Just a blue tit

A dank, miserable day when it hardly got light. Today it was the Christmas gathering of the Grafton Girls - rather earlier than usual but the host is off to visit her son in New Zealand on Saturday. After a fairly intense few days of work I wasn't really feeling very festive, but a bit of baking put me in the right mood. 

For a change I decided to cook some savoury tartlets - caramelised onion, cranberry sauce, brie and bacon with a scattering of fresh thyme. I'd never made them before, but they worked, though getting them out of the baking tins was a bit touch and go. I took a quick shot of this blue tit while the tarts were in the oven - a bit of an EB!

In the end I thoroughly enjoyed a couple of hours of catching up with everyone - though I suspect the large glass of red wine helped me relax. And all the guests thoroughly enjoyed my tartlets, which contrasted well with the other contributions - pakoras, fresh fruit, spiced pumpkin cake, scones with home-made lemon curd, chocolate and nut cookies and, of course, some very excellent home-baked mince pies. A good way to start the festive season.