David Lebovitz's Blog, page 128

Ottolenghi's Fried Beans with Sorrel, Feta & Sumac

When the recent cloud of volcanic ash cruelly snatched my vacation away from me, not only was I miffed I wouldn't be heading across the ocean (and let me tell you, there's nothing more depressing than unpacking a non-used swimsuit, sandals, and sunscreen out of a suitcase), but I was sad I would be missing dinner with Yotam Ottolenghi at his restaurant, Ottolenghi. I'd written him a fan letter, and after agreeing to a psychiatric evaluation, and a pass through a metal detector, he...

My New iPhone App!

I'd like to introduce my iPhone application. I've recently become a convert (er, addict...) to my iPhone and like everyone said, it's a life-changing device.

I'm still learning about all its capabilities, and I'm rolling out an application that's a free download. Included in the application are recipes and delectable photographs.

And with the touch of a button, you can dial in to my Twitter feed, where I say things all sorts of inappropriate things, get links to blog entries as...

Beans

It wasn't until I went to college when I learned that not all moms were good cooks. Or that mothers did laundry. Like her mother, my mother worked, but still cooked dinner every night when she got home. Sometimes it was as simple as pork ribs brushed with soy sauce and baked, or shrimp stuffed with seasoned bread crumbs. Although not as 'fancy', my favorite were English muffin pizzas we made in the GE toaster oven which called for a spoonful of tomato sauce, a few drips of olive oil...

The Perfect Scoop: Now in Softcover!

The Perfect Scoop is now available in a large-format softcover edition. Packed with recipes for ice creams and sherbets, plus non-dairy fruit sorbets and granitas of all kinds, this is the book so many folks have been using to churn up all sorts of frozen desserts. And it's now available in a new format at a lower price.

You'll find not just ice creams like Hazelnut-Chocolate Gelato and a coffee-charged Mocha Sherbet, but recipes for ice cream puffs topped with steaming Hot...

J'Go

I vaguely remember my first visit to J'Go. I think it had something to do with a wild night at the bar, and involved French rugby players drinking Armagnac shots off my belly. But unless someone has photo proof, I'm going to just assume that my memory may be off. (It very well may be, if it involves my having a belly concave enough to hold any sort of liquid.)

The name J'Go is a jeux de mots, a play on words for 'gigot', which is pronounced exactly the same and means 'leg of...

Ready for Dessert Note: Using Chopped Chocolate

Am glad to hear, and read, that many of you are enjoying the Chocolate Chip Cookies from Ready for Dessert.

Just a quick note that the recipe (page 188) calls for adding "...bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped." They should resemble these.

I prefer hand-chopped chocolate since the chunks melt nicely in the cookies, and folks should add all the chocolate—including the tiny bits and chocolate dust, in addition to the larger pieces of chocolate, which add to the color...

How to Take Care of Your Knives

I can deal with a lousy oven. I can use crummy cookware. And I'll admit that I can bake a cake in a flimsy pan. But I refuse to use a dull knife. It's not only that they're hard to use, but a bad knife is downright unsafe. Some people are terrified of sharp knives when in fact, when used properly, they're actually safer: Most people cut themselves when a knife slides off something they're slicing rather than when it makes a clean cut right through it.

Professional cooks bring their...

Chocolate Bread

When I got the opportunity to re-release my first two books, which had gone out of print, my publisher and I decided that they should be combined into one brand-new volume, Ready for Dessert, with new photos and more than a dozen new recipes added. So I made a master list of all the recipes, then chose my absolute favorites: the ones I'd found myself making over and over again during the years invariably rose to the top.

I had to choose le top du top, as they say in France. Then ...

The Barbès Market

Every once in a while there are contests in Paris to decide who makes the best croissant, a hot new restaurant list get published somewhere, or a market way on the other side of Paris that supposedly has great onions grown in the same soil where Louis the XIV once took a squat, becomes a "must visit". It's pretty encouraging to see and hear about new places, especially when it's a young baker or chef getting some recognition for maintaining the high-quality of one of France's...

Al Taglio

For quite some time, whenever I'd go out to eat in Paris with a visiting friend, their gaze would invariably land on something Italian on the menu. And they'd want to order something like risotto or salad Caprese, which I'd warn them away from. Or pizza, which might come to the table with some unexpected topping, like canned corn or pineapple. When I moved to Paris, I thought it odd that Italian food wasn't as well- represented here as I assumed it would be. After all, France shares a...