This seasonย saw a particularly excellent crop ofย cookbooks come to the forefront. But one that stood out for me wasย The London Cookbook by Aleksandra Crapanzano. When my copy came in the mail, I opened up the stately, deep blue cover, which revealed enticing pages of spectacularly simple, fresh food, the kinds I like, that are being cooked in London today. Spiced Carrots with Freekeh and Labneh,โฆ
Pierre Jancou is one of my favoriteย cooks in Paris. He does the seemingly simple task of taking raw elementsย โ such as a pan of root vegetablesย โ and making them taste better than you thought that vegetables could taste. I first came across his cooking when he was the chef/owner ofย Racines. Iโd ordered a simple pasta Bolognese, which isnโt something Iย would usually order unless I wasโฆ
A few months ago, I was gifted a very large bag of farro, overย five pounds of it. I never thought I could have enough farro, and sure enough, Iโm almost at the end of it. Farro is popular in Italy, and nowadays, itโs available inย the United Statesย and elsewhere. Itโs a particular strain of wheat, similar to wheat berries, or รฉpautre, in France, known elsewhere asโฆ
Call me old-fashioned, but sometimes I like old-fashioned places. One place that does old-fashioned especially well is France. But Iโm not the only one who feels that way; people come from around the world to visit the city, and baskย in the ร lโancienne charm, which is sometimes derisively described as carte postaleย Paris. Like other cities, Paris is changing and isnโt a museum, per se, butโฆ
One thing that seems to cross international lines with successย is baking. I never visit a country without sampling their baking. I visit bakeries, and enjoy everything from French croissants and hearty German breads, to Indianย naan breads and bagels in Brooklyn, Montreal, and Jerusalem. Here in France, just after the new year, the windows of pastry shops are lined with all sizes of Galettes des Rois,โฆ
I recently came acrossย this spot-onย video by chef Jacques Pรฉpin, which hit the nail squarely on the head regarding cooking and following recipes. I was particularly impressed by how he was able to explain what can go wrong when you do so. Most peopleย who write recipes for a livingย spend a lot of time writing themย as clearly and accurately as possible. Still, even the best recipe isnโtโฆ
Over the holidays, we were in the U.S. to spend time with my family (and โ gulp โ to see my editorโฆ), and I made brisket for Romain. He doesnโt like bลuf bourguignon, because it he says itโs alwaysย โdry,โ so decided for a treat, Iโdย make brisket, a beef dish thatย is anything but. Because Iโm such a champ, I actually made it a few different times,โฆ
Like the recent recipe for Caramelized Almond Cake, Iโve been anxious to make Sbirolona, a crunchy Italian tortaย that sort of defies description. I donโt know any other dessert or pastry like it. The first time I had it, it was already broken into pieces, piled in a covered glass jar at a bakery.ย I didnโt know what to make of the craggy pieces I was nibblingโฆ
A few years ago, a favorite bakery in Paris near where I lived was offering brownies. The baker gave me one to taste and although I was happy they were expanding their repertoire outside of their borders (actually, many French pastries are influenced from other cultures), the plain, somewhat dry brownies werenโt doing it for me. They didnโt understand that a brownie is best whenโฆ
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