…or Apéro Dînatoire, as you wish. 

We arrive at Pat and Berry’s apartment in Paris and meet two of their friends. The six of us sit down; Berry offers us wine, bubbles or a cocktail. That decision made, we all start talking. Soon, getting a little peckish, we gravitate to their table loaded with a terrific assortment of Italian foods.  We grab a small plate, help ourselves, sit back down and resume our conversations.

That’s how the cocktail (or apéro) dînatoire takes off.

This form of entertaining in France in the past few years is very popular. It’s not a sit-down dinner nor is it a cocktail party – although it’s close to the latter. 

In Anna Mah’s Washington Post article of May 2019, The Newest Recipe for a French Dinner Party: Less Cooking and More Relaxing, she describes the event as ” a relaxed and informal gathering in which guests lounge on the couch or wander around the living room, some (if not all) of the food is store-prepared, and everything is eaten by hand.” She also quotes Rebecca Teppler, whose prize-winning book, Apéritif: Cocktail Hour the French Way, tells the story of the cocktail hour as practiced in France.

While it’s a good way to entertain a crowd, what I’ve mainly experienced in Paris is the cocktail dînatoire in small settings with just a few guests. And it really is relaxing – for both the guests and the host. Cozy in the winter, refreshing in the summer, this is a way to see friends that is both casual and intimate. 

My friends Berry and Pat are experts. With some wonderful delis close by, they treated us to a variety of crostini, salami and charcuterie, olives, pickles, bread, cheeses, and dips. All easily consumed without a lot of cutlery, linens, or hustling back and forth. 

I’m convinced that take-out dining had its start in early Paris. With small apartments, limited kitchen space and no ovens, people needed the boulangeries that provided bread, sandwiches, savory pies, and pastries. The charcuteries had – and still have – every kind of cold meat, patés, quiches, and cooked vegetables. Roasted chickens can be found in every shopping street with their accompanying potatoes roasting in the drippings.

Things changed dramatically by the mid-20th century: kitchens were modernized, ovens, microwaves, even a few dishwashers were installed. In some apartments, walls were removed between kitchens, dining and living rooms to create what came to be called ‘la cuisine américaine’. 

But the traditional bakeries and charcuteries still serve an essential role in the shopping and eating habits of Parisians – and of course, this is not very different from any urban setting. 

What has changed is the idea that to entertain, a 5-course sit down dinner is de rigueur. They haven’t disappeared – and hopefully, they never will because such meals can be so delicious, beautiful and memorable. 

But the thought of such a long evening, preceded by hours of preparation and followed by a lot of clean up can be not only intimidating but frankly, unappealing. Inviting people to your home is an act of generosity and socializing in general makes one happy, according to research. The cocktail dinatoire is an easy approach which everyone can appreciate.

Another aspect of such evenings is the menu: a whole gamut of  dips, crispy finger foods, vegetables, protein, perhaps a few sweets… Something for everyone. No need to ask your guests whether they have allergies or restrictions. They are free to pick and choose. 

Have a good time!

Here are a few ideas:

            Assorted nuts, chips, olives and pickles in small bowls

            Fish: Shrimp, smoked salmon or gravlax, sardines and anchovies, crabcakes**

            Charcuterie: an assortment of salami, ham, patés…

            Bread, breadsticks and crackers

            Cheeses: 3 or 4 different kinds. I usually like to have a hard cheese (such as conté or gruyère or cheddar), a blue cheese (Roquefort, Bleu d’Auvergne, etc.) and a goat cheese. So one is firm, one crumbly and one soft. Provide separate knives.

A crudités platter: cherry tomatoes, celery and carrot sticks, sliced red and yellow peppers, cucumbers, a few scallions… and asparagus mimosa*perhaps

            Fresh fruit (in season): grapes, sliced mango, cherries, strawberries

            Small plate of cookies and/or chocolates

 Asparagus Mimosa*

Set the food and drink on separate tables, if possible. Be sure to provide enough napkins, serving spoons and small plates. 

For wine and beer, have a corkscrew, bottle opener and glasses so that folks can serve themselves. Have a carafe of water and some sparkling water.

Here are a few recipes which can mostly be made ahead and served at room temperature…

*Asparagus Mimosa: arrange cooked spears of asparagus on a plate or platter and sprinkle with pickled pink onions and sieved whites and yolks of hard boiled eggs.

Pickled Pink Onions

I cannot emphasize enough just how beautiful these pink onions are… and they will keep for ages in the refrigerator.

1 small red onion, sliced very thinly

½ teaspoon sugar

½ cup white wine vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon white pepper

Mix salt, pepper, sugar, and vinegar in a bowl. Put onion slices in colander in sink; pour boiling water over them. Add warm onions to vinegar mixture with enough cold water to cover. Let stand until onions are pink, about 15 minutes or up to a few hours (the color will intensify.)

Note: If you add some large pieces of very dark red outer skin to the mixture, the color will be even more intense. Discard these pieces before serving.

**Crabcakes…

(for your cocktail dînatoire, make these ‘mini’ crabcakes – easier to pick up)

2 cups crab meat, picked over carefully

2 tablespoons capers

1 shallot, minced or 2-3 chopped scallions

2 tablespoons chopped mixed herbs: parsley, chives, and tarragon

2 -3 tablespoons mayonnaise

Juice of ½ lemon

Salt and pepper

Panko or breadcrumbs

Oil for frying

Combine the crab lightly with the capers, shallot (or scallions), and mixed herbs. Combine the mayonnaise with the lemon juice and add enough to the crab mixture just to bind it. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Form into small cakes and coat lightly with panko or breadcrumbs. Refrigerate until ready to sauté. Heat oil in a skillet and brown the cakes on both sides until lightly browned.

These can be served at room temperature.

Note: Take care with seasoning. The capers and mayonnaise might be quite salty.

Canapés

An old fashioned term nowadays which came from the French word for sofa! This is a type of bite-sized hors d’oeuvre in which a piece of bread serves as base for something savory. (Picture yourself sitting on a couch).

• Smoked Salmon on buttered toast with sprinkles of dill
• Hard-boiled egg slice topped with a small anchovy on a cracker
• Stuffed mushrooms, (sauteed, cooled down, filled with a mixture of cream cheese, chopped shallots, tarragon and parmesan)
• Roquefort and Walnuts on small rounds of rye (mix the cheese and walnuts gently, add some butter (room temperature) and a drop of two of cognac.)

Cheese Wafers

From Flossie Herr, Tulsa, Oklahoma. A neighbor of my mother’s, she was an adorable and loving person. She knitted Christmas stockings for my children.

1 pound New York sharp cheese

1/4 pound butter, softened

1 1/3 cups flour, sifted

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 – 1 teaspoons cayenne

4 cups Rice Krispies

Grate cheese; let come to room temperature.

Sift dry ingredients and mix with the butter and cheese.  Don’t overmix.

Add the Rice Krispies.

Roll into log(s).  Refrigerate. Slice thin.

Bake at 325° for 18-20 minutes on an ungreased pan.

Note: the logs can be frozen unbaked, thawed and then sliced and baked as above.

Tarama Salata

This recipe, direct from Greece, was given to me by Joanna Gikas’ grandmother. Joanna was my son’s first grade pal.

Serve this Greek cold appetizer in a bowl with with triangles of pita bread

Blend with a mixer the juice and the tarama and then alternatively add the oil, bread, and onion. The mixture should thicken like a mayonnaise.

BON APPETIT! And have fun at your own party!

Mary