vegetarian – replace chicken or steak with ‘mushroom steaks’ – just pan fry large field or portabello mushrooms until tender and juicy, about 8-10 minutes all up. Or try eggplant steaks.
vegan – as per the vegetarian menu but replace bernaise sauce with a commercial vegan mayonnaise spike with crushed garlic.
the lazy cook / short on time? – buy your pate and bread. Replace bernaise with a commercial hollandaise or mayonnaise. Choose the steak because it’s quicker to cook. Replace the ‘frites’ with commercial potato ‘straws’ or your favourite ‘crisps’ (trust me no one will complain about having them with their steak or chicken but do take them out of the packet to serve). Plain flavours like sea salt will work best. And outsource dessert with your favourite commercial ice cream, preferably some ‘gourmet’ stuff OR buy some different chocolates for a chocolate tasting.
healthier – serve pate with sliced raw veg such as carrots, celery, radishes and fennel. Skip the bernaise and serve the steak or chicken with a lemon half per person. Replace the frites with a healthier salad like this chickpea with grilled veg. And for a healthier dessert skip the mousse in favour of a big bowl of mixed fresh berries and serve with cream or natural yoghurt.
menu step-by-step planning guide + timing
menu total active time: 4.5 hours
step 1. any time up to 5 days before
Make pate & refrigerate (60 minutes)
step 2. the night before
Make brine for the chicken (10 minutes)
Butterfly the chicken and pop in the brine (10 minutes)
step 3. 2 1/2 hours before guests arrive
Make chocolate mousse + put in a cool place (45 minutes)
Remove pate from the fridge (5 minutes)
Cut up baguette to serve with pate (5 minutes)
step 4. 1 1/2 hours before guests arrive
Make Bernaise sauce, keep somewhere warm and cover the surface with cling wrap (30 minutes)
step 5. 1 hour before guests arrive
Remove steak or chicken from the fridge (and brine, if using). (1 minute)
Cut the spuds for the frites and place in the oven (10 minutes)
Set the table (10 minutes)
Put plates somewhere to warm (1 minutes)
Wash & dry salad leaves & refrigerate (5 minutes)
Make salad dressing (5 minutes)
Change into your party outfit (20 minutes)
step 6. when guests arrive
Appoint someone to look after drinks (especially yours!) (1 minute)
If making the chicken, increase the oven to 220C and pop the chicken in the oven to roast on the top shelf (move the frites to the bottom shelf). Set the timer to check the chicken after 30 minutes. (1 minute)
If not making chicken, check on the frites (1 minute)
Serve the pate and bread and mingle with your guests.
step 7. about 30 minutes after guests arrive
Check on chicken OR put a pan on to preheat for the steak OR preheat your BBQ. (5 minutes)
If the chicken is cooked, wrap in foil and allow to rest. If not, keep cooking. (5 minutes)
If the frites are cooked, remove oil from the pan and reduce oven temp – keep warm until ready to serve. If not keep cooking (5 minutes)
When frites are almost done, cook the steak (10 minutes)
Allow steak to rest while you toss the salad and get everyone to the table. (5 minutes)
Divide frites between plates and carve chicken or divide steaks between plates. (5 minutes)
step 8. about 1 hour after guests arrive
Toss salad in the dressing (2 minutes)
Serve main course, salad and bernaise and enjoy some wine!
step 9. when you’re ready
Delegate someone to clear the table (5 minutes)
Make tea or coffee (10 minutes)
Serve the chocolate mousse. (5 minutes)
If you feel like it stack the dishwasher and put a load on – or delegate this step too. (10 minutes)
step 10. when the guests leave
Finish cleaning up + congratulate yourself!
menu problem solving guide
Note: for problems with individual recipes see the problem solving guide for each recipe.
guests running late
Put the chicken on to cook anyway. Once the chicken is cooked and resting, remove the excess oil from the frites and reduce the temperature to either cook slowly or keep warm.
Preheat the BBQ or pan for the steak then remove from the heat. Best to wait until all guests are there before
frites cooking too quickly
Either reduce oven temperature, or if you can’t do that because you’re also roasting the chicken, remove the frites from the oven and return to the oven once the chicken is done.
frites taking too long
Increase the oven temperature (crank it to the max setting) and make sure your fan is on if you have one.
guests early
I hate when this happens! Get them to fix themselves a drink while you finish whatever you were doing then return to the plan.
chicken not cooked when carving
It’s important to check your chicken thoroughly when you take it out of the oven before resting to avoid this problem. But if you are carving and the chicken is pink, quickly turn the oven back on. Carve the chicken into quarters and cook for another 5-10 minutes – cut into one piece to make double sure it’s OK before serving. Better to have slightly over cooked chicken than have sick guests! Pop the frites in to rewarm for the last 5 minutes.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
MMMMMMM very inspiring, tres chic et tres simple! Cheers Michelle
So glad you like it Michelle!