In the mood to throw a soiree? Up your social ante with these restaurant-style finger foods, courtesy celebrity chef, cookery show host, writer and restaurateur Ritu Dalmia

Cold Vietnamese spring rolls
I first tasted Goi Cuon in a restaurant called Wok Wok on Fulham Road, in London. Later, when I travelled to Vietnam, it became my staple snack right through the trip. Miles and miles of rice paper were drying in the sun on the roadside. My companion saw it as a part of the culture, while I saw it as my next snack. It is all about perception, after all. I think I tried every possible combination in the ten days I was there - Goi Cuon with crispy pork belly, cold glass noodles, basil, shrimps... I just could not get enough of it!



In a way this simple starter represents everything Vietnamese cuisine stands for: it is refreshing, more tropical and fragrant than Chinese food, and lighter and more delicate in its flavours than Thai cuisine. Here is the recipe for the wonderful dish for you to experiment with. The quantities mentioned are for four rolls.

15 gm dry fine glass noodle
4 sheets Vietnamese rice paper, sprinkled with water
40 gm lettuce or any green leaf
1/2 cucumber, seeds removed, cut into matchsticks
1/2 carrot, cut into matchsticks
A handful of mint leaves
A handful of sweet basil leaves
20 gm bean sprouts
1 tbsp peanuts, crushed
Soy sauce as dip
Hoisin sauce as dip
Thai sweet chilli sauce as dip

> Soak glass noodles in cold water for 20 minutes, then place in boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Rinse under cold water, drain and set aside.
Place a sheet of rice paper on a plate. Brush it with some warm water to make it soft.
> Arrange lettuce, cucumber, carrot, mint leaves, basil leaves, bean sprouts and glass noodles on the rice paper, along the edge closest to you. Sprinkle some crushed peanuts.
> Pick up the two corners closest to you and roll away from you to form a neat parcel.
> Basically, you will roll it like you roll a spring roll.
> When you have finished making all four parcels, brush the rolls again with a bit of water. Rice paper dries up very quickly, and you'll want it moist, not chewy. The extra brushing just does the trick.
> Serve on a platter with generous helpings of hoisin sauce, soy sauce and Thai sweet chilli sauce. You could also serve it with a basic dipping sauce.
> For your non-vegetarian guests, you can add blanched prawns to the vegetable-and-peanut filling.

Watermelon and Feta Cheese Skewers
This is a version of a classic Greek salad, and the recipe is so simple that I am embarrassed to even call it a recipe! But it is always a super-hit when I make it for large cocktail parties as a revolving snack or serve it with aperitifs before a dinner.

200 gm watermelon, seeds removed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes 200 gm feta cheese or mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes a handful of basil leaves a splash of extra virgin olive oil Rock salt or sea salt to season