Review: My Paris Kitchen

Title: My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories
Author: David Lebovitz
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: April 8th 2014
Source: Netgalley & Ten Speed Press

★★★★

Four stars.

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My Paris Kitchen is equal parts cookbook and personal experience about living and cooking in France. Admittedly, I was more interested in the recipes than the stories at first, but that quickly changed. The way that David Lebovitz writes both about French life and food makes his passion clear, and it made me want to get on a plane immediately to go visit some of these places for myself and to eat some of these tasty treats.

Thankfully, the recipes in this book make the last desire a reality. This book includes a ton of delicious sounding recipes, most of which I'm eager to try. Each recipe comes with a story and tips on how to create it to perfection. There are also a decent amount of pictures to entice you into giving these dishes a whirl. The collection of recipes is divided by course, so it's easy to find what recipe you're in need of most.

Some of the ingredients in these recipes can be kind of hard to find in a standard American store, but Lebovitz has already thought of that. He offers variations, or ingredients you can swap for others, to make a different but just as delicious meal from My Paris Kitchen. A few of the recipes that I'm most eager to try are the Cheese, Bacon, and Arugula Souffle, Parisian Gnocchi, and Steak with Mustard Butter and French Fries.

This book is a great guide to French cuisine, and is one that I'd cook from often, having a love of all things French myself. Be advised though, that some of the techniques and recipes here are a bit complex, so if you're a total kitchen newbie, this might not be the best first step. But if you're no stranger to the kitchen, this is a book I'd definitely recommend both for the story weaving, and the recipes.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ten Speed Press for my chance to read this.