Even though travel is interrupted, for the time being, I’ve planned several online events this month, and one in-person event in Paris: December 11: I’ll be signing copies of Drinking French at Café Méricourt in Paris from 3 to 4 pm. Copies of Drinking French will be available to purchase from the café for signing. (If you’d like a copy of L’Appart or The Perfect…
I’m a big fan of traditional Cassoulet. And I’m not alone; a repeated question I get is “Where can I get a good cassoulet in Paris?” The short answer is: To the Southwest of France. Sure, one can pick up a jar of Cassoulet from Castelnaudary, or make it, which I sometimes do. For those who want to tackle the project, there’s a recipe in…
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)…
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…
This Friday, I’ll be in conversation with award-winning writer Michael Ruhlman at Archestratus books in Brooklyn on November 1st, from 6:30 to 8:30 to celebrate the release of his new book, From Scratch. Michael’s opus to home cooking extols the virtues of mastering basic cooking techniques, which means doable recipes for the perfect roast chicken, as well as traditional cassoulet, the ultimate BLT (with home-cured…
I have a soft spot, or should I say, a crunchy spot, for candied nuts. I like it when they’re baked to a crispy, golden brown, with a touch of sweetness that comes from coating the nuts with just enough sugar to make them crackle in your mouth, but not enough to overwhelm. I also like a bit of salt, spice, and even some heat…
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…
There isn’t quite a word for “pie” in French. Tourte describes a double-crusted, enclosed pastry of some sort, but isn’t quite the same as pies in the States are. Like dishes from other nationalities and cultures, pie represents a tradition to Americans. Pies are a dessert we look forward to baking when fruit and berries come into season, and they are an essential part of our holidays, like Thanksgiving…
When Anissa Helou told me she was writing a book on the foods of the Islamic world, I was surprised, and a little curious. I didn’t know much about the food, but I am always drawn to the flavors, and ingredients used: Lots of vegetables, olive oil, pulses, grains, olives, spices, handmade cheeses and flatbreads, fresh fish, and grilled meats. In short, the kind of food…
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