I know you’ve missed Susie so forgive me for keeping you apart from this talented cookbook reviewer.  Today she’s giving you her gluten-free low-down on the newest book by David Lebovitz, My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories.

I Have to Be Completely Honest . . . 

My French is terrible. I didn’t pay enough attention in high school and now, I really can’t speak it well at all—les tribulations of being a lazy student, I suppose. However, I can navigate a French menu or cookbook like nobody’s business—les avantages of being a food addict. All thanks to David.

That would be David Lebovitz: expat pastry chef, blogger (davidlebovitz.com) and author. He’s written about everything from chocolate to ice cream, and his book The Sweet Life In Paris is one of my absolute favorite food memoirs.  His blog is a must-read, chronicling everything from daily life in Paris to his travels in his witty and engaging voice. His newest cookbook, My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories, invites readers into his kitchen as he cooks French food his way, giving the background to the classics as well as his own spin on each dish.

That’s one of the things that makes this book a standout. You feel as if he’s talking directly to you, even guiding your hand in the kitchen. That’s rare in many cookbooks today, and it is wonderful to have on your shelf. (I particularly loved the section about cooking au pif, or “by the nose.” Basically, the French aren’t as obsessed with precise measurements or times as we are—they are on the metric system (as we really ought to be—all of our baked goods would be better!) and they pay more attention to the scent of the food as it is cooking than to an oven timer. (I wish I could be like that. However, I’m not tossing my timer just yet. Eventually, when I know my pif can be trusted.)

Contrary to popular belief about French cuisine, not everything in here is full of butter. In fact, one of my absolute favorite dishes was the Raw Vegetable Salad, a sort of slaw that comes with two variations on the dressing: one a creamy garlic (no joke, this is like TRUEBLOOD garlicky!) and a garlic vinaigrette—lighter, but just as flavorful. Both versions made the salad a delicious way to use some fresh crunchy summer vegetables on superhot days, when you don’t feel like cooking.

Raw Vegetable Salad (naked) – there were two different dressing options in the book though.

Another dish I loved was the Poulet Craupaudine Facon, aka the Chicken Lady Chicken (so-called because he wheedled the recipe from a woman who sold rotisserie chickens at his local market.) We made it four times! The recipe calls for a three-pound bird, and I would suggest heeding these instructions as the weight of the bird affects the cooking time. This is some seriously good chicken. We’ve never failed to pick the bird clean. What can I say? We’re vultures.

Before and After – Chicken Lady Chicken

I tried several other recipes, including the frites, which were just outstanding! Baked—not fried— with fresh herbs tossed in, these were a real hit in our house. And don’t think I didn’t do any baking, with David being a former pastry chef. I was dying to work with my new 800 pounds of chickpea flour (seriously—my husband loves ordering in bulk from Amazon.) So I eagerly made a batch of *Panisse Puffs (little soufflés/popovers), David’s variation on panisses, chickpea frites from Southern France. One of my favorite things to do, baking-wise, is to pull open a fresh-from-the-oven popover and get that curl of buttery steam—and these proved to be no exception, and a great mashup of both an American and French classic.

The recipe for *Buckwheat Madelines was quite tempting. I love working with whole grain flours, plus, there are cocoa nibs in the batter. (He must have written this one with me in mind.) These were sooo good, with a real depth of flavor. (It was also incredibly exciting to see my photo get retweeted by David himself later that week—thanks, David!!)

I still wanted to challenge myself with a more complex recipe (not really, I just wanted some caramel.) So I made the Salted Butter Caramel Mousse. This was truly one of the best desserts I have ever tasted. Really.

There’s really only one caveat: do not, even for a second, take your eyes off of the sugar at any moment. (You know, to text your friend a photo of the book to say “Guess what I’m making, aren’t you jealous?” so that when you turn back to the pot, your caramel has gone hard as a rock. Not that I did that, no sirree.) Missing a beat here means your caramel will harden and you’ll have to start over.

Ingredients and prep for Salted Butter Caramel Mousse.

If you do follow every step, though, you will end up with the most heaven-scented, luscious, airy mousse you have ever tasted. You expect to taste chocolate first—instead, you get a rush of deep caramel, then a hit of salted butter . . . and then, finally, the richness of the bittersweet chocolate. In case you’re wondering how good it was, well:

Salted Butter Caramel Mousse – Going. Going. Gone.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a good story along with their recipes. And check out this fabulous link on David’s blog about The Making of the My Paris Kitchen Cookbook —very informative for anyone who wants an eye into publishing.

Au revoir for now, all—until next month!

*Please note that I used an equivalent amount of Cup4Cup gluten-free flour for the all-purpose flour in these two recipes, which may have slightly altered my results (though I kind of doubt it—the texture and flavor were phenomenal, for which I give the author 100% of the credit.) I can only imagine the results would be even better with AP Flour.  

*Also note that affiliate links included in this post which yields a few pennies toward Melissa’s Duran Duran Tour fund, should you purchase anything through these links.

To catch up on Susie’s previous posts, see the Lucky Santangelo Cookbook review or the ICE – Gluten-Free Bread Baking Class.  You can also connect with Susie and chat about books, New Wave music, coffee or gluten-free cooking on Twitter at @susan_litman and on Instagram at @insusieskitchen.

What is your favorite recipe that you discovered in a cookbook?