Toluu : David Lebovitz

David Lebovitz

Blog of pastry chef David Lebovitz, author of Room For Dessert, Ripe For Dessert, The Great Book of Chocolate and The Perfect Scoop. Dessert and chocolate recipes using seasonal fruit and berries, and writing about Paris, including travel tips and stories about living the sweet life in Paris.

Tomorrow is the official start at les Soldes, the twice-annual period when the French government allows stores to discount merchandise. It usually last four weeks, although for the past couple of months, a few scofflaws have been marking things down discreetly anyways, flaunting the law in these cash-strapped times.

The area I live in is the Bastille, and it was once known as a hub of activity for furniture makers and interior designers. During the past few years, the Gap, Levis, and Nike, have muscled their way into the neighborhood as well. Unlike their American counterparts, they have to wait for the sale period as well.

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Dave T's Spinach CakeJanuary 5

I don't know when it took hold, it was well before I got here, but le Brunch is somewhat popular with a certain segment of the population in Paris. Unlike the Bloody Mary and Mimosa-fueled repasts I have fond memories of back in San Francisco, here, I don't know if the concept really works. For one thing, Sundays are blissfully "sacred" and no one seems to want to wake up and go anywhere until—well, Monday. And the places that do serve brunch are pretty crowded with misfits who probably didn't get to bed the previous evening, as well as the clad-in-black, chain-smoking bobo crowd.

I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to do on Sunday morning is wait outside in the freezing cold, breathing second-hand smoke from a bunch of bleary party-goers, both of us desperate for coffee, while waiting for a table.

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Sweet Potato Gnocchi: The Good, the Not-Too-Bad, and the Sorta UglyJanuary 3

I thought I'd better get this one out of the way right off the bat, at the start of the year. This recipe was languishing on my kitchen counter, resisting publication until I could resist no more. (And if you saw my kitchen counter, you'd know a piece of paper takes up about 25% of it, so I'm especially eager to get it out of the way.) I wasn't sure if it was up to snuff since I can't claim exactly 100% success, although the end result was pretty darned good.

But Carol warned me I'd better write it up, and I'm a bit scared of her after what she did to that pig's head. Although truth be told, she can blame any failures on Tom or Grant. Here, it's just me, myself, and moi.

Plus I needed the counter space.

Gougères: French Cheese PuffsJanuary 1

One thing I learned during the last few days of the past year could be summed up in four words: Don't ever turn fifty.

Do whatever you can do to avoid it. I'm still reeling from the trifecta, the one-two-three punch of Christmas, my Birthday, then New Year's Eve, the last of which put me way over the top. And now that I'm in my declining years, recovery is much harder than it was just a mere week ago. I'm going downhill, fast, my friends.

The first thing I thought when I woke up this morning, my head clouded by a combination of Krug champagne, Château Lafite Rothchild 1964 and 1969 (not that I know the difference, but since the '69 was in a 4-bottle, a gigantic double magnum with a funky-looking label...I knew we were drinking something special) was right from the "What on earth was I thinking?" file.

I was wondering why I invited five people over for dinner and drinks tonight.

Contin

NoëlDecember 29 2008

I couldn't let the year end without a little reportage about Christmas this year. You heard about my last-minute scramble to find the World's Most Expensive Pastry Bag, which is now safely stored away in my Safe Deposit Box for next year.

There's a joke that the only bad thing about Paris is that it's full of Parisians. I'm not going to comment on that, but Paris pretty much empties out, and is glorious time to stay in town. Also Christmas is taken pretty seriously around here. It's considered a close, family holiday and even though the big department stores have spectacular