A winter dinner party

I've got some friends coming over for dinner tonight so I thought I'd get my menu on record!  It's also a way of keeping track what I cook!  I just made a celeriac and leek soup, and I think I might finish that with some truffle oil just before serving.  I think the truffle will go really well with the earthy flavours of the celeriac.

Main course will be a few recipes from Marcella Hazan - I was looking through her Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking again last night and she never ceases to inspire me!  I'll do her pork chops in marsala and  red wine, together with braised carrots, and some nice creamy polenta to go with that.

Dessert is - as it mostly is - one of my own concoctions.   I hadn't made pannacotta for a while so I did a plain vanilla pannacotta - it's setting in dariole moulds in the fridge now.  Last night I quartered a quince and stewed that in some water with sugar and chinese five spices, and at the end I added a nice ripe comice pear - just for a few minutes so it didn't over-cook.  So that will go with the pannacotta, together with a sauce I made this morning - a reduction of dry amontillado sherry and dark chestnut honey - a last minute idea I had!  It's a pretty aromatic sauce - what with the nutty sherry and the strong flavour of chestnut honey -but then the pannacotta will be quite neutral so I think it will go well with that and the spicy pears.