French Themed New Year's Eve at home

It goes without saying that New Year's Eve this year will be very different for most people. Many of us will be ringing in the New Year from home. To be honest, it is exactly how I have always loved to celebrate the holiday and this year is no exception. After the year we have had you can bet that I will be dressing up and raising a glass to bid 2020 Adieu! I love the elegance of a French Themed New Year's Eve party at home. Here is how we will be celebrating :

Classic French themed New Year’s Eve at home ingredients:

1. Champagne
2.  Oysters
3. Salmon
4. Foie Gras
5. Cheese
6. Macarons

Le Champagne

A must! The French enjoy Champagne all year round, but New Year’s Eve is truly a time to drink Champagne all night long!  Now, in France, there is a much larger selection of Champagne at varying prices than is available in North America. For those of us who do not want to spend a fortune on Champagne for the evening, I suggest starting the party with a “Kir Royal”.  Splash a little bit of Crème de Cassis (available at any liquor store) into a glass of dry sparkling wine, et voilà! You have yourself an elegant and festive cocktail that feels oh so French. If you live in Northern Virginia, you probably love Total Wine as much as I do. We always have a few bottles of La Margerie Champagne stocked in our house – incredibly tasty and under 40$

Les Huitres

The French love their oysters and swear by the ones from Brittany and the West Coast of France. Fortunately, we have a wide variety of exceptional oysters available to us in North America. You should have seen Le Chef’s face when I brought him to Vancouver for the first time to try Kusshi Oysters! Ooh la la! He was in Chef’s Heaven!

I recommend preparing 6-8 oysters per person and please, do yourself a favor and enlist the help of strong friends or family members with good knife skills and lots of patience to help shuck the oysters before the party begins. You don’t want to be alone in the kitchen wielding an oyster knife and splattering bits of shell and brine all over your best party outfit. Oysters take time, plan accordingly and then put the little rascals on ice while you pour yourself a glass of champagne.

Le Saumon

There is something so beautiful about a slice of smoked salmon on a perfect little blinis with a dollop of crème fraîche. The richness of the food marries perfectly with crisp, dry champagne. You can either buy ready-made blinis at the grocery store or else they can be made in advance. Essentially, they are small, bite-sized pancakes that are served chilled. Top each pancake with a slice of smoked salmon and finish with a dollop of crème fraîche (or sour cream). Now, here is where you can get creative! Arrange the smoked salmon pancakes out on a tray and then alternate the garnishes. Perhaps you want to add some fennel on top?  A mini slice of lemon? Caviar? Amusez-vous!

Le Foie Gras

Un grand Classique! Finding good Foie-Gras is difficult in North America, but not impossible. Go to the deli selection of the finest grocery store in your area and look for a jar of “Foie Gras Cuit” (cooked foie gras). Some specialty butcher shops also carry good foie gras that they make themselves. Some places no longer carry Foie Gras, in which case Duck or Chicken Liver Mousse is an agreeable alternative. Place the Foie Gras on a cutting board surrounded by an assortment of crackers and some fig jam, et voilà!

Le Fromage

A well designed cheese platter is an art form. But like many things French, if you understand the guidelines it is easy to excel! I usually aim for 3-6 cheeses on my cheese board and a nice mix of soft to hard cheeses, with varying degrees of staunch. The French are less enthused by lots of condiments on a cheese board and really just like to keep it simple. Good cheese, crusty baguette (you can easily make your own with my baking baguettes for beginners recipe) and maybe some honey and fig jam as accents, c’est tout!

 Start with a good fresh Chèvre (Chèvre Frais) then add a hard but mild cheese such as a Tome de Savoie or a Comte. Now add a strong cheddar or a Mimolette. Place a spoon in to a Mont D’Or. Add a wheel of ripe Camembert and finish it all with a slab of Roquefort! Most importantly, cheeses need to be room temperature. Make sure to take them out an hour before you plan to serve them. Yes, the place may smell of cheese, but oh! what cheese!

Les Macarons

Last, but certainly not least, give yourself a gift and order “Une tour de Macarons”, or Macaron Tower, from a pastry shop. The multi-colored pastel pastry morsels will be a family favorite and are immediately Instagram-worthy. Macarons have become very popular in recent years and I have even seen Macarons available at Safeway! A more budget friendly way to serve Macarons is also to buy them individually and then arrange them on plates of different heights on your table (an afternoon tea stand works beautifully as well) Now, there are Macarons, and then there are Ladurée Macarons. If there is a Ladurée in your area I invite you to go and taste the difference. These macarons melt in your mouth and are not too sweet.

Et voilà! As you can see, hosting an elegant New Year’s Eve party “à la Française” is less about being a Michelin starred Chef and more about assembling the right ingredients.

If you are looking for a more informal feel for this New Year's Eve - Classic French recipes such as French Onion Soup Gratinée or Cheese Fondue are so much fun, especially with kids!

I encourage you to host your own French themed New Year’s Eve party at home and tell me all about it!

Au plaisir,

*This blog post was derived from a post I first wrote for Pearls Lace and Grace blog at https://pearlslaceandgrace.com/2016/12/28/a-fabulously-chic-french-new-years-eve/