle by Stefano Faita

This dazzling dessert takes only 25 minutes to prepare. It contains frozen berries and syrup as well as mascarpone cheese cream. Assemble the trifle by creating layers of panettone, fruit and cream in a glass dish that allows you to admire it.

See the full recipe: Panettone trifle by Stefano Faita

10. White chocolate cheesecake from Ricardo

If you have several guests, you will enjoy this cheesecake recipe that’s served in single portions. It is easy to assemble the glasses in layers; first, the graham cracker crumble, then the cream cheese preparation, then fresh berries on top.

See the full recipe: White chocolate cheesecake from Ricardo