David Lebovitz's Blog, page 22
February 20, 2020
Drinking French: Paris Book Launch at WHSmith
I’ll be at WHSmith in Paris next Thursday, celebrating the release of Drinking French: The iconic cocktails, apéritifs, and café traditions of France, with 160 recipes on February 27th. The event will be from 6 to 7:30pm and include a talk, book signing, and a French cheese and spirits tasting, as well.
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February 17, 2020
The Making of Drinking French
A few years ago, after My Paris Kitchen came out, I began thinking about what I’d write about next. Whenever you have a book come out, the most common question is, “What’s your next book?” Sometimes you already have an idea, but other times, it’s nice to sit back and enjoy what you’ve written. I was happy that people took to that book so much, and after a respite, I started thinking about what to write about next.
Because I was asked about it so much, I decided that telling the story of my apartment renovation would make an interesting book, which turned out to be true, knowing that people would be surprised at what a comedy of errors it turned out to be.
But another subject I found myself becoming more and more interested in was the culture and traditions of French drinkings, and the drinks themselves. I submitted both proposals at once, nearly six years ago, in a two-book arrangement with my publisher, deciding to tackle the renovation story first while it was still fresh in my mind and take on French drinks when I was done. That ended up being a good thing…because I needed a drink after reliving L’Appart…and from what many of you have told me after reading it, so did you!
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February 13, 2020
Weekend Links
I’ve been scrambling to get caught up on, well…everything. Included on my sizable to-do list is a rather long blog post that’s hopefully going to be worth the wait. (Ya never know…) There are also a few tech issues behind-the-scenes here on the blog that need tending to, even though I’d rather be baking. There is…or was…a cashew brittle recipe that didn’t quite work out as anticipated (unless you don’t mind a few cracked fillings), as well as cake recipe I started for the blog, only to find later in the recipe that one of the ingredients should be prepared a year in advance (so mark your calendars for Ferbuary 2021.) There’s also my new book coming out in two weeks, visitors in town, emails to answer, a short get-away planned, bread to buy, and wine to drink.
Anyways, while I’m waiting for my identical twin to arrive, here are some interesting links for you to chew on in the meantime…
-Looking back at some shockingly misogynist Angostura ads (Punch)
-Who is the pastry chef behind the Bob’s Red Mill recipes? (Taste)
-What’s the deal with the different covers UK vs. US cookbook covers, for the same books? (Epicurious, h/t Smitten Kitchen)
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February 7, 2020
Riz au lait (French rice pudding)
Recently I was contacted by a film production company that was proposing to include me in a series. They were interested in what I do and mentioned they wanted to come over and film me in my office, along with all the people I work with. I hated to disappoint them, but I had to tell them that it’s just was me sitting in front of my computer, or hanging around my kitchen, wielding my camera while trying to balancing a spoon on the edge of a saucepan so it doesn’t fall in, or coaxing a quickly-melting scoop of ice cream into something that’ll look presentable when I publish the recipe for you.
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January 31, 2020
The Jockey Club cocktail
When I write a book, I’m all in. That’s why I tend to lean into single-subject books, exploring ice cream, cooking and baking in Paris, and the traditions and culture of French drinks. Each book gives me an opportunity to take a deep dive into something that I love, but also allows me to learn and discover something new.
I’ve always liked the flavor of noyau, the bitter almond-like kernel tucked inside the pits of stone fruits; peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, and cherries. Amaretto cookies are made from apricot kernels, and I was happy to get my hands on a bottle of Noyau de Poissy, a liqueur which prominently features their flavor as well.
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January 24, 2020
Tourtiere
I’m not going to beat around the bush here: The new Joy of Cooking is huge. When I first heard about it, I wondered, “Do we need a new Joy of Cooking?” First published in 1931, the book went through several revisions over the years, to become what has the most enduring of all American cookbooks. Yet I wondered if the book would (or could) still be relevant, in the age of the internet, and as several other books had come along through the year, that could also be considered “encyclopedias” of cooking. I had some doubts.
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January 18, 2020
Thin, Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies
I recently put my foot in my mouth, again. Speaking at a writer’s conference and rambling on at the podium, as usual, I offered up that I don’t think of cooking or baking as love. It’s cooking and baking. Maybe because I was a restaurant cook for so long and spent decades pumping out food (which would have been a lot of love-making), I think of food as, well…food.
Of course, right after my talk and I left the podium, the screen behind me flashed in large letters: “Food As Love,” announcing the next topic, followed by a group of food writers coming onto the same stage to talk about how food was love.
Oops.
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January 13, 2020
Creme de Marrons (Chestnut Spread)
When I was sprier (and when I could eat all that chocolate!) I used to do culinary tours. One of the most fun things to do was to take people into places and explain some of the lesser-known items that, incongruently, France is famous for. I know. I had to think about that for a minute, too.
I’d point out things like fleur de sel, salted butter from Brittany (doing my best to reverse decades of people insisting that gourmands only ate unsalted butter), the esteemed (and ridiculously delicious) Madame Loïk, Amora mustard, Kiri, and caillé. I even shared some of the goofier things here on the blog, which has been up for a decade but still has only 1 share on Pinterest and 17 on Facebook. So perhaps I overestimated people’s interest in pop’n fresh-style croissant dough sold in cardboard tubes, and rosé wine pre-mixed with grapefruit flavoring.
Still, he persisted. Take crème de marrons, for example. It’s hard to get people outside of France to pay attention to it. Heck, even the Wikipedia page for it, in French, when you head over to the English version, takes you to a page about candied chestnuts, not chestnut cream. It easy to dismiss the dubiously brown paste that comes in a tin, that’s admittedly a lot prettier than what’s in it. But if you’re not familiar with it, I urge you to consider it.
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Creme de Marrons (Chestnut Puree)
When I was sprier (and when I could eat all that chocolate!) I used to do culinary tours. One of the most fun things to do was to take people into places and explain some of the lesser-known items that, incongruently, France is famous for. I know. I had to think about that for a minute, too.
I’d point out things like fleur de sel, salted butter from Brittany (doing my best to reverse decades of people insisting that gourmands only ate unsalted butter), the esteemed (and ridiculously delicious) Madame Loïk, Amora mustard, Kiri, and caillé. I even shared some of the goofier things here on the blog, which has been up for a decade but still has only 1 share on Pinterest and 17 on Facebook. So perhaps I overestimated people’s interest in pop’n fresh-style croissant dough sold in cardboard tubes, and rosé wine pre-mixed with grapefruit flavoring.
Still, he persisted. Take crème de marrons, for example. It’s hard to get people outside of France to pay attention to it. Heck, even the Wikipedia page for it, in French, when you head over to the English version, takes you to a page about candied chestnuts, not chestnut cream. It easy to dismiss the dubiously brown paste that comes in a tin, that’s admittedly a lot prettier than what’s in it. But if you’re not familiar with it, I urge you to consider it.
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January 6, 2020
Pozole
I’m one of those people that doesn’t order soup when I go out to eat. I guess I feel like soup is something that I should be eating at home. While words like “comfort food” and “nourishing” are easy-to-reach descriptions to attach to soup, I try not to overthink it. It just seems like home is the right place to be, to spoon up a bowl of warm broth, a mélange of vegetables, or some sort of purée.
Pozole (or posole) has always been elusive to me, for that reason. It’s on Mexican restaurant menus, but when I got a copy of The Rancho Gordo Pozole Book, since I’m pretty hooked on Rancho Gordo’s outstanding heirloom beans, I got going on making the red chile pozole, which uses hominy, at home.
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