Say cheese!

Tonight's dinner party ended with some wonderful cheese chosen by our friend J. Here it is, all wrapped up on the dresser with the smiley cheese knives, just before six of us sat down to eat. Also on the menu were:

With drinks before the meal: smoked salmon pâté served on German rye bread; hummus (also on rye bread); mozzarella pearls with baby vine tomatoes

First course: roast sweet potato soup

Main course: cod and prawn stew  (or carrot savoury layer cake) served with boiled potatoes, green beans and roasted baby courgettes

Pudding: tarte tatin

I have to say that I suffered a degree of performance anxiety as I cooked up this feast. This is because one of our guests has worked in some of the country's best Michelin-starred restaurants. Happily everything seemed to go down very well, and we all enjoyed one another's company until the early hours.

Exercise today: none