I remember when the flourless chocolate cake craze hit and all anyone could talk about were flourless chocolate cakes. Chocolate guru Alice Medrich said something along the lines of, “It’s one of the few desserts that’s famous for what’s not in it, than for what is in it.” This was a num
Someone was once trying out for a job at a restaurant I worked at, who cooked a meal that had a course that paired fish with cheese. I don’t recall if he got the job or not, but I do remember someone in the kitchen muttering, “Everyone knows that fish and cheese don’t go together.” I don’
I always wonder, when I open a cookbook, what recipe is going to jump out at me? I sometimes head for the dessert chapter first, but since man (and everyone else) can’t live by dessert alone – unfortunately – so I scan everything, from appetizers to main courses. I’m often drawn to cookbooks
A few months ago, I started following an interesting-looking Instagram account of a bakery in Paris that was making all their breads using natural leavenings, rather than commercial yeast. I didn’t know anything about it, but not only were they showing impressive loaves of just-baked breads, but t
Hoo-boy, a lot has changed in blogging since I started. Back then, people relied on RSS feeds to read blogs. Something changed, and now it’s social media and direct email notification that readers use to connect. I used to think newsletters were adding yet another – sigh – email to my Inbox.
There’s a certain ease and simplicity to free-form tarts like this. Sometimes they’re called a crostata, sometimes a galette. You can call it whatever you want, but I call it a fast way to use great fruit when it’s in season, without a lot of fuss. At the beginning of summer, when rhubarb is
I recently found myself with too much fine polenta on my hands that I’d gathered for some recipe testing. Grocery stores in France carry polenta (usually instant), and corn flour can be found at natural foods stores, but there are not many things made with cornmeal in the canon of French cuisine.
I’m not a huge beer drinker. I joke that I only drink beer if I’m on a sunny beach in Mexico, thinking that someone will take me up on that to prove it. So far, that hasn’t happened, so I may need to change my tactic. While I figure out another way, one thing I am sure of is that there’s no
It’s a great day when a new bakery opens up in your neighborhood. I don’t mean to brag, but there are six bakeries in my neighborhood. One of those “great days” was when a particularly lame bakery closed, and a really good one opened up in its place. And although I don’t like seeing people
Being a baker, summer is my favorite time of year. Not only are peaches, nectarines, cherries and plums abundant at the market, but as the seasons progress, the volume of fruits lowers the price, and I stock up on whatever I can, whenever I can. At Paris markets, I try to search out producteurs, th
Every summer, we head to Burgundy to visit French friends who live abroad, but who return for the summer. They quickly get reacquainted with the more leisurely lifestyle in the French countryside, which include enjoying Chablis and visiting the small town markets. Because we’re such top-notch gues
Tips and pictures on how to line a baking pan with aluminum foil from pastry chef & cookbook author David Lebovitz via David Lebovitz http://ift.tt/O3zHEb
For a quick sandwich & glass of wine, Au Sauvignon in Paris is a terrific little Left Bank cafe worth stopping in for a bite! via David Lebovitz http://ift.tt/O3zHEb
When I was in Sicily, either it slipped my mind, or my mind is slipping, because for one evening, I was supposed to be responsible for making something for dessert. I was offered a number of beautiful things to cook or bake with, and my mind kept wandering back to the heavenly ricotta cheese that [
In some copies of the first printing of My Paris Kitchen, it’s not clear when to add ingredients in two of the recipes in the dessert chapter. They’re correct in most copies of the book. But for the few where they weren’t, here are the clarifications: - Bay leaf pound cake with orange glaze (p
French Chocolate Cake
Tuna Zucchini Casserole
Spiced Honey Cakes
Le Petit Grain Bakery in Paris
Newsletters I Read
Strawberry Rhubarb Tart
Italian Polenta Cookies
Chocolate pots de crème
Maison Landemaine: French bakery in Paris
Summer Fruit Galette
Giant Gougeres
Meyer Lemon Curd and Lemon Tart
Cornbread with Harissa Butter
How to Line a Baking Pan with Aluminum Foil
Au Sauvignon
Six Books I've Been Enjoying
Fresh Corn Soup
Ricotta Ice Cream
Roasted Strawberry-Miso Ice Cream
My Paris Kitchen