Yikes, Is it Christmas already? Are you, like me, hopelessly behind? I thought so. So in between procrastinating with my shopping list and delayed decorations, I decided at the last minute to throw a cocktail party for 40. Welcome to the insane season.
Hors d'oeurves are not my forté, and to me the hardest part of a party is planning the menu. I thought I would share my menu with y'all, and perhaps save some other overly ambitious soul the trouble of inventing one. After all, there's still time for a new year's party!
So in case you're contemplating paying off a bunch of your social debts in one fell swoop (and having fun doing it!), here is my humble fare. I say humble because when I briefly googled party hors d'oeuvres, I fell into a rabbit hole of 7-layer dips, fancy fritters, waffle sliders, cookie dough dip and God knows. I jumped right back out again, none the wiser.
In the south, the living is easy (both in South Carolina and southern Burgundy), so I kept it traditional. I named it a Sunset Happy Hour, to give it an informal vibe, and to keep it short and simple. Anyway the French hate to eat standing up, so it has to be short or they will start looking around for a chair and wondering when dinner will be served.
No southern party would be complete without Pickled Shrimp, and that pleases the French too, so that was the star of the show (recipe below). Strictly make-ahead is my mantra for entertaining, and that filled the bill. I made a big platter of deviled eggs, some with avocado, for a little Christmas green color. I added a platter of asparagus with roasted red pepper dip (red and green again!), and of course a plateau de fromages with several kinds of cheeses and garnished with fruit (easy!). A few days before I made a couple of batches of my British neighbor Linda's Pistachio Parmesan Sables, which are fabulous, and froze them (I used pecans instead of pistachios). I also tucked some homemade sugar cookies in the freezer, and the day before the party I made Henri's Gâteaux Minute, his delicious almond cookies which take 5 minutes to throw together.
For the drinks: a collection of nice French wines, some brandied eggnog, and a pitcher of Perrier with orange and cucumber slices, for the designated drivers. Et voila! It's a fête.
Some more of my Christmas party decorations:
Another time saver: on-line invitations by way of Paperless Post. They're very cool invites, but the best part is, they keep track of RSVP's for you,on one comprehensive list, and even send out reminders to us laggards who sometimes forget to RSVP. More power to you if you do the beautiful mailed invite thing, but that requires more advance planning than I'm capable of this year
It's perhaps shameful, but I also emailed my Christmas cards this year (I used the CreateaCard ipad app to make them). So I'm sending you one of our Christmas cards, dear readers, which comes with a grateful thank you for following this blog, and my very best wishes for a holiday full of good cheer, and a happy new year!
RECIPE: Mickey's Pickled Shrimp
My mom is in the hate-to-cook crowd, but she has her specialties, and she makes great pickled shrimp. Easy and you can and should make it a day or two ahead.
I used one pound of shrimp per 10 people.
Boil a pound of shrimp with old bay seasoning, (Undercook it slightly rather than overcooking it! ). Peel them, leaving the tails on or off as you wish.
In a glass dish with a tight lid, layer the shrimp with thinly sliced onions (1 medium onion will do) and about 10 bay leaves.
Make the marinade with 1/2 cup olive oil, a generous dash of red pepper flakes, and 1/4 cup of lemon juice, a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, sea salt and pepper. Some chopped parsley is good if you have it. Mix well and pour it over shrimp. Let it marinate for at least a day, turning the container over or stirring often.
Drain before serving. I toss in some lemon slices at the end for a garnish.
In the COMMENTS: RE our 'chariots des courses': Vicky, nice story about your mom. Ralphe, peut être on dit 'caddy' aussi, je ne sais pas. Jane, who lives in our area, has reminded me that you can have your groceries taken to your car from the Cluny market by donkey! There is a dedicated donkey for this purpose. Of course I have a photo of said donkey in my file:
11 thoughts on “Joyeux Noel, with an Extra Fête”
We are starting to get things together.
I have made decorations with fir, holly, candles and pine cones.
We have two metal holders on either side of our front door which I have filled with seasonal greenery.
I am making a brawn for my friend, he is 92, and, of course, it is the English equivalent of tete de veau, but made with a pig’s head.
I have also made my first batch of mince pies.
We are having a ballotine of pintade for Christmas, with smoked salmon pate and melba toast to start.
A Happy Christmas to all and boo sucks to all politicians.
Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année, Lynn and Ron.
Love the ecard. I’d do them too, but when you
send cards to couples or families, the only one
who really sees the card is the one whose email
address it was sent to. It’s kind of hard to pass your
phone around to the whole family.
Thanks for the photo of the Cluny market donkey!
I have to see him in real life. Is he there all the time?
I love Paperless Post and use it all the time, even for HOA notes and business! Have never heard of CreataCard so will look into it! Merry Christmas Lynn!
Dear Lynn,
You leave me in the dust with even a thought of having a cocktail party for 40!
OMG!!
And all such yummy hors d’oeuvres!
(OMG AGAIN!!)
May I add Croustillants? I always keep this one as a tried and true,especially because you can make it way ahead,then simply slice and bake!
Lynn,please welcome our precious little Yorkie girl,Ellise Rose(Elley)!
Her brother,Ari, will join us in January.
With all our hearts we thank God for His grace in allowing us such happiness again.We never thought we would so blessed.
Joyeux Noel to you,Ron,and sweet Vino.(Love your card!What a great idea!)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I do so hope our paths cross in 2019! So close……
May the McNortons have a Merry Christmas and a prosperous, healthy and peaceful 2019. I am sure your Fête was excellent. Hugs, M
absolutely lovely; merci and happy new year
This is the earliest year that I’ve ever been done with Christmas way ahead of time. No guests nor parties to throw this year. I needed that break since it’s been an insanely busy & stressful year. I’m happy to see it go frankly.
I love your darling card. All your recipes look wonderful. I’m very tempted to try a few of them. Merry Christmas Lynn and a Joyous and Happy New Year.
Merry Christmas from down under we are delighted to have Nicole celebrating The festive season in Australia.
We will start with Christmas Eve with my European family and on the 25 th we will have the full English lunch with our daughter in-laws parents,
Merci Lynn for your insight into our French life It’s been a delight reading your blog.
I wish you Ron and your readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Thank you Lynn for keeping me up-to-date on my favorite place! Joyeaux Noël et Bonne Annee!
I have made Henri’s Gateau Minute sooo many times since you posted the recipe a year ago and receive raves every time. Thank you so much for sharing. I will soon be trying the pistachio sables and I know they will be wonderful! Hope you and yours have had a wonderful Christmas. Here in No. Georgia it was a beautiful day!