An Elegant French PartyTreat

The French know how to do Christmas elegantly right. Every  aspect of their Noel sparkles with sophistication and taste.This definitely applies to their food and their parties . Champagne is a must as is a luxurious treat, smoked salmon. It's cool and refreshing, much like the Gallic nature itself.

David Tanis  also realized this when he wrote about it in yesterday's New York Times Food section. His column, A City Kitchen is dedicated to all things ,lush , expensive and French.Any Yank can create their own version of this .He does suggest caviar although it is expensive to serve at a party where hosts must have copious amounts of it to satisfy guests.The French love a good foie gras  too however it's illegal to serve in some states such as California and Illinois. Also it may offend some who consider the foie gras industry as being cruel. There is smoked salmon, pink , shiny, the perfect party meat.It's versatile and goes a long way, Have it on a round of buttered rye or baguette toasts. it's also good on endive leaves as well.

Mr. Tanis offers up a smoked salmon tart for his party guests. Think of it as a sophisticated pizza and it's just as easy to make .His crust is  a buttery one sort of like a home baked Ritz, thanks to the addition of a stick of butter (and please use butter when making this as any French chef, home or professional would do).. The base is a horseradish infused crème fraiche and ribbons of salmon are  placed on top. To finish it add a mixed sprinkling of  chives and tarragon or better yet just dill.Mr. Tanis also suggests using the poor man's caviar orange trout roe or the vermilion salmon caviar.It's actually a milder version of the sturgeon kind and pairs better with the smoked salmon.The drink to have with it  - champagne, of course like Vouvray.You can also try a similar Chablis for the wine drinkers in your crowd.

A sophisticated holiday party is always a memorable one. Serve smoked salmon and a chilled champagne to make yours the toast of the season. It''s tres French and tres bien!