July 2008 archives

Rochoux’s caramel-filled chocolate bar.

At the shop, they advise you that after you’ve started it, to store it upright to prevent the caramel from running out.

That is, of course, is based on the assumption that there’s going to be any left over in the first place.

John-Charles Rochoux
16, rue d’Assas (6th)
Tél: 01 42 84 29 45
(Map)

Related links:

And more chocolate: John-Charles Rochoux (TooManyChefs)

John-Charles Rochoux; Parisian chocolatier

French coffee has a few fans. But for most of us, it’s lacking in flavor and can be bitter, murky, and poorly prepared. In The Sweet Life in Paris, I noted a number of reasons for this. And visitors and residents are often disappointed with the quality of coffee in Paris.

Here are some tips and a list of places in Paris that take care when making their coffee and you can get a good cup:

• In a café, check and see if the place uses an Italian or freshly roasted brand of coffee. This isn’t always the most reliable trick, but is an indication they’re not just pulling coffee from the easiest-available (and cheapest) brands. Many use stock French brands that are purchased for their price and convenience, rather than flavor.
• Look and see if they’re grinding the beans fresh, firmly packing the coffee into the tamper, and keeping the filter holder in place when the machine isn’t being use to hold in the heat. Those are indications they’re somewhat interested in doing things correctly
• Peer into some of the cups that are being passed over the bar before ordering. A real espresso should be about a tablespoon of coffee with a layer of lighter froth floating on top.
• If you want the closest approximation of a true espresso, ask for café serré, a “tight” coffee. The French normally drink their café express with more water than a customary espresso.
• It’s hard to avoid, but most cafés use sterilized, ultra-pasteurized milk in milk-based drinks, which tastes horrible and will ruin even a decent cup.
• When in doubt, such as on the autoroute or train, resign yourself to ordering a café noisette; an express marked with a bit of steamed milk, which’ll tame any bitter or acrid flavors.

Continue Reading Where to Find a Good Cup of Coffee in Paris…

For a number of years, this forum has been a place to ask questions about ice cream making. However after hundreds of questions, everything that could be asked and answered about ice cream making has been said. So comments have been closed and if you have a question, you can use the search feature on your browser to scan the comments.

I’ve learned a lot listening to you about ice cream making and am thrilled that so many of you have taken up the task of churning up ice cream and sorbets at home. Thanks for participating in this forum!

-david

Here’s a list of links to various places on the site where you can find more information and tips about how to make ice cream.

However because to the number of inquiries, please keep in mind…

-If you have questions regarding a specific machine, I suggest contacting the manufacturer as they’re best equipped to give advice on your particular model.

-If you have questions about other people’s recipes, it’s advisable to contact the chef or author of that recipe.

-If you wish to try to recreate a favorite flavor you’ve had in a restaurant or ice cream shop, I suggest contacting the source of the inspiration, such as the company or chef, for guidance.

-While I appreciate those who are on special or restricted diets, there are a number of books out there which address ice cream recipes that are specifically tailored for those seeking recipes on that nature and it’s best to check those sources for recipes and for making modifications.

-Due to the number of comments and questions, yours might have already been answered. You can do a search using your browser for keywords in your question, to find is there is already a response.

-For questions about ingredient substitutions, check out my post on Baking Ingredients and Substitutions.

Vegan Ice Cream Books

I’ve had a lone jar of quince marmalade sitting in the back of my refrigerator for about a year now, and thought it was about time I humanely dealt with it.

Personally, I love quince.

I like them poached, stewed, roasted and make into jam. But judging from the still-to-the-brim jar that’s been relegated to the back corner of my fridge, it’s not as popular with others as it is with me. So I decided to kill two birds with one great recipe.

I’d flagged a lovely tart that Luisa at Wednesday Chef made a while back which featured—get this, a no-roll crust! I’m not a fan of cleaning up my counter (or my refrigerator, for that matter) especially when my housecleaner is on her annual eleven-week vacation. So the idea of a crust you just press into a tart mold, fill with jam, and top with the remaining bits, appealed to be more than you can imagine. It doesn’t take much to please me, does it?

Never content to rest on my laurels—or in this case, someone else’s, I tweaked the original recipe, swapping out some of the flour and mixing in stone-ground cornmeal, because frankly, anytime I can add cornmeal to something, I will.

Continue Reading Easy Jam Tart…

A while back it was cannelés.

Those little eggy pastries baked with a cracky-crust, that everyone was going ga-ga over and just had to bring home the copper molds to make. (Hands up, folks. How many of you have ever used them?)

Then everyone moved on to macarons, dainty little “sandwiches”, made from two crispy almond meringues, with a layer of buttercream or jam in the middle.

So when I heard that pastry chef Arnaud Lahrer, who’s won the award for the best macaron in Paris, opened a shop devoted solely to macarons and chocolate, I put on my reporter hat and caught the métro up to the 18th arrondissement to taste them.

Of course, I couldn’t do it by myself, so I enlisted my friend Heather to come and help with this daunting task.

Continue Reading Macarons et Chocolat…

I send out a newsletter several times a year and if you’d like to be on my mailing list, and get bonus recipes, stories, photos, and first notification about tours and books, fill out this form and you’ll receive the next one when it’s sent.

Please note: Your e-mail address is *never* shared or sold, and I send out approximately 5-6 newsletters per year, so you won’t be innundated by e-mail. I use an opt-in system so you’ll receive a confirmation e-mail so that you can confirm that you are really you to you. (Got that?) Cancellation information is at the end of each newsletter should you decide to split.

If you’ve signed up for the newsletter before and didn’t get it, it could be for a number of reasons: invalid e-mail address, spam blockers with your provider (put update@davidlebovitz.com on your safe list to avoid that), or you’ve worn out your welcome around here.

Just kidding! ; )

Thanks, -david

Clotilde Dusoulier is the ultimate Parisian insider, one shares her tasty tales of life in Paris on her blog, Chocolate and Zucchini. In this very handy guide, a native Parisian happily leads us around Paris, taking us from little-known specialty food shops and classic bistros to authentic Japanese noodle bars and wine tasting venues.

One of my favorite parts of Clotilde’s Edible Adventures in Paris are tips on how restaurants and food shops work here. For example, knowing that you’re not a “customer” but a “guest” explains a lot of things to foreigners, who are used to the Customer is King attitude.

Other cultural tips, like keeping your hands on the table while you’re eating and not resting your bread on the edge of your plate, are explained so you can avoid making a faux pas, as I did shortly after I arrived in Paris and was scolded for my bread infraction by the host at a dinner party.

And I always thought it was rude to scold guests! Who knew?

Continue Reading Two Delicious Dining Guides to Paris…

Lest you think this is turning into a blog about obscure, leafy ingredients, you might be right. But when I sniffed the very fragrant leaves of lemon verbena, or verveine, growing out-of-control at my friend Trisha’s house near Nice, and she told me to take as much as I wanted home, I dove for the clippers. And almost as soon as I got home, to preserve the taste, I infused them and churned up a batch of lemon verbena ice cream.

French people drink infusions and tisanes after dinner, which in English, we simply refer to as “herb teas.” But in France, what they call “tea” has black tea in it. Infusions and tisanes are made with herbs or other greenery.

Yet Arabic mint tea is called “tea” by the masses, and while it usually has some green tea in it, I can’t figure out the differentiation between “tea” made with leaves and “infusion” made with leaves.

Continue Reading Lemon Verbena Ice Cream…