David Lebovitz

French vs. American Refrigerators

2012-02-21T06:25:14Z

Maybe I’ve been looking at too many appliances lately, trying to decide on the just right one. But during my search, I’m trying to figure out what the difference between a French refrigerator and a réfrigérateur américain is…

French

Américain

La Pâtisserie

2012-02-20T20:12:17Z

When you live in Paris, you tend to stick to pastry shops in your neighborhood. Not that there aren’t “destination-worthy” places in all twenty arrondissements – with many notable ones on the Left Bank and in swankier districts. But with young chefs opening bakeries in various neighborhoods, catering especially to locals, one doesn’t necessarily need to go all that far to find extraordinary pastries and confections.

Cyril Lignac is a chef who is hosts popular television programs in France, and a few years ago had purchased Chardenoux bistro, an aging warhorse of a place where I once went to meet a good friend who was in town for a month. As I waited for him at the table, the place – and the waiters – looked so tired (both looked ready for a much-needed retirement), when he arrived, I quickly convinced him that we were probably better off going to a corner café for a salad. So it was good to hear that the bistro had been taken over by Monsieur Lignac and just across the street, pastry chef Benoit Couvrand was turning out stellar pastries and breads.

Continue Reading La Pâtisserie...

Egg Salad

2012-02-17T12:54:34Z

I’ve wanted to talk to you about Isot for a long time, but the little packet I opened sat on my counter for a few weeks, waiting to go into something else. But it wasn’t until I found myself with an overload of eggs, and an odd craving for an egg salad sandwich (something I haven’t had for years) that I found a way to feature this curiously delicious pepper, which has fruity and spicy nuances happening at the same time.

Isot is also known as Urfa Biber, and is a deep-purplish ground pepper. Whereas pomegranate molasses was all the rage a few years ago, Isot kind of got overlooked. And because I’m constantly asked “What’s the next food trend?” whenever I get interviewed, I’d like to propose Isot. It was given to me as part of a Turkish care package by Cenk, when he came to visit from Istanbul. And ever since I ripped open the curious little packet of pepper, which is the color of burnished eggplant skin, I’ve been intrigued by the thought of putting it in – or on – something else.

Continue Reading Egg Salad...

Marshmallow Cream Fudge

2012-02-14T11:08:09Z

I was told by my somewhat better half that I wasn’t allowed to bring the construction crew – that is, the guys who are working on my apartment – any more treats until they picked up the pace. I don’t think the expression “No more monsieur nice guy” exists in French, but that seemed to be the tone of the sentiment expressed.

However being American, I can’t help being a soft touch and have been sneaking the guys treats over there. They’ve had everything from Date Bars to Panforte. Meanwhile back at home, as I am packing up my kitchen cabinets and boxing everything up for my move, I found a jar of marshmallow cream that I brought back from the states a while back, presumably to make some sort of cupcake frosting that I never got around to.

Continue Reading Marshmallow Cream Fudge...

The Ceiling’s the Limit

2012-02-10T16:57:24Z

A number of folks have inquired about the progress on my apartment.

So here is a picture of the kitchen:

And here is the bathroom:

As you can see, it doesn’t look like much has been done…although I am considering leaving the bathroom like that, since I won’t have to worry about cleaning it. The last few ~~weeks~~ months have been the “discovery” period. The time when you pull things out and unearth all sorts of surprises – which for some silly reason, are usually bad. I’m still waiting to find a wad of euros (or francs), a forgotten bag of jewelry, or some bars of gold.

Continue Reading The Ceiling’s the Limit...

Paris Get-Together This Sunday

2012-02-10T07:31:49Z

This Sunday, February 12, there’s going to be a get-together to celebrate the release of the Paris Pastry e-book (a clever ruse to drink wine and eat macarons…) at La Cuisine cooking school in Paris. The event will take place from 2 to 4pm.

In addition to fun, frolic, and macarons made by the student of the school (did I mention the wine?) there will be copies of Ready for Dessert, The Perfect Scoop, The Great Book of Chocolate, and The Sweet Life in Paris, for signing if you’d like a personalized copy. Or you’re welcome to bring books you already have to sign as well.

If you plan to come, you are welcome to RSVP at the Facebook event page.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

-david

Notes

-Because this is a cooking school, and there will be other programs taking place before the event, please do not arrive early. It’s cold out there and we don’t want you standing by the Seine freezing your derrière off until the doors open.

-Credit cards and cheques cannot be accepted for book sales.

-The Paris Pastry Guide e-book is on sale for just $2.99 until February 14th through the Paris Pastry website only.

Panforte

2012-02-08T20:05:17Z

I’ve been going through my kitchen cabinets, and refrigerator…and freezer…and desk drawers, which has meant unearthing all sorts of odds and ends. Some were long-forgotten for a reason, and others brought back fond memories. Like the Pyrex glass container in my refrigerator encasing some remarkably well-preserved slices of candied citron. When I pulled the sticky citrus sections out, I realized that they don’t look quite as pretty as they did last year – which is okay, because neither do I – but they still tasted great. And the flavor of candied citron prompted me to make something I love: panforte.

Continue Reading Panforte...

Pear-Fennel Soup

2012-02-05T20:14:18Z

I just learned a few more words to add to my French vocabulary while in the throes of remodeling this week. I already wrote about the five or six words in French for sink. And I finally got the difference between a mitigeur and a robinet (a mitigeur has one knob “mixes” the water, and a robinet has two knobs). Fortunately the word is the same no matter what size sink you have. Well, unless you have a commercial sink, in which case it’s a mélangeur. So if you ever come to France and want to find a faucet for a hospital sink, you can thank me for saving you three weeks of work.

Speaking of work, my quest for regular floor tiles finally came to an end last Friday. I was looking for off-white tiles that had to meet three criteria; 1) They couldn’t be insanely expensive (which wiped out about three-quarters of the tiles I saw), 2) They couldn’t have beige in them (Why would anyone want white tiles tinted with beige, which right out of the box makes them look old and dirty?), and 3) They couldn’t be ugly. (I know they’re just going to see the bottom of your shoes, but why are the majority of tiles ugly?)

Continue Reading Pear-Fennel Soup...

Helmut Newcake, Gluten-Free Bakery in Paris

2012-02-02T17:45:55Z

Ever since I heard word it, I’ve been anxious to try Helmut Newcake, what’s been heralded as the first gluten-free bakery in Paris. While a couple of bakeries and natural food shops offer gluten-free bread, they’re invariably made somewhere where other breads are made (risking cross-contamination with wheat flour), or the salesclerks simply stack the gluten-free breads with the regular ones, which is little comfort to those who can’t tolerate eating gluten.

Continue Reading Helmut Newcake, Gluten-Free Bakery in Paris...

Lille, Aux Moules, and a Sink

2012-01-31T14:19:23Z

“Three weeks?! Is that all?” they laughed uproariously, as a response to my telling folks at a dinner party the other night about how much trouble I was having finding things like sinks, tiles, light fixtures, and so forth, for the renovations of my apartment. I literally spent weeks and weeks combing plumbing catalogs, scoping out a myriad of stores devoted to kitchen fixtures, and relying heavily on our friend, the internet, in search of a plain, large, white sink.

I don’t want swoops and swirls, (and I only have one more Ikea visit left in me, and I’m banking that for something really important) – I want a generous basin that’s large enough to hold a few pots and pans. And I’m not interested in a purple or green one. You wouldn’t think it would be all that hard – and neither did I – but after three solid weeks (and I mean, twenty-one days and twenty-one nights), I finally found one in France. The only problem? It was in Lille.

As I’ve shown many friends here, tout est possible, so we decided to make a day trip up to the city in the North, just a few hours from Paris, and while there, eat some of the local fare. Because things are so frantic right now — imagine if I took me three weeks to find a sink…then I really need to get cracking on a toilet, a towel bar, kitchen cabinet handles, a soap dish, and light bulbs — so I don’t have a huge amount of time.

Continue Reading Lille, Aux Moules, and a Sink...