The Art of Friday Night Dinner

Having spent years gathering friends around her kitchen table, Eleanor has perfected the art of Friday night dinner. It usually starts with a sip of something cold and ends with friends tipsily heading home, full and happy. But most importantly, there's always something good to eat.

Here are more than a hundred recipes for the best night of the week. If you're planning to spend the evening on the sofa, have your closest friend over or even host the masses, why not try Eleanor's fail-safe crowdpleasers:

- Frozen jalapeño margaritas
- Baked potato with hot smoked salmon, soured cream and pickled radishes
- Bucatini with mushroom cream and crispy sage
- Sausages with lemony, caraway cabbage and apples
- Roast chicken with chicken juice rice and orange and onion salad
- Ginger, prune and PX cake with cardamom custard

And amongst the recipes are thoughts on the glamour of mixing a martini for one, the lifesaving magic of a really good spaghetti carbonara, and the joy of a table laden with bits, waiting for hungry hands.

So, fill your favourite glass, choose something mouth-watering to cook and embrace all that Friday night has to offer.