“My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories” by David Lebowitz is the February 2020 book selection for the Left Coast Cellars Culinary Book Club. David is an American food blogger that has lived in Paris for the last ten years. You can check out his work in the link.

This work is a cookbook, where the stories are largely about some aspect of the recipe in focus. There were a few interesting factoids that I picked up reading the book like most apartments don’t have kitchens in Paris, service at most stores is curt to nonexistent, mustard is the French salsa and the most prevalant cheese used is Gruyere (which is Swiss).

The section that interested me the most was the appetizer section. It has the most variety of recipes and is not strictly French cooking. Influences of Africa and the Middle East are very apparent in this section, like the use of Harissa.

David does a good job of Anglicizing the recipes as there are ingredients that do not exist the majority of the United States. He talks about what is considered proper and what he would use (in some cases does use) in its place.

The photography and food stylizing make the recipes look very appetizing. This month, the host of my book club will not be available. So, we will not be focused on a specific meal but just appetizers. I think that I will make ‘Sardine Spread’ as my first foray into this cookbook.

Truthfully, I don’t see myself using this cookbook much. I think that it is largely the lack of classic French dishes and the plethora of cultural fusion in the book. My go to cookbooks are written by subject matter experts on the particular cuisine, like Rick Bayless for instance. Nevertheless, I want to try a few things before it gets filed away.