Post moving dinner with friends

There is nothing like having friends over and I really do like cooking things I know our friends and family will love. Just after moving in our closest friends Nicky & Brian came over to see the new house and catch up.

**Double baked cheese soufflé with pear salad**

I like to theme and this theme was “English” as a little birdie told me Nicky LOVES sticky toffee pudding.
We made: Double baked cheese soufflé with pear salad
Beef wellington with potato bake, glazed carrots and sugar snaps
Sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream and cream

I started by making the sticky toffee puddings the night before because they really do become stickier and more unctuous.

The next day I did the first bake of the soufflés early, covered them in cream and cheese and covered with cling film ready for baking later.

I then moved on to my wellington, I roasted the beef and made a start on the mushroom for the wellington and left it to cool and then made and assembled the potato bake and covered in foil and prepped the vegetables and put them in the pan with water, sugar and butter and covered for cooking later.

I then assembled the wellington and got this in to chill.

This means that on the evening almost everything is ready and you can just enjoy the evening and your company. When our friends arrived we enjoyed a glass of Prosecco and after we had caught up I put the soufflés in for their second cook and made the salad.

Just before sitting down to eat I put the wellington and potato bake in to cook. I cooked the veg when the wellington and potato bake come out as they only take 5 minutes. We served this with a beautiful red Amarone.

Once we had finished eating the main we had a little rest before heating the sticky toffee puddings for 20-25 mins which we served with Campbell’s Muscat - a perfect pairing!

Having friends over should be a pleasure, prepare ahead meals means you can kick back and enjoy your evening without spending hours in the kitchen.