Party food always tastes better on a skewer. Celebrate with our cocktail stick canapés

Do you remember cheese and pineapple on a stick? Everyone always loved them, but they were just a bit naff. Well now naff is back, and so are they.

Canapés on a stick were always a good idea, easy to eat and just the right size. The only worry was where to put the skewer. Canny hostesses provided a suitable container where guests could discreetly drop the offending twigs – less switched-on ones found them months later in pot plants and down the sides of sofas.

Woody herb sprigs such as rosemary make excellent skewers. Most food halls sell novel cocktail sticks, or you can make them yourself from supermarket ones. Using a glue gun, carefully glue tiny objects such as shells or dried flower buds to one end of an ordinary cocktail stick.

One of the greatest advantages of cocktail stick canapés is that they can be assembled easily and in advance. Really good hot canapés always go first, but can be a bore to make with lots of last-minute fiddling around in the kitchen. Not so with skewered canapés. Just thread the desired ingredients onto a stick, make a marinade and then refrigerate until ready to cook. Brush the skewers with the flavourings and then pop them into the oven or grill.

Simple tricks for cocktail sticks

1. Figs in a blanket: wrap quartered fresh figs with Parma ham and secure with a cocktail stick. Sprinkle over some olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then heat the grill to maximum and grill for 3-5 minutes, turning the figs halfway through cooking. To serve, drizzle over more olive oil and season with freshly milled pepper.
2. Make the whole thing edible by using grissini, spreading one end with cream cheese, then rolling it in toasted sesame seeds.
3. Slit open softened prunes almost all the way through, and stuff with mango chutney, then wrap in bacon and secure with a stick. These are easy to make and can be prepared way in advance. You can either grill them or bake them. When you’re ready to serve them, dust with cayenne pepper.

4. A fun way to make your own canapés is to prepare a platter or tray with small bowls of cubed mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, pitted olives, a fresh large basil plant for people to pick the leaves off and a bundle of cocktail sticks for guests to make their own canapés. Leave a bowl of olive oil on the side for dunking.
5. Marinated prawns wrapped in mangetouts are very simple to make. Blanch some mange-touts and set aside. Either using a store-bought dressing or your own home-made dressing (I would use something oriental), put your defrosted, cooked prawns into a resealable bag and marinade for a minimum of 2 hours in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve, take a prawn, wrap it with the mangetout and skewer it with a cocktail stick to secure. You can use a Savoy cabbage to display the canapés: poke the sticks into the cabbage and place on a plate.
6. Thread 1 shitaake mushroom onto a sprig of rosemary, leaving all the leaves on the exposed end, and place in a shallow bowl. Whisk together 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 3 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper and pour over the mushrooms. Set aside for a minimum of 1 hour. When ready to cook, heat a ridged pan until smoking, and grill them for about 2 minutes each side. They are delicious hot but can also be served at room temperature.
7. What party would be complete without a sausage on a stick? Cook mini sausages in honey and mustard until glistening, then secure on a stick and serve with a selection of grainy mustards.