Hosting Made Easy!
Expecting a group? Here are three delicious ideas to ensure that simplicity, originality, and fun are at the top of the menu.
Casual Meeting with Friends
Whether you’re a klutz in the kitchen or just in a rush, here’s the perfect formula for entertaining with ease.
Feature food: Put together a platter with two or three different types of cheese (Brie, goat, blue), as well as some deli meats, hazelnuts, and grapes. Make sure you’ve got about 75 g of cheese per person.
Side snacks: Set out some tapenade and port jelly in cute little bowls, and accompany with a basket of bread and crackers.
Baked bites: Offer some savoury morsels, such as our mouthwatering mushroom and blue cheese tarts served just slightly warm.
Refreshments: Opt for dry white wine (Riesling, Chenin, or Chardonnay) or for beer.
Setting Plan: Gather around the kitchen island or the coffee table.
Helpful hint: Take the cheeses out of the fridge at least one hour before serving—they aren’t as flavourful when cold.
Wine and Cheese Tasting
Planning a social gathering? Why not dedicate the evening to the pleasures of cheese? Here are a few guidelines for foolproofing your event.
Feature food: Offer three platters of cheese, starting with the mildest products and finishing with the sharpest.
First Course: Set out a spread of mild cheeses, including soft cheese and goat cheese (for example, Saint-Honoré or Paillot de Chèvre).
To drink: Serve with dry rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, Gamay, or blonde beer.
Second Course: Provide an array of mild to medium cheeses, including soft and semi-firm cheese (for example, Camembert de Portneuf, La Sauvagine, and Le Saint-Raymond).
To drink: Serve with Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, or amber beer.
Third Course: Present a variety of medium and strong cheeses, including blue cheeses (for example, Caprano, Bleubry, and Le Cendrillon).
To drink: Serve with Bordeaux, Sauterne, aged Port, or brown or black ales.
The ambiance: Keep it relaxed! A friendly atmosphere will put everyone at ease and encourage your guests to share their impressions of the cheese.
Helpful hint: Make sure you’ve got 200 to 250 g of cheese per guest, and two or three types of cheese per course.
One Dish, Many Flavours
A simple, no-frills one-dish meal can be a great choice on weeknights and weekends alike. The secret to success? Low effort, high impact!
You’ll need: A tasty main dish that you can prepare quickly or in advance, depending on how much time you have. May we suggest Country-style soup, beef bourguignon, linguine with goat cheese and cherry tomatoes, or veal cutlets with Bleubry cheese.
Side dish: A generous salad, a veggie plate drizzled with olive oil and lemon, or potato purée.
Jazz it up: Add a little blue cheese, such as Caronzola cheese, to the potato purée.
To drink: Serve the same wine from appetizers to the main course. That way, you won’t have to worry about what to serve latecomers.
The ambiance: Present the food on a pretty platter or in a large pot, and make it a self-serve affair.
Helpful hint: Combine the concept of an after-dinner cheese course with dessert by serving up a Camembert Layer Cake!
