I'm having a French- themed dinner party. Ideas on the appetizers?

The Provencal tomatoe spread from Kathleen Flinn's book 'The Sharper Your Knife The Less You Cry' is delicious, easy to make, and can be made ahead. You can also use the leftovers to stuff meat! http://thegreatpantryraid.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/provencal-tomato-spread/ And don't forget that if you want your party to be authentically French, serve the salad after the main course, followed by the cheese course (cheese is not a French appetizer), and complete the evening with the dessert. Bon appetit et bon courage!

Fresh, scraped radishes with sea salt & soft butter

Spreads and cheeses are always a nice touch to a French themed party. Include some paired wines with the cheeses.

well, my French friends in Paris often serve foie gras with baguette if it is a special dinner, perhaps fresh oysters...but for an American audience I agree with gougeres and pissaladiere...I would just keep it light

I got this from one of Patricia Wells' cookbooks. It sounds random but it is so so delicious and easy to make. I made it in larger quantities and smaller pieces for a bigger party.
http://books.google.com/books?id=6oyPnN53PBMC&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=patricia+wells+smoked+trout+recipe&source=bl&ots=5857gxdgSI&sig=J6YYQsRfISB2VCeQT74vmwjJBAA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=brAJT8GmBM30ggeioaSkAg&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAg

Last week's Charcuterie contest has some great ideas for pates and rillettes.

Agree about gougeres - always good (and look impressive.) Also, tapenade on small pieces of toasted baguette - even better if you smear the toasts with a little fresh goat cheese first.

A pissaladiere, cut in small-ish peices, is delicious. This is a good basic recipe (if you don't want to bother with the yeast dough, you can use store bought puff pastry instead - good either way): http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Pissaladiere

These are super delicious, always a favorite! Easy to make them mini for appetizers and use halved cherry tomatoes (since those are usually pretty tasty even in the dead of winter!)... http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/tomato-and-goat-cheese-tarts-recipe/index.html

Filo Tartlets, you can fill them with almost anything you like, you could do like a quiche Loraine filling or a spinach and artichoke filling, they are great and the flakey Filo layers make any thing delicious.

Gougeres!