Dinner party

We had friends over for dinner on Saturday night, here's a recap of the evening:

Centerpiece - my flower arranging skills are slowly improving over time.

Antipasto - prosciutto di parma, calabrese salame, olives, piquillo peppers, fresh mozzarella marinated with chives and olive oil, and artichokes marinated with lemon and parsley. Served with homemade focaccia

Baby arugula, blood oranges, marcona almonds, dates and shaved parmesan. Adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques.

Porter ale braised short ribs with rosemary and maple glaze from All About Braising, served with celery root and potato puree and rainbow chard with shallots.

White chocolate mousse with passionfruit gelee, garnished with white chocolate curls - from The New Spanish Table.

The good thing about this menu was that almost everything could be made in advance, so I spent very little time in the kitchen when our friends were here. I was pretty happy with the way everything came out, although there's always room for improvement - I tend to be my own worst critic. But it was fun, and that's what matters, right?