obviously secret 1 is be crazy hot.

Ice-cold champagne? Non, non, non!

One of the first things you learn in wine certification classes is to go with warmer serving temps:

young NV Champagne: appx. 8'C (46' F)
vintage Champagne: 12-14'C (54-57' F)

@beatrix

ice cold champagne is delicious. and you know what? chilled red wine also tastes good. sometimes guests need to be refreshed!

Is it just me or does it look like she is going to smack that kid in the face? Besides that, great post!

On a trip to St. Martin, we found a very, very small french restaurant on the Dutch side of the Island. We asked for menus and the host (husband) came to our table with a large blackboard.. Everything on the menu was 1 meal..all bit size. It was one the most memorable and delicious meals I've ever had. It was a husband and wife team with the wife being the cook. What beautiful and accomodating people. I think we left a 25% tip when the normal was 15%.

@telephone

Under 60'F is still refreshing :)

Really?

...with effortlessly chic hair.

Number 5 is the most important one, that's what it's all about!

+1 For #5

Handwritten menu depends on how you write ... for me I'd rather use a nice brown-ish paper and print something with a nice font than writing it myself.

For ice cold champagne and fresh red wine ...

please ...

seriously ...

-_-

Why don't you just put ice in them in order to really screw everything :/
I totally agree with Beatrix, and 8°C is cold enough...
Then it's not absurd to do as said, (after all, it just depends on taste) but it's not the "classic French way to do it ..."

Most people in all countries are into "enjoying a meal," especially those with more disposable incomes, as that French women appears to have. The French are not unique in that regard.

This New Yorker says just because some people live at a quicker pace than others doesn't mean that they are not savoring the moment.

Lol, came here to say that!

+1 for awkward child placement in the photo

What I want to see from her now are Secrets of a French Mother... how the heck do you cook like this and write with four kids and 14 dogs, and keep your place and self so photo-ready... all with apparent ease? Is that real life or is there chaos the other half of the time? Someone tell me how to achieve this lifestyle :)

Traditionally, you should drink red wine at room temperature, but room temperature used to be closer to 60 than 70, so yes, you might have to chill red wine to get it to the ideal drinking temperature. However, if your red wine is too cold, it'll lose flavor (not necessarily undesirable with some wines of the less expensive variety).
The French came up with a solution to that problem though! They created Rose. Try that next time you think you want chilled red wine.
The same for champagne - a good champagne will be more flavorful if it's not ice cold but your average $9.99 bottle of bubbly might as well be really cold, there aren't too many subtle flavors you might miss.
Besides, your fridge is supposed to be at 38' F anyway, so unless you actually put your champagne in the freezer (I hope not!), it'll be at the recommended temperature of 46' F by the time you pour it.

Yeeeeah.

Good wine? YES. Champagne? Hells yes. Good food, relaxed atmosphere, pretty table, good friends, good conversation? All yes.

But HANDWRITTEN MENU?? Seriously?

I can tell you right now: if the expectations are for handwritten menus, I'm never hosting a dinner party ever again. And if my friends had a handwritten menu next to the wine, I'd think they'd gone round the bend.

Does anyone happen to know where those pink and gold dishes are from or where I can find something similar? I am in love!

If you like chilled champagne and gruyere cheese puffs as a starter to all your meals fine, but it's not how French people live.

If you want French savoir faire I suggest you read some Proust - well worth it just for the turn of the century food descriptions.

wow, her blog is Gorgeous! Just checked it out for the 1st time.. .Apparently, all the photos are taken by her husband, who is a professional photographer, so obviously that makes a difference, too ...

check out the beautiful photo of the vegetable tian dish; look at the vibrant colors... man..

http://mimithorisson.com/

@Krikkit
You made me laugh so loud!!!! I'm sure it really happens. Kind of sport to keep everything under control.... Anyway, I think that the deal with the handwritten menu is the expression of particular attention given to guests. It is a little personal treatment but I don't think it is essential. I'd opt for the printed menu as despite willing to be hardworking on it, I'd mess it up (I'm very clumsy...) :)

I'm in my 50s, half French half American and to date have lived exactly 50% of my life in France and the US.
People have often asked me what's the difference between the two countries. I state that there are way more commonalities then differences (liberty, democratic champions!) but one major difference is that the French work to live and the Americans live to work. The other difference is that the American see food as an enemy (unhealthy, fattening, dangerous, bacteria, etc.) while the French enjoy it (rich, enjoyable, opportunity to gather around friends and family, etc.)
Sure these are generalities, but they hold some truth.

In college I stayed with a French friend in Paris. Her ten-year-old brother offered to make dinner for us one night--he roasted us a chicken, by himself, like he was making a PB&J. They start them early on the gracious living there.

The writer means "chilled" not iced champagne (perhaps a translation difficulty). On the other hand, I have a French friend who adores proseco with ice cubes. I like it, too.

Both my grandmother and great aunt (sisters) are French and I must say, only #5 on this list applied to any of their dinners (and out of the two, my great aunt was a real social butterfly). There was always an apéritif, but it was never champagne - often it was a port - and it was always served with some sort of hors d'oeuvre but never anything fancy or heavy so as to not ruin the rest of the meal (even if it was served some time in advance of actually sitting down to the table). The meal was always served in courses - usually 4 (starters (often cold meats and vegetables), a main course, a cheese and salad course (to cleanse the palate I was always told), and then dessert. This was usually followed by coffee - or it was just served with dessert. There was always wine with the meal, but that's really all that's ever served with any of their meals - it's just what you drink and not unusual at all (not much thought went into it). With that said, I think what I learned from the dinners they had was that as long as you're enjoying yourself then your guests will enjoy themselves and the dinner will be exactly what it should be. I don't remember much about the food or drink or anything about the dinner itself. There just wasn't any effort put into these dinner parties beyond cooking the meal and even then, I do remember seemingly everyone at one time or another in the kitchen helping or sipping their port and talking while my aunt and/or grandmother cooked (people brought stuff too - no dish was turned down!) - in and out of the kitchen everyone went, sipping drinks, helping out, and just relaxed. There were no decorations, places were set with whatever was available (and often by a guest who was helping out), chairs from all over the house were used to accommodate all the guests (we'd all go find our own chairs and help others find ones too - whatever would work), tables were pulled out from where they normally were so people had places to eat; it was just not a huge production. It was mainly: invite friends, buy food, cook food, enjoy company - the end. What I mainly remember are the conversations and laughter and sitting at a table for hours - well after food was gone and coffee cold.

Entertaining is relaxed in France, in my experience, anyway. It's just as @Mariclar describes - "not a huge production". People will drop in at a moment's notice, and help with everything. However, the quality and provenance of ingredients is hugely important.

EVERY culture EVERY where knows how to celebrate and enjoy food not just The French. I'm not anti-French by the way. I'm just anti- 'The French Do Everything Better' meme. You could put another European country in there too.

Mmm, well, I agree that every culture celebrates with food, there are some that are better at it than others... And what is so special about the French is that they try to make food special on a daily basis, as a form of living culture. That is rare.

The best book I have found which describes this difference, and leads you to experience it yourself, is the book French Kids Eat Everything. I know that it sounds like a parenting tome, but it is much more. It provides observations, insights and research on the French way of eating which also speaks to entertaining and daily life. It is very well written (the woman behind it is a former Rhosdes Scholar and university professor), and unputdownable. I encourage everyone to read it -- kids not required!

@Wengi - I agree, it's silly to put all things French on a pedestal. What I do admire about the French is that they take pride in their cuisine, and if it is not done right, they will LET YOU KNOW. It can be seen as chauvinistic, and it's irritating to be the recipient, but in the end it is because they care about their food and their traditions.

BTW, Mimi's blog is beautiful - do check it out!

ah ah ah (I AM French so this article makes me laugh...)
Only #5 could apply. You know we don't drink champagne and wine all the time... for real...

But why must I invite others?

so many experts here.

ahahaha. the pathos in that photo is awesome.

Lock the 14 dogs outside would be the best tip.

Sure, give all the advice you want to give, but not with the word "Always" tacked on. I live in France. I love champagne. But I like it because it's special, not ALWAYS served. Is this apartment therapy or chateau therapy? I am so embarrassed for you, for your narrow vision of gracefully receiving your friends. Why do I keep reading this site?

As an American that has lived in France for the last 10 years or so, I can say only #5 rings true to me...sorry to burst your french 'bubble.

www.laviedesfeins.blogspot.com

Hear hear!

@Sallypollyanna there are many days where I'd rather lock the adults + kids outside and keep the dogs inside for company :)

It would seem her definition of "effortless" differs greatly from mine.

After reading #1, I should have known the rest of it (with the exception of #5) would be just as pretentious.

We have similar rules here at The Ordinary!

# 1) always be understated and elegant, but spend a lot of time worrying that you can't TRY to be understated and elegant, and that a truly understated and elegant person would never use the phrase "always be understated and elegant." Worry about it so much that you burn your home made gruyere puff balls

#2) Always have a beautiful wine list for your guests to read while you uncork your two buck chuck.

# 3) Always start with ice cold champagne on the American Beer principle - the colder it is, the less you notice that it's cheap and has no flavor

# 4) Always provide a hand-written menu for each guest so that they can identify the mess of dishes you throw simultaneously on the table

#5) Take your time, drink lots of wine, a meal with small children and 14 dogs running around can feel like it lasts hours and hours. And then there's the clean up...

I'm just kidding, of course! Lovely pictures and recipes!

I've lived in France for over 10 years and I'm quite intrigued by the comments. Some very funny by the way.

It seems that this lady has been asked by a magazine to give tips on how to host a PARTY!

Which means she's not encouraging people to drink Champagne before every meal. I also don't think it's an attempt to register once and for all what it means to be French, or what the rules are ... are there any rules by the way, nobody's told me?

Now I've been to quite a few dinner parties in Paris and I have to say there has been a lot of Champagne. Doesn't always have to be the expensive stuff either. Personally I like it well chilled, that way it's nice down to the last sip (nothing worse than lukewarm champagne).

Handwritten menus, I don't know, those don't mean much to me.

But elegant and understated, that's not a bad thing, just another way of saying, "put a few flowers in a vase, cook something wonderful ... but don't waste time trying to impress everybody by building a replica of the Eiffel Tower out of, well I don't know what.

People here are serious about wine though. It's not about money (or at least not just about money). When I am invited to dinner parties I always bring wine. I try to bring something inventive, something that's hard to find or nobody's heard of. I always appreciate when my hosts pay attention to wine, it leads to interesting discussions, a lot of dinner parties end up being "mini" wine tastings. I like that aspect of it very much.

I do have to say though, as much as I hate generalizations, that the French do take more pride in their food than any other nation I've encountered. And they talk about food a lot.

And, apparently, it helps to be stunning.

how about it? sheez - who cares what the table looks like? I'm going to the cupboard for my brown bag hat, now...

At least she can multi-task. She's presenting the quiche and suffocating her son at the same time.

hand written menus for each guest feels way too fussy and the opposite of laid back - whats wrong with one menu or just saying "here is a quiche, and that is a salad, enjoy"

Hmm, wonder why she calls gougere "cheese puffs"?

I think having the menu written out is a courtesy. Guests like to know what they're eating and what's coming next.

Guess I don't qualify to be French: don't serve champagne (even the good stuff gives me migraines), don't drink or serve wine (my friends PREFER diet coke or beer), think handwritten or any other written menus are kind of redundant when the food is right in front of you... I'm DEFINITELY "understated", but the "elegant" part is a judgement someone else will have to make! And savoring the moment? It goes on as long as it goes on... usually we have other activities planned besides just eating, such as watching a movie or playing games.

Oh well, we have plenty of fun our own way!

as an american in Paris for 23 years and with french nationality, its not the nationality that makes the meal but the personality. I've been to many French dinners where yes there was champagne but it's not "obligatoire"...people are very happy with àn orange juice believe it or not. and in 23 years i havé never seen a handwritten menu. French women are like all women the world over-multitaskers, working, busy with family etc....being elegant and understated? just being yourself is more like it. and for the wine list, again, goes without saying that the wine should match the food, which is the most important. MIT doesn't have to be beautiful, but working with the food. I'd say number 5 being universal says it all for the French as well....this post is a bit ridiculous and cliché...

Oh dear. This post was begging for an a$$ kicking. I think rich n beautiful women with lavish abodes, picture perfect kids and lifestyle (cooking) advice don't go down well with most people and their idea of reality. She is stunning, so is her family, the pics rock and I for one thought her blog was nice to view. I'm however still loving smitten kitchen more than the fancy blog. Perhaps substance wins over style. My 2 cents...

@VancouverGirl - that's a matter of opinion. Yes, Mimi and her family are photogenic (her husband is a photographer), but how does that detract from the quality, insightfulness or authenticity of the writing? I, for one, am pleased to have found a food blog that combines beautiful photographs of a part of the world that I love, and recipes for the type of food (seasonal, foraged) that I like to put on my own table. In what way is that style over substance?

Oh my...so many people clearly annoyed by this post, I wonder why! My bet is on the gorgeous hostess with the lovely son and the hot husband. Relax girls, live and let live...By the way, I'm half Swiss and all of our gathering invitations there, were always kick-started with cooled champagne and Gruyere snacks. You could always have sparkling wine or fruit juice if this wasn't your thing of course. Wine and champagne serving temperatures are quite important but I'm sure you can let go of this technicality and still be inspired.

I thought this post would be better. What a disappointment.

I just wanna know about those plates! LUV LUV LUV those plates!!