Party Archives - Reviews by Kathy

Would you describe yourself as something of a Francophile? If you can’t resist all things French, one of the best ways to indulge your passion is through food. French cuisine is one of the most highly regarded in the world and found all over in fine dining restaurants. But you don’t have to go to a restaurant to enjoy French food, especially if you love the homely and hearty stuff over the tiny, refined plates. For your next dinner party, why not give it a French theme and inject a little je ne sais quoi into your evening? Try these ideas for some French fun.

Source: Pxhere

Design the Perfect French Menu

For any dinner party, it’s always good to start with what you want to cook. There are so many options for a French menu that you might not know where to start. If you’re not sure what to do, perhaps begin by choosing which courses you want to serve. You probably don’t want to do too many, so perhaps try to stick with three at the most, possibly with canapés to start or cheese to finish off the meal. Look through French cookbooks and food websites for inspiration and choose something that doesn’t need too much attention on the night, so you can still be there for your guests. Try Delish for some good ideas. And don’t forget the wine!

Get the Table Dressing Right

If you’re going to eat French food, you might as well have a French theme around the dining table too. You can dress your table for a fun French evening with just a few simple touches. Try a red and white checked tablecloth, or perhaps a table runner for a slightly simpler look. Some bistro-style napkins from Richard Haworth will make a nice addition to your place settings. You don’t have to worry too much about having a perfectly Parisian dinner set, but you could get some accessories for the table, like silver dishes or some French water jugs.

Source: Public Domain Pictures

Add in Some French Atmosphere

Another way to make sure you’ll be singing je ne regrette rien when your dinner party is over is to add some French atmosphere. Music is the perfect way to do it so, whether you prefer Edith Piaf or Daft Punk, get some French music playing. Edith Piaf might be slightly more appropriate for a dinner party, though. Some other ways to up the atmosphere include lighting some candles and maybe even hanging some French art for the evening.

Be Super Social

Your earlier selection of your menu is crucial for the rest of the evening. A French dinner party might be partly about being a good host, but it’s also about the food and spending quality time with friends and family. So it’s important that you don’t abandon your guests to spend the whole evening in the kitchen. Try to either prepare your meal in advance or have something you can just put in the oven and leave so that you can talk into the night without worrying too much.

Put on a beautiful French evening for your friends, and everyone is sure to have an incredible time.

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7 Layer Dip, Recipe + Love One Today® Avocado Party

“This post was sponsored by Fresh Avocados – Love One Today® as part of an In-Home Party Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.”

Growing up, my mom served avocado with just about every meal we had. She loves them more than anyone I’ve met before, except maybe me. I don’t know if it was due to her influence of serving avocados so much or if it’s because I have the same cravings as she does, but like her, my kids were raised on avocados. From tacos to salads to my 7 layer dip recipe, I serve avocado’s just about daily. I even use them in my smoothies. As much as I love avocados, I equally love to host parties. Of course, I show off my favorite avocado recipes during all of my events. Some I’ve created myself and some I talked my mom out of. I’ve tried just about every avocado recipe online that I could find as well.

There are several reasons why it’s easy to get the kids to eat avocados. In fact, they were my kids first fruit. They are smooth and have a creamy consistency along with a mild taste. I would mash them up and feed them from a spoon until they were old enough to have slices of them. Like my own kids, even before I knew about the nutritional value of fresh avocados, I loved them. After learning that Avocados contribute nearly 20 nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and phytonutrients, that are important to infant/toddler nutrition, I started giving them to the kids even more often than I already was. My mom probably knew all of this when she served us avocados, but being a child, all I knew was that I loved the taste. She was counting on that when she served us meals with avocado in them. I’m sure she also knew that wholesome, fresh foods are less likely to contain added sugars, salt, and other processed ingredients.

Today I’d like to share my favorite 7 layer dip recipe with you so you can encourage your own kids to enjoy avocados. It’s sure to be a party favorite so go ahead and bookmark my post to save my recipe.

Ingredients:

5 Ripe Avocados. Use 4 in recipe and dice 1 for the top.
1 can of refried beans.
16 ounces of sour cream.
1 pack of dry taco seasoning mix.
1 to 2 lemons (need 2 teaspoons) or lemon juice.
Garlic cloves (grind 3 cloves).
Green onion (chop 3 to 4 stalks)
2- 8-ounce blocks of cheese, grated (I use mild). If you’re in a hurry, pre-grated cheese works well.
1 small can of sliced black olives.
1 medium-sized tomato diced, chunky sizes.

Instructions:

In a glass bowl spread the can of refried beans evenly along the bottom.
Combine the sour cream and the dry taco seasoning, then spread on top of the beans.
Mix the avocados with the lemon juice and garlic. Sometimes I mash them, sometimes I cube them. Add on top of the sour cream mixture.
Add the cheese, green onions, black olives and tomatoes to top it off.

Serve with Tortillas.