The Perfect Apéro Hour

And all the hacks to perfectly-imperfect entertaining, French-American style...

entertaining at its simplest (our favorite way!)

I grew up with parents who loved to entertain. A child of the 80’s, we’d have ‘company’ dinners at least once a week… I remember my mother spending precious evening hours poring over recipes, planning the menu, the timing, the linens, everything. My mother worked and my father cooked — both amazing anomalies for their generation, but for ‘company’ dinner, all bets were off. It usually started with a beautifully laid table, a soup or salad course, a meaty main and a requisitely showy (and I must say, terribly disappointing!) Cherries Jubilee for dessert. I come from a line of consummate entertainers. So does Allison, with a mother chocolatière and a brother who became an executive chef at 21 (!!!) and now runs the kitchen at the Deer Mountain Inn. It’s in our DNA. 

A cocktail bar, as our friend Hugo likes to say, is a jealous mistress. For now, gone are the days of well-crafted, well-thought-out weekly ‘company’ dinners like those of my childhood. Our friends, amazing entertainers all, work big jobs, travel avidly and lead generally busy lives. If we all waited for one another to pull together a well-considered dinner party, we really wouldn’t see each other very often at all. (Think Thanksgiving. Period.) And seeing friends is really the spice of life for us… thus the bar!

Enter the French concept of the dînatoire, or its lighter cousin, Apéro Hour. The ‘apéritif’ or ‘apéro’ dates back to ancient times, when an herbal infusion before meals was thought (perhaps rightly so?) to aid digestion and whet the appetite. In the 19th and 20th centuries, it evolved into a social ritual, especially popular in urban areas like Paris, where friends and family would gather before dinner to socialize over drinks and light snacks. It remains popular today, both out of homes, and in bars and cafés. It generally involves a variety of snacks and drinks, from wine and champagne, to a kir (a French classic apéro with white wine traditionally floating creme de cassis, although in many cafes you can choose from a wide range of fruit liqueurs, or go fancy with champagne for a kir royale), to vermouth, to a more modern cocktail. Olives, cheese, and charcuterie is often on offer. The fare is varied, but it’s meant as the pre-game to dinner, so the foods are generally simple, the portions small, and the focus always the social moment shared with good company (in other words, the pressure’s off, perfectionist hosts out there!)

Last minute apéros have become a nearly essential part of our life here in Paris. It doesn’t preclude the showier, more considered events and holidays, it just greases the wheel with lots of special little moments in the interim. It’s perfect for out-of-town visitors who want an authentic slice-of-life moment in a Parisian apartment. It’s perfect for colleagues. It’s casual, which sometimes creates an easier atmosphere for really getting to catch up with the host, share confidences and laughs without performance or fanfare. No one is stuck in the kitchen. Everyone is more relaxed. Maybe best of all, it appeals to Allison’s and my well-concealed (?) introverted tendencies — fewer people at once, catching up on life in digestible doses (pardon the intended pun). An hour or two, a glass or two, a nibble or two… 

Here’s how Allison and I pull off a last minute apéro hour in proud almost French tradition — complete with food & cocktail recipes, a pantry checklist, and even a Perfect Apéro Playlist! — in just a few easy steps that are veg-friendly and don’t break the bank. (We tried this last week with a literal half hour’s notice before unexpected out-of-town guests descended… we promise, it works!) : —Jen