First Ever Dinner Party

Well, not really my first ever dinner party, but the first ever dinner party I've cooked for.  Ian does all the cooking in our house, so when we have friends over, I do all the "Can I get you a drink?" and conversation making, while he cooks lovely three course meals for us all. 

This time, I gave it a go, so I could appreciate the hard work he does.  I did have him on hand for advice and I tried to keep my menu simple, but I was still really proud of myself.  I think it all went off without a hitch because I did as much prepping as I could before they arrived.  

For the starter, I made small puff pastry tart things, topped with mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, basil and proscuitto.  This is them before they were baked...

And after...

For the main course, I wanted to go for something not to huge as it was just a week night so three courses was probably a bit much already!  I cooked chicken thighs covered in some nandos rub, baked sweet potatoes and a salad.  I totally forgot to take a picture of this until we were half way through, but I tried to make it look as pretty as I could for you.  

Dessert I had made the night before, a cheesecake (as I've just discovered I can eat these without feeling sick as long as I don't overindulge).  It wasn't your normal round cheesecake, this one was baked in a loaf tin.  I added some water to some jam and reduced into a quick and easy sauce, and then topped with berries.  Ian decided he preferred this cheesecake to my last ones, because I used shortbread for the biscuit base and it was yummier. 

All in all, a definite success!