Wintertaining

On Wednesday (which was a holiday in Austria) I invited "the Girls" for a little Advent party. Food-wise, it was very relaxed and low-key and I had prepared puff pastry with 3 different savoury fillings, a gratin, cheese and smokes salmon. I composed a wintery aperitif - infuse cranberry juice with cinnamon rind, cloves, vanilla seeds for 3 days, sieve and poured into another container and add fresh orange and pineapple juice. Pour into a champagne flute (about half full) and top up with prosecco: really tasty and with a hint of spice, like a posh punch or molled wine.
I also assembled what I had baked so far - plus 2 varieties of biscuits my Mum had made, but not much got eaten after the savoury part.

The white things in the centre are snow-capped fairy cakes which I had sprinkled with  (edible) glitter I bought in Manchester. Very pretty and thanks to a fluffy and lemony base not nearly as rich as you would expect. Recipe here. 

Click to get the full glittery benefit. 

I don't know which I love more: decorating the table/room or preparing the dishes, but I tend to go into Bree-mode when I'm entertaining and love the feeling of contentment when everything is finished before the first guest rings the bell.