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Entertaining on a Budget: Summer in Paris

Parisians have the right idea: take the entire month of August off and indulge in the sights, sounds and flavors of France. While it might not be possible for all of us to do the same (quality time in this chic country doesn’t come cheap), you can still indulge in a bit of French fabulousness at your next dinner party. So grab a few friends, crank the tunes (en français, of course) and throw a stylish French fête in celebration of summer:

What to eat…

The main event at this party is dinner. So plan your party around the supper hour and enlist a select group of people to be the sous-chefs to your inner culinary queen. You’ll find dozens of easy-as-can-be recipes at Let’sCookFrench.com. Many of the ingredients they use will already be in your cupboard so you’ll be able to cut the time and money you spend at the grocery store in half. Here’s a simple sample menu.

Starter: Goat Cheese Toasts with Honey

Main: Thyme and Garlic Chicken with a Bell Pepper Salad

Dessert: Half-cooked Chocolate Cake

If, however, preparing a full meal is a bit too much, ask your guests to bring some traditional French fare. Baguettes, cheeses, cornichons, thinly sliced meats and honey are très bon. Serve on a few large platters and let everyone nibble at their leisure.

What to drink…

Champagne is the drink of choice in France but a bottle of bubbly can easily bust your budget. So instead of serving the real deal, try one of the mocktails at AllRecipes.com. We love the Strawberry Champagne Punch.

If you’re serving wine, do like the French do and add an ice cube or two and serve it in a variety of fun glasses.

How to set the scene…

Transforming your place into a French café doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep everything simple and use a few accessories you may already have at home.

~ Drape a table cloth over your kitchen table to create that chic café feel

~ Dim the lights and set the mood with candles

~ Instead of buying a large bouquet of roses buy some wild flowers and place them in mismatched vases around the room

~ Decorate your in-house bistro with printed vintage cabaret posters you've found online or check out photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson

~ Tune your radio to a French radio station or pick up a CD by Edith Piaf, one of France’s most renowned singers

~ Ask your friends to wear berets and scarves

Herbal Decor: Entertaining on a Budget

Summer entertaining is all about fresh, bright and flavorful ingredients that come together easily and quickly. Why not take that same philosophy and use it for your table décor?

Use live plants as the table centerpieces to give your table a fresh look and add interest to the place settings. Just take a solid-colored table cloth (tip: use a white flat sheet if you don’t have a white table cloth – just make sure it’s clean!) and then line up three or four plants (depending on the length of your table) along the center. Make sure the plants are all around the same height and planted in the same color or style of pots for a clean, uniform look.

You can also take this a step further and pick off some fresh herb leaves and scatter them on the table, tie them up with string and use them as napkin ring accents, or even lay a spring of herb on each place setting. For extra fun, have your guests identify which herb is at their place setting and see who knows their herbs!

Host a Green Barbeque: Entertaining on a Budget

Summertime is the time for barbecues, which usually means breaking out the plastic silverware and paper plates. But you might end up going through more of that paper and plastic than you think, with guests forgetting which cup is theirs or foods soaking through several layers of paper plates.

There is a budget-friendly and eco-friendly alternative to all that waste: using reuseable or recyclable dishes and utensils.

For smaller parties,...

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