I'm Confused

I am having a dinner party. I am torn between a french dinner and an American (Californian) dinner. There are quite a few differences.

Luckily, I have happy and generous guests who will be hungry. This makes it much easier. They are American but they've lived in France for a long time. So, they are 50% French, 50% American. I can go either way.

We'll start with champagne. And, some very small tidbits, salty. This is the easy part and everyone will be happy.

The actual meal is where the choices begin. Do I start with a salad, California-style? Or, do I start with a formal appetizer? If I start with a formal appetizer, do I serve a salad? If so, it will be after the main meal and very small and light.

These questions also decide how long we sit at the table. For Terry and me, 1-1/2 hours at the table is enough. So, we can't have 5 courses.

There are many other things to consider: wine choices, the cheese course, dessert (homemade or store-bought).

Coffee comes after the dessert is over.

The line up goes:

Aperatif
Appetizer
Main dish
Salad
Cheese
Dessert
Coffee (perhaps with digestif)

I'm still trying to decide if we need a salad at all or if I can serve a salad instead of an appetizer (a la California).

My next decision point is the cheese course. I LOVE french cheese. It is my favorite part of the meal. I could have a salad, the cheese and a cup of coffee. Perfect. But, this is not a common response, unfortunately.

As you can see, I'm confused.

But it gets worse. What wines to serve? The French, contrary to folk lore, don't drink a lot. So, I've been at a dinner party for eight people (with only French people except us) where we share one bottle of champagne for the aperatif and one bottle of red wine during the meal. But, the wines are excellent. So, I'm charged with finding quality vs. quantity. I guess I can handle this.

Back to the cheese. Even though I love cheese, the cheese shops of Paris are a little intimidating. There are so many choices. Over 300 at last count. I only need three. I also hope that they don't smell too much or the whole house will smell like we're hiding a body in the bathroom. The French don't seem to mind but I hate the smell of strong cheese as much as I love it's taste. Another challenge.

The dessert is decided. While there are many incredible shops that have gorgeous desserts in their windows, I've decided to make my own. This is unusual for me, but a recipe inspired me. It is decided.

Bread will be purchased on the morning of the party. There is only one bakery in our neighborhood that is open on Sunday, but they are open all day, regular and good. That's taken care of.

We haven't heard much about the main course. Well, that's because that's the easiest part, the same in both countries. Except the selection of the meat. Here in France, we won't offend our guests if we serve beef, veal, pork, or lamb. Chicken is a little iffy, since it is a little bit down-scale. So, it's all about the preparation and the quality.

I'm still confused. I have to plan it all and decide within the next 24 hours.

In any case, it will be good and the guests will never know the second guessing I've been doing. Back and forth across the Atlantic and across the US continent I go, to try to find the perfect solution to serving dinner to my guests.