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 number years ago, before flour became an ingredient for some to avoid. Back then, I never…
Someone was once trying out for a job at a restaurant I worked at, who cooked a meal that had a course which 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’t know who gave him that information, but everyone who…
Join me this Sunday, December 2nd at La Cuisine cooking school in Paris for a get-together and book signing. The event will be held from 3pm to 5pm and is open to all! It’s a chance to get some holiday shopping done (signed books!) and to sample various treats provided by French producers.
One of my favorite things, or some of my favorite things, I should say, are Concord grapes. I grew up eating them as a snack, as well as in jams, jellies, and even desserts. And if anyone else is old enough, raise your hand if you remember the Welch’s Concord grape juice stand at the original Disneyland in Anaheim. Who cared about those chirpy wooden…
To celebrate the release of the paperback edition of L’Appart, I’ll be at Shakespeare & Co. at 939 Lexington Avenue (between 68th and 69th Streets) in New York City on Tuesday, November 13th, from 6:30 to 8pm. I’ll be in conversation with Justin Spring, author of The Gourmands’ Way: Six Americans in Paris and the Birth of a New Gastronomy. We’ll be taking questions, as…
Potato pizza sounds a bit odd, until you try it. The first time I had it was in Rome at Pizzarium, which I still remember almost fifteen years later. My memory isn’t what it used to be (as people insist on pointing out…), but I think I also had it at the Forno Campo de Fiori as well, and couldn’t get enough of it. I…
The story was a long time in the making, from deciding to plant roots in Paris, to finding an apartment and tackling a renovation. As often happens, things didn’t quite go as planned. There were obstacles to overcome and I had to expand my French vocabulary. (Who knew there were so many different words for sinks?) There was one too many trips to Ikea, the…
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 on French foods, of course, but also Spanish, Portuguese, and the areas…
A couple of weeks ago, I took a trip to the Savoie, a region of France that was once a dukedom of Italy. As you travel through France, especially away from the center of the country, you see more influences from neighboring countries, such as in the Basque region, where cornmeal and chile peppers figure into the cuisine. In Nice, pistou and socca from Italy are…
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