| Preparing for the Party | | | | flags, maybe some red, white and blue highlights, and |
| If you're looking to do a really fancy dinner party, some | | | | some nice centrepieces - maybe miniature Eiffel |
| sort of sit down affair that just about screams | | | | Towers - are all you need. |
| elegance, then a French dinner party is perfect. You | | | | What to Serve, and in What Order |
| can truly go to the extremes with such a theme: fancy | | | | When it comes to the courses, your opening should be |
| china and glassware, expensive wines and/or | | | | a selection of cheeses and bread; ideally, a nice |
| champagne, a full five-course meal, and so on. The | | | | fromage and some crusty baguettes. After that, the |
| drawback to such a meal is that it does take planning | | | | traditional appetizer is escargot, which is snail. You |
| and preparation. As a few examples, a soufflé | | | | must use your own judgment as to whether or not |
| can be made as much as two weeks before the | | | | your guests will care for it. A nice alternative is raw |
| party, and then frozen. The soup, you can make the | | | | oysters or shrimp cocktails. After that comes the |
| day before. If you go with vichyssoise, it is served cold; | | | | entrée; again, filet mignon is a popular. Typically, |
| so you make it, and then keep it in the refrigerator. | | | | you wrap each piece of tenderloin in a piece of bacon, |
| Coming up with a Menu | | | | and then roast it for about ten minutes at 400 degrees. |
| So, step one, draw up the menu, and keep in mind that | | | | It's best served medium rare, which can be a issue for |
| a French meal traditionally has a wine with just about | | | | some people - some of your friends may prefer |
| every course. A sauvignon blanc is ideal for the | | | | well-done meat. And then, top it off with a bit of |
| opening course, a light red wine is good with the | | | | Béarnaise sauce, serve it with some roasted |
| entrée, and then a port with dessert. When it | | | | red potatoes, and some fresh vegetables. For dessert, |
| comes to wines, you often need to open the red | | | | the classic crème Brule is delicious and easy to |
| wines a few hours before the meal; this is called: letting | | | | make. |
| it breathe. In some cases, if the wine is a vintage (quite | | | | All kinds of French Entertainment |
| old), you'll also have to decant it. This involves pouring | | | | Finally, if you have the room and want to provide |
| the wine from its bottle, through a strainer, and into a | | | | some wild entertainment, you can always hire can-can |
| serving bottle. Some people consider this quite the | | | | girls or apache dancers to entertain your guests. Ever |
| delicate process. With white wines, they are always | | | | since the movie "Moulin Rouge", this type of |
| served chilled. Again, true wine aficionados will insist on | | | | entertainment has become quite popular. If you prefer |
| the glasses being chilled as well! | | | | something more refined and elegant, a string quartet |
| Some Decorations | | | | can perform music from any of a number of French |
| In terms of décor, you really do not want a lot | | | | composers. If that's too expensive, just a few CDs |
| of frilly decorations; a French dinner party is defined | | | | with some concertos or sympathy pieces can be |
| more by the cuisine than anything else. A few French | | | | perfect. |