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!
