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When I originally came up with this ice cream, the year was 2009, which seems like a long, long time ago, in so many ways. Absinthe had been banned in France since 1914, blamed for a host of societal ills, even being accused of causing people to go crazy (which has since been debunked; most blame additives added to cheap absinthe, which caused brain damage), and the spirit was revived and legal again, nearly a hundred years later.

Distillers quickly hopped back on the absinthe bandwagon, the green anise-flavored drink revived everywhere, from Switzerland (where it was originally created), to France and California. People went a little crazy again, inventing everything from absinthe gummi bears to absinthe cake. Eventually some of the hoopla subsided as people realized – with its high-proof (many hover in the 60-75% range) – that absinthe was something best enjoyed in small doses. Or in my case, with chocolate.

Finding myself with a few bottles of modern-day absinthe on hand, I decided to revisit it, which made me realize how much I love absinthe in ice cream. Even without the absinthe-flavored truffles, it’s a terrific scoop, paired with a wedge of bittersweet chocolate cake or brightly-flavored orange sorbet.

The color of absinthe can vary, ranging from clear to pale yellow, to red or bright green, depending on the brand. Due to its strength, absinthe is always diluted, and I can’t think of a better way to enjoy it that in this ice cream. My original absinthe ice cream alluded to the truffles, which I didn’t include in the original recipe, but I added them here.

One thing you’ll like about this ice cream, aside from the dynamic anise flavor, is the smooth texture of both the ice cream and the truffles, which I designed to stay soft in ice cream. Even for those who are not fans of anise, it works incredibly well in this ice cream, and may surprise you.

Absinthe Ice Cream

I folded absinthe-flavored chocolate truffles (see Note) into this ice cream, but you can swap out regular chocolate chips, or serve it without the chocolate, and garnish scoops with chocolate shavings, a few candied fennel seeds scattered over the top, or doused with chocolate sauce.
  • 1 cup (250ml) whole milk
  • pinch of salt
  • 2/3 cup (130g) sugar
  • 2 cups (500ml) heavy cream or half-and-half
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 3-4 tablespoons absinthe
  • about 1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate truffles, or chocolate chips
  • Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan.
  • Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream or half-and-half into the bowl.
  • In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.
  • Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.
  • Strain the custard into the cream or half-and-half. Stir over the ice until cool, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.
  • Stir in 3 tablespoons of absinthe. Taste, and add an additional one if desired, before freezing in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once churned, fold in the chocolate truffles.

Notes

Note: To make the chocolate truffles (adapted from The Perfect Scoop), heat 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (140ml) heavy cream and 3 tablespoons light corn syrup in a small saucepan until it starts to boil. Remove it from the heat and add 6 ounces (170g) chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, stirring gently until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in 2 to 3 teaspoons absinthe, to taste.
To shape the truffles, pour the mixture into a small bowl and chill thoroughly. Once firm enough to scoop, use a teaspoon to scoop up little bite-sized pieces of the truffle mixture and set them on a plate lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Freeze until ready to use.
The Perfect Scoop

Related Links

Ice Cream Making FAQs

Absinthe Frappé (Imbibe Magazine)

Easy Chocolate Ice Cream

The Wormwood Society (Absinthe FAQs)

Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream

Making ice cream without a machine

Meet your maker: buying an ice cream machine

Espresso Granita Affogato (Recipe)

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190 comments

    • Chocolate and Toast

    Who on earth has been giving you such HORRIBLE advice?!! This person must be stopped.

    • Lara

    A pox on whoever is tying your proverbial hands! I love the stories behind your creations and getting the glimpse into your mind. Just because some may not agree about man purses or the Palin’s doesn’t mean the rest of us should suffer. Your recipes come about from your experiences, and without said experiences something is just missing… don’t do it, David!

    That being said, I love the look of this recipe. I’ve been looking for an excuse to buy a bottle of Absinthe and this is perfect. Can’t wait to try it!

    • Lars@grydeskeen

    Very nice blog. I am wondering if it could be possible to make the absinthe taste stronger, og if the (unusual amounts of) ethanol would destroy the ice cream texture?

    Alternatively I would use star anise or similar to infuse the extra taste in. Heck .. perhaps even infuse wormwood. ;)

    • Cliff

    Bah humbug! Write want you want to write! Isn’t this blog all about your own quest for some sort of therapy which can’t be found in Paris? Keep up your cathartic tales. We love them and can get plain recipes anywhere.

    • David

    Lars: Of the 12 folks who tasted it, I don’t think anything came away thinking it was not strong enough!

    (I used 4 tablespoons, but dialed it back here for those who might not like it so forceful.)

    I would not add any more absinthe since the alcohol can prevent it from freezing enough, but you could infuse the custard with spices, such as anise seed or wormwood, which I see at Arab markets in Paris. Or simple drizzle a bit of vivid green absinthe over each serving.

    • dawn

    well I enjoyed all the pink stories and even the nuthugger stories, but I also love your ice cream stories too. :-)

    • MysticMeg

    Beautiful green color-Amazing Simply Amazing-my green moods are numerous. What an exciting color infused just excites all senses and now to make it.
    Last time with Absinthe was in New Orleans many many years ago. Very interesting thought with chocolate….Dark and Moody.

    Very nice David…Many Many compliments to you!!!

    • Mrs Redboots

    I agree with those who think the best bits of your blog are the non-food bits! Come on David – you’d lose a lot more readers than you gained if you stuck strictly to recipes.

    Anyway, write the blog _you_ want to write, and ignore anybody else. That includes me!

    • Lisa

    I like the personal details the most. I probably wouldn’t have bookmark this page if you ‘got to the recipe already’. Ignore whoever said it.

    • Jen

    Stupid advice!! I love the Paris musings, and often forward them to my California friend living in Paris– who can generally always commiserate with your troubles!

    • krysalia

    hmm, lets see. the person who gave you this advice could be

    [ ] jalous
    [ ] blind and deaf about this past two years of your blog posts
    [ ] genetically unable to smile (deserves no pity for that since he told you this advice
    [ ] a jerk
    [ ] better hiding before visitors here get their hand on his collar :D
    [x] all of the above

    • Absolutely Not Martha

    hmmm. “chocolate cake” + “men’s room” in the same sentence–i’m gonna pass on this one.

    • Gina

    I agree with the pox on the giver or givers of such lousy advice. Don’t make us beg for the charming, funny, varied, interesting, lovely former blogging style!!!
    Oh ok, fine: puh-leeze!!!

    • dtmt

    no please don’t stop the stories they’re a delight to read, david! by the way the ice cream looks so gorgeous i’m salivating already :)

    • elle

    Don’t skip the stories :( It’ll make the blog generic and boring :( We like to know about you, your life and most of all we love the way you write it :) I hope im speaking for the public here…

    • Bernadette

    “Soft green, hallucinatingly-herbaceous….”what a description David, that is enough to tempt you right there! Isn’t there a tale that Oscar Wilde had a taste for Absinthe? Bet he is rolling in his grave, he missed out on this recipe!

    • Peter

    The use of Absinthe in ice cream sounds dreamy…I think I’ll make a tub and sit in that hotel where Oscar Wilde died and stare at the four walls!

    Keep the stories, cancel THAT reader.

    • Kati

    I like the long, in-depth posts. Everything you write is fascinating. If people only want the recipes, they can just read ahead. Don’t listen to them!

    • Lori

    I’m truly hoping you are joking about not including the story behind your recipes and your life in Paris…that would be very sad. There are enough “get to the recipe” blogs out there…keep yours uniquely special!!! And as mentioned earlier, worth bookmarking!

    • Erica

    awww, thats no fun! We like those stories, food-related AND otherwise.

    • David

    I can clearly see this is a ruse to get to me talk about the stories of absinthe ice cream-tinged skinny dipping plunges into the Seine (ick! Talk about dirty…)

    I was actually excited at the prospect of getting rid of everything but the recipes, and writing, which would certainly cut down on typos (which would certainly make a whole ‘nother group happy..) but your kinds words have given me the strength, courage, and the hope, to carry on.

    • Ryan

    How can you keep writing about food and NOT talk about Paris? Doesn’t sound possible.

    • azureflower

    your stories are one of the reasons i check my google reader every 2 hours! please don’t stop, you are a very delightful read.

    however, even with your poetic hands tied, you still make a very interesting blog.

    cheers to you!

    • Becks

    Yes, I agree, no more entertaining stories. You are, without argument, ridiculously amusing, and I have much better things to do than fantasize about Paris, like, say, vacuuming out my heater vents and defrosting my freezer. I never want to hear about Paris AGAIN!

    • Travelberg

    Your blog should be what you want! Personally I enjoy it all! And, believe it or not, all families are wacky! Like beauty, wackiness is in the eye by the beholder.

    • krysalia

    daveed> isn’t this the “my new book is just on the shelves and i’m exhausted” effect ?

    you know, when some writer says “gosh, I won’t never be caught writing again, this time I mean it !”

    • Connie

    your hyperlink to continue just baffles me… you light up my life? OMG…

    • shiman

    Please do not stop with the detailed anecdotes and tangential data!

    • Barbra

    Food writing without a story is B-O-R-I-N-G. Debby Boone’s powder blue formal caftan is not.

    • Sarah

    I love the stories!

    I’d like to try this with Pastis…

    • Carey

    Food comes alive with stories. Recipes handed down from generation to generation are usually not about the food itself, but the stories and lives lived through them. I think that is what truly atracts us to your blog and makes us feel a connection with you. Recipes we can get anywhere….your stories, told with humor and warmth, are what we most cherish. PLEASE don’t cut the heart out of your blog!!!

    • Annie

    I am sure that the ‘just the recipes’ thing was tounge-in-cheek and you will chide us all in your next post for not getting the joke… but just in case, let me add my voice to the ‘please keep telling stories’ roar.

    • melina

    I’ve been a long time reader of your blog but have never commented. However, the first sentence of your post has forced me to come out of lurking. The non-food bits of writing are my favourite part! Please don’t give it up!

    • Carissa

    Add me to the list of people who want you to continue with the stories. You bring Paris alive for the people who have never been there.

    • Paula Maack

    Is there some version of April Fools Day in France that I don’t know about?
    Who the heck gave you such dreadful advice??? This is a joke, right?

    In case it is not…
    Oh, David… There are many great recipe only sites out there, and I go to them from time to time simply to search for recipes – only. And, only those recipes I am interested in at the moment. I do not go to those sites for my daily infusion of mirthful fabulousness.

    http://www.davidlebovitz.com is my favorite place on the web.
    Didn’t your wise old grandfather tell you that if something’s not broken, don’t fix it?

    Next thing you know, I am going to act all tame, and fear offending people all over the place with my crazy comments. Wait, I probably should do that. People might like me more. But, who will like me more? And, Gods how boring!!!

    Please tell me you were just suffering from comment withdrawal and lack of validation from not posting for several days, and this was all just a ruse to get us to tell you how much we LOVE you style…

    Baby, I love your style. YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE!!! Don’t change a thing!!

    XOXOXOX,

    ~ Paula

    • mamabigdog

    I’m trying to decide what this “I’m not writing about anything other than food” fit is really about. It’s been going on for days now. Was this the result of some idiot book critic who said you don’t know what you’re talking about? Was it someone in your personal life who is an unrepentant asshole? Was it some kind of personal frustration that your book didn’t make #1 on the NYT bestseller list in it’s first week? I don’t think that’s it, because you said yourself that someone TOLD you to stick to recipes.

    Well, I suppose if you want to let other people run your life for you, you’ll do exactly as they say, despite the fact that you know, and we know, that they are dead wrong. Some people can’t stand the fact that someone out there actually has a great life and lives in a great place, and brings joy to others. And the person who thinks it’s their job to make you feel like all that is wrong wrong wrong should be evicted from your circle of trusted people you actually listen to.

    Ok, my rant is over… carry on.

    • Jennifer S.

    Love your stories AND recipes! I’m excited to see where you go with this. I share the sentiments of many other posters…and I trust you know what’s best for you!

    • sonya

    i’m assuming (and hoping) that you were writing with tongue firmly planted in cheek and not w. any serious intent of changing the subject matter of future posts. just the other day i recommended your blog to someone precisely for your stories of paris – and the witty hilarity with which they are written – in addition to the food stuff. what a schmuck i would look like if he visited and found a site with…only recipes. egad.

    • sara

    I love the stories! :-D

    This ice cream looks awesome! Love the color.

    • Collette

    Whomever has been spouting that advice needs to take a big step away from the crack pipe. Just saying. ;-)

    I want more stories AND all your lovely recipes. What can I say? I’m kind of a diva like that. So, keep on bringing it.

    And this ice cream looks simply lovely. I’m getting ready to go thumb through my Perfect Scoop books (yes, I have two–one hardcover and one soft–one to read and one to mess up while making the recipes–isn’t everyone like that???) for a couple of ice creams to serve after dinner tonight. My guests don’t so much give a shit what I serve them for dinner, they’re all in it for the ice cream thanks to you. Smooch!

    • Lynn in Tucson

    Fair enough. But will you tell us what whisk you’re using???

    • Kathy

    I love your way.

    • Tags

    How about stopping in Amsterdam to make some little green cookies to go with the hallucinatory ice cream?
    Vicarious hallucinogens are better than none.

    • Jan

    Tell us your tales AND tangents! Recipes too, if you want:) Thanks!

    • Susan

    Well, since you’re into taking advice, ignor that advice that other person gave you.
    Carry on. (and oh, how you do carry on!) I love it

    • wildgarden

    This is one of the most entertaining blogs I have found in years. Please keep the story in the mix–it is why your posts work. As others have noted, one can find keenly tested and scrubbed recipes anywhere. (Especially corporately sponsored Anywhere.)

    But when I log on to your site, the morning after Election Day, and see that precious photo of the champagne outside the door–and make my closest friends @ work smile within minutes–David, that’s the gift. :)

    • Sarah

    Please don’t take that advice. I think it’s rubbish.

    I love reading your recipes as much as I love hearing about the life you live in Paris because it’s that experience that makes those recipes happen. The only way to cope with crazy administrative procedures at the bank, or the telephone company, is to have treats like absinthe ice cream.

    To anyone who wants just recipes and only recipes: buy a cookbook.

    All the best,
    Sarah

    • AmyH

    What! No more personal musings? No more Paris? No more midsection and men’s rooms? If that’s the case then I’m never coming back! Please, please, please, don’t leave us hanging, and while you’re at it, block whoever gave you such terrible feedback from ever commenting again. If you promise to change your mind, I’ll give you another chance. In the meantime I’m going to go read your book.

    • Scootabaker

    What the heck? I love your non-baking related tangents. It’s what makes your awesome blog, well, awesome! That’s your leg up on other bloggers out there, you know! I reference you in my own blog from time to time because you are fun and knowledgeable! Furthermore, your recipes are great and highly detailed and I love it!

    As for this particular post, I had to run to the “leave a comment” section and brag to you about how enamored I am with absinthe. That doesn’t make me an alcoholic does it? As soon as I returned from France and Switzerland last year, I rushed to buy a bottle of Swiss Kubler, a water fountain, reservoir glass, and proper absinthe spoons. It’s the coolest way to catch a buzz, no? I think I can spare a few tablespoons to make some absinthe ice cream. How cool is that?! Thanks David!

    -Heather

    • hamad

    keep up the interesting posts and don’t listen to those party poopers. the posts are tres interesting and its always fun to make fun of the french :)

    • Grant

    No more anecdotes and stories? Nooooooooooooo!

    Do the French celebrate some version of April Fool’s day on May 16th? I sure hope so.

    • Sarah

    Hi David,

    Gorgeous recipe! Please don’t stop the stories and the non-food related posts – we love them too!

    xox Sarah

    • Bernadette

    Yes, I agree, the Palin family is MORE than just a bit wacky.

    Love the stories and the wonderful recipes.

    Bernadette (currently living in Eagle River, AK)

    • Romney Steele

    sounds like non-sense advice; that’s what makes your blog so much fun.

    • Claudia

    I think by now you’ve gotten the idea – your ramblings are what makes you so adorable. As for families being a tad wacky – whose isn’t?

    • bwilson

    Omit the recipes and leave the stories. That will drive away the Palin family member who gave you that smashingly intelligent advice.

    • bwilson

    P.S. I’m a proofreader, so I notice all the typos. AND I DON’T CARE!

    • Bernadette

    It’s your blog, write about what you want to because we all love to read it, no matter what it is–the anecdotes and Paris tidbits are all part of that. Keep going!

    Now where is the Seine skinny-dipping story, eh???

    • krysalia

    I think that without a doubt, this means plainfully how any visitor of your blog sees this stupid advice :D.

    • charlotte

    David, your blog is one of the best out there. Please keep doing it just as you have been doing. Please don’t change. You are witty, perceptive intelligent, fearless and your blog is so much more than just a food blog

    • Wife of French in Hongkong

    You’re one of the best if not the best food blogger(s). Do not ever change your style. Your recipes and the stories that go with them are perfect as they are.

    • Alice

    I agree with everyone. I sincerely hope that you will not go to recipes only! Because while I like your recipes and pictures, I have to admit, I tend to check this blog every day for the laughs. It’s like reading the comics in the paper….only not reading the comics but a blog instead.

    David, I really don’t want to have to find another way to laugh out loud while drinking my tea. I like to think you are responsible for the tea coloured stains on my couch, not me. And if you stop writing your random-every-day-life stories then I might have to admit the mess if not entirely your fault.

    • RGM

    Noooooo! Don’t change anything! We love your stories!!!

    • RSG

    Noooo — please don’t stop writing about Paris. We go once a year and I depend on you to tell me the news, the places we shouldn’t miss. And in between, I love the recipes and your stories… they’re true and they’re beautiful. Keep on, please?

    • amanda

    No, no, don’t listen to that prissy, Miss Manners. I want to hear about your camoflage thong and kinky exploits, Sara Palin too! Your thong is as tacky as a Speedo on a 45yr male.

    • cdelphine

    hehe, you sure know how to get people worked up David. Despite the fact that I don’t know you at all, I think that I know you well enough to not trust a thing you say in this post. Except for the recipe part, of course. :)

    • Maria

    Bring back the funk! The stories, that is.

    • joyciel

    But I love your posts about miscellaneous things D=.

    And OMG that ice cream looks so good @_@!

    • ygardin

    I still appreciate your stories and musings: foodwise or not. After all isn’t that what blogs about?

    • Lindsey

    Whoever gave you that advice is somewhere out in left field-your life and your musings on it are what illuminate the recipes. We can find millions of recipes anywhere and everywhere but your travails and whimsies are what keep me reading.

    • ashley

    Recipes can be found in a million places. Stories are unique. That’s why I love food blogs.

    • Zelda

    Bonjour David!

    Whoever gave you this piece of “advise” must have been not only drinking barrels of absinthe but inhaling it too for a very long period of time – we have heard what it will do to the mind…. You should absolutely avoid this kind of people as they are vexations to the spirit…. :(

    Your stories are witty, funny, I love the selbst-ironie!! Besides they make up for the sometimes impossible recipes you present us poor readers with :):)…
    So much that I made the tarte (a la Paule) again yesterday – with a different filling that is, it is so easy and fast – great!!

    And last but not least – WTF?? It is YOUR blog isn’t it? So tell them to go smoke a gauloise and shove it – or something like that……

    • Bronwyn

    Ok, I NEVER post comments on blogs, but I must in this case. I love the tidbits and stories food related and otherwise on this blog. Please don’t stop….

    • Sarah

    Oh, but I love the tangents! Life in Paris makes tangents obligatory. Ignore those silly boring people.

    • edrie

    Ignore them. Write what you want. As you please, however that is.

    • Charles

    Write as you like! You had me with the rabbit of Seville and I’ve been reading ever since. Actually you had me when I made your ginger cake some years ago but now you’re a living, breathing multi-gifted man with a heart. Write on!

    • Nick

    I love the longer posts with stories! But do what you think best I guess. This looks lovely!

    • Vittoria

    Your personal stories and writing style is exactly what makes your blog so desirable! That and the chocolate. And the icecream.

    • MJ

    I am very happy to see the plethora of agreeing viewpoints concerning your momentary leap into the deep end of the bad advice pool – which appears to be even more filthy than the Seine – that ain’t absinthe making it so green…

    Now go to your computer and your cookery, be cleansed and listen to *advice* like that no more!

    • jonquil

    oohhh come on! what happened after the gorgeous absinthe ice cream was eaten??

    • krysalia

    As I see things, a jerk came and told david that he needed to stop anything but the recipes, and tried to *teach* him what his readers would love most than what he was already doing. What is best as a camouflet than this long list of love words from the readers.

    I think there’s a pesky someone that feels really ridiculous now :)

    • David

    Krysalia and bwilson: Actually, I woke up this morning and a reader sent a really nasty message about a typo in this post. While I strive for perfect, it’s incroyable that people can’t simply send a “There’s a typo in line #4 that you might want to correct” kind of message. I welcome messages and corrections, since my eyesight seems to be failing (which coincided with me turning 50!)

    Charles: You’ve got quite a memory!

    cdelphine: I’m untrustworthy? Or am I just busted ; )

    Lynn in Tuscan: I bought it at a flea market for €1. I think it’s from the 60s and I love it! It hard a plastic orange handle, too.

    AmyH: If you’re interested in men’s rooms and midsections, you might find more than you bargained for in my book. There’s tips on épilation, naked sock-fittings, and an eye-burning encounter on the banks of the Seine with a topless sunbather.

    I know they don’t have anything to do with food, but that might be a good thing~

    • jgs

    Have just finished the book, am new to this site, and couldn’t agree more with the above who want you to keep up the *tales* along with the recipes. Lived in Neuilly from ’83 to 91 and was counting on you to keep me current (sic). Loved the book, from both sides, especially the chuckle parts that had nothing to do with the food. Your painter was my plumber. Your book is a wonderfully complete recipe for living there, Paris may be all about food, but there are many, many hours away from the table that you’ve chronicled with great elan. Go for it!

    • Sarah in Boston

    I’ve been followed (and forwarded) your blog for a very long time. And I don’t even bake! It’s your humor, photos, and musings of life in Paris that entice me to come back for more. In fact, skip the recipes altogether. Make people buy your cookbooks if they want to create something as wonderful as your stories and photos show us. And let their editors do the proofreading!

    • nithya at hungrydesi

    I agree with many of the sentiments above in that, while I love your recipes, I also love your commentaries! Your blog always gives me a good laugh. Who is giving you this advice?!

    • DishinandDishes

    Quit listening to those idiots! We love to hear your commentaries..it takes away from our life for a moment!

    • Janet

    David,
    First, I would like to thank you for another recipe where I could use Absinthe (I use it when I steam Mussels, Mmmm).
    Second, continue do what you do best. Cooking and your stories. You are a story teller and that is a gift.
    Keep up the good work (typos and all). :-)

    • Shelly Rose

    David,

    Thank you for “lighting up my Sunday morning”. Awesome!

    • Olivia

    *wipes drool from her mouth and swoons* LOVELY!!

    • Debbie

    Other people’s opinions are highly over rated. Listen to your guts and do what you wish with your blog! You are the author, not “them.”

    That said…YUM!!!!!

    • Cinzia

    Bonjour David,
    I have been reading your blog for a while, but I have always been too shy to comment on your posts. Please don’t stop writing your stories! Not only, your posts are interesting and entertaining, but what you write is also very inspiring.
    I personally think I have learned a lot from you!
    Thank you!

    • Kim B.

    Phew . . .glad to see from browsing the comments and your responses that you are NOT going to take any so-called “advice” to stop your wonderful writing on ALL subjects!!!! I thought maybe it was a joke, but I *am* sorry that a reader was so nasty that you felt that frustrated!!!! Please know that the grande grande grande majorité of us love you and love your writing! Your site wouldn’t be the same without all your witty observations!!!!

    Hang in there and don’t let the jerks get you down.

    • Kim B.

    P.s. Re the ‘brilliance’ of Aleksander Rybak, I personally voted for Estonia last night!!!!

    : )

    • Leigh

    David, I’ve had a bottle of absinthe hanging out in the back of my cabinet for over a year. NOW I know what I’m going to make with it. Merci!

    I second the other 90+ folks above: your stories are priceless! Funny, enjoyable, they bring happiness to my day. I cannot wait to read your book. I’m making a trip to the Pacific Northwest next week, and your book will be the one I purchase while visiting the famed Powell’s!

    • darla

    I don’t like to be redundant, but I’ve just got to join the chorus here and say that you simply cannot stop writing your stories into your blog. Recipes are, unfortunately, a bit of a commodity in the age of the internet, even when they are wonderful ones. Your approach to cooking, your humor, and your incredible talent for writing are what make the recipes stand out and come alive. When I make something from this site, I feel like I’m cooking with you, learning from you, an ocean away, having never met, because my mind is filled with the little tidbits of your personality that you let through every week. A simple recipe or bit of technique wouldn’t have that feel at all. I compare it to the difference between buying a local heirloom tomato from Whole Foods or buying it from the guy at the farm stand who grew it. Same tomato, entirely different experience. I’d never make just another chocolate cake recipe when I already have one I like, but one that came from a bathroom wall in Paris? Who could resist?

    • Caitlin

    Oh please, babble on. Thats why I love your blog so much! That and things like absinthe ice cream. I love anise and imagine this would be one of my favorite ice creams ever. I need to find an ice cream maker.

    • Haley

    I have to say, there are times when I send my sister an email with a few sentences from some of your posts, they are so funny and entertaining. Please keep them coming!

    • Accidental Parisian

    Stop being such a tease! You know that you really want to write about epilating Sarah Palin in the men’s room in your socks. Or something like that.

    Now excuse me. As soon as I knock back this absinthe I’m going to go buy some Levi’s….

    • Jessica

    I love your stories, especially about Paris. I’ve learned so much. Please dont stop. Tell those people to read epicurious.com if they want only recipes.

    • Claire

    NO David!!! I LOVE your stories! They make me laugh, smile, and nostalgic of when I was in Paris.

    Do not listen to that ‘advice’. I think that person is just trying to sabotage you.

    • Laura p

    I came for the recipes, stayed for the stories and I fell in love with both (enough so that I bought the book an am waiting to have enough money to order the latest one). The anecdotes about life in Paris and the stories behind your recipes make your blog special and what keeps readers coming back for more. Please don’t change a thing!

    • lauren f

    please please don’t stop with the stories! they’re the reason that I love your blog as much as I do!

    • jennifer

    No, No, No! We love all your stories! esp Paris and man purses! And Sara Palin, (Wacky doesn’t begin to describe it!) As you know, food and eating are some much more than recipes.

    • Sarah

    I read this blog religiously and never make comments, but I have to now!! It’s ALL fabulous – the writing, the recipes, the travel and Paris tips. Please don’t change a thing!!! You have a great perspective and make me laugh out loud, not to mention inspire me to run right into the kitchen and start cooking. You are the rare chef that can write, not only about food, but about things I find endlessly amusing and interesting. Keep it coming!

    • Dr. CaSo

    As a French chick who’s lived in the US for more than 10 years (now in Canada), I LOVE to see Paris through your eyes! It reminds me of this book I love by Bill Bryson called I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away.

    Life would be boring if we did what other people want us to do!

    • nini

    when i read your post, i thought you were joking about skipping the stories and tidbits about france. however, from your comments, it doesn’t seem like you were joking. :( i really enjoy the stories and sometimes that’s what makes me want to make and eat the dish. I hope you continue to add your wit and observations to our lives.

    and ignore the jerks complaining about typos. its a blog! typos and poor punctuation are practically requirements.

    • Bar

    No, No, No, the stories and ramblings are the best part!

    • Joan

    I’m hoping that this is a joke – your blog is wonderful not just because of your recipes, but because of your views and reporting on daily life. How else can I live in Paris, if not vicariously?! Please don’t change!

    • Karen

    Very funny, David – I think you are one big tease!!!

    • Karen

    p.s. Oh, and that Debby Boone video really cracked me up!

    • w

    I read your blog often but only left a comment once.
    I am now doing so only cos I HOPE YOU WERE JOKING when you said you’ve going to leave out the stories and the witticisms and the barbed remarks?

    ARE YOU PULLING A FAST ONE ON US, DAVID?

    if you’re not then whoever gave you such terrible advice should be shot. Or better still, totally ignored.

    • lindaust

    David when I read your blog yesterday I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t think that anyone would suggest this to you. Today I went to another site I visit regularly and thought to myself this is a person who shouldn’t stray from the topic of the blog/site. It is such an informative site but when s/he strays from the topic it is woeful and makes me cringe.

    Your site never does this it is always great fun to pop in and see what you are up to, so please keep on meandering around and let us enjoy ourselves if only in a very voyeuristic way! Mille merci!

    • Julialuli

    Your bleaders have spoken (no typo). If I didn’t want stories, I’d stare blankly at Epicurious recipes. You can do the Paris living for me while I’m eating scotcheroos in CT for you. We all need each other…and your writing is one of the highlights of my week.

    • emats

    this change is not welcomed!! don’t do it!

    • Jon

    I ‘ve never posted before but just wanted to agree with the chorus. I had never really wanted to go to Paris before stumbling upon your blog and now I can’t wait to get there. Your ramblings bring the city to life and make me appreciate there is a place where there is not a Starbucks on every corner. Please don’t change anything in your blog.

    • VVK

    Please don’t stop talking about Paris =/

    • rbp

    I suppose you’ve got enough complaints (or perhaps I should call them “anti-complaints”), but I’ll just add mine to the lot: keep on with random subject, France, food-related stories (even when not accompanied by recipes) et al. Please :)

    • jean

    I love your blog FOR the amusing stories! The recipes are of course also fabulous and beautifully indexed for those joyless types who just want recipes. I have some of your poached quinces simmering away on the stove at this very minute.

    • joanna

    PLEASE don’t stop writing about Paris! your recipes are fab but it’s the stories about everyday life in Paris that keep me coming back to your blog.

    • Joana

    Funny guy….. ;-)

    Very funny………

    • David

    The thing that’s funny about typos is, while I detest their very presence as well, a misplaced apostrophe or comma isn’t as bad a recipe typo. A friend of mine had a baking book come out and one cake recipe called for 22 cups of flour, instead of 2 cups. I doubt anyone at home has a pan that big~

    And I once saw a recipe for biscotti in a book that called for 1/2 cup baking powder. Now that would be quite the explosion!

    • adrian

    hmm, I would’ve thought you’d be the type of person to just ignore such “advice” and tell that special someone to just go play in the traffic. So I’m guessing this is some kind of joke. And a very cruel one at that, David. Your readers read you for what you write and who you are.
    And, jeez, I’d like to see the person so perfect he/she never makes any kind of mistake. And I think mistakes make for some very interesting living at times.
    Oh, I’m rambling…

    • Sandy

    Hopefully you were just wondering why readers read your blog. Well, now you know. Keep the stories coming. And the recipes of course. But lots of stories. Cookbooks get to the recipe — blogs can and IMHO should do other things. But you already know that from all the other comments.

    • Supriya

    Ok i am the nth person to say this, but dismiss that advice. And dole out the ramblings.

    • Arabella

    Please don’t follow that “advice”! We love your posts the way they are, cher David …
    ciao

    • Calvin

    Please don’t change what you post about. I really enjoy reading about your everyday life experiences in Paris as much as I do about your food writings. Continued success.

    Calvin

    • ritanyc

    Perhaps you should skip all the brilliantly written (f**k typos), amusing, informative, spot-on, human and purely fascinating musings and just send out recipes after all.
    That way I walk away from this website and get on with my life, clean my house, earn a living, go to church, whatever. I shouldn’t eat sweets anyway.

    • June

    You are a tease…just trying to outdo the number of comments you got on the “all clad” give-away, aren’t you? Come on …confess! Pity the poor person who commented on the typo – he really just needs a life. Love your blog the way it is – please don’t change a thing.

    • TheKitchenWitch

    Who is this enormous tosser with the typo obsession? Your stories absolutely make the blog. I love your humor and your cheek, so give that reader a virtual middle finger and Don’t! Change a Thing.

    • Ana

    Man, I love your blog because it is what it is, because you write the way you write, and because your recipes are awesome, of course!
    So, please don’t listen to the jealous, ridiculous people out there.
    We do want to listen to all you have to say and we are happy reading it!! If they don’t want to read then go to a different blog, right?!
    Your blog is really nice David!
    Ana

    • Tone Victoria

    David: That 22 cups of flour recipe reminds me of something that happened in Sweden last autumn. One of the country’s major food magazines featured a recipe for apple cake that called for 20 whole nutmegs. (The correct amount was meant to be 2 nutmegs (something which btw also sounds a lot to me.)) The most surprising thing regarding it all, was that some of their readers actually did make this 20 nutmeg cake, and, needless to say, they got poisoned from it.

    The food magazine therefore had to withdraw all the copies from the market, in fear of even more people following this recipe and getting poisoned.

    • mydailywine

    No, you cannot get off that easily!
    Your readers love your voice and dream of living your life.
    Well, we can make your recipes but perhaps not everyone can run off to Paris when they grow up:)

    • Susan

    Does this have anything to do with reviews of your book and/or advice from your publisher? I’ve read reviews of other bloggers’ books that compared the book to the blog. It didn’t stop me from reading online or buying the published book. You just keep doing what you’re doing. Both are entertaining, informative and valuable to us all. Typo’s anywhere be damned, it’s about content..not typing.

    • Catherine

    I sincerely hope you are joking. Yours is the only food blog I read regularly and though the recipes are great, that’s not why I keep coming back.

    • Lillianne

    I was falling asleep during a tv program with that guy who eats the weird food when all of the sudden there YOU were. I kind of woke/jumped up and said “Hey, I know him!” Then I had to explain I only “know” you through your blog. But it feels like I know you because of all your quirky happenstances. And I’m still laughing about the two egg yolks trolling around your freezer.

    It kind of looks like a consensus. BE WHO YOU BE!

    • Irene

    That advice was TERRIBLE!!!!!!! Do not stop writing about life because food without experiences to color it is just food! Your stories are what makes this blog so unique (and well, the yummy recipes too, but the stories, the stories!). Seriously, when I get emails about typos, I just think “wow, that person – presumably one who never makes mistakes him/herself – has nothing better to do than notice 1 typo, open up their email and spend 5 minutes on a nasty email to me about this 1 typo… well… if it makes them feel better about themselves! I’ll just go have a piece of chocolate cake now to wash out the negativity. DELETE.” My husband, however, encourages me to write back with an email full of typos and misplaced capital letters and punctuation marks, just to drive them crazy. Ooh, he is truly evil, that one! :) Seriously, just keep doing what is true to yourself and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise!

    • Lesley

    David, the stories are what make you special! Don’t stop telling them. I love hearing about your life in Paris.

    • Karina

    I heart the stories on this blog. Don’t lose them!

    • frenchfoodie

    I hope you haven’t been taking any other advice from Mr / Mrs (or M. / Mlle?) ‘cut to the chase and just do food’ I shudder to think what you might be wearing and where you might be holidaying if so (though I am sure Guantanamo IS lovely and warm).

    • Patricia Shea

    Non, Non, Non!!!!!!! …but it is the diversions into realms other than food that makes your blog so fun and interesting, how could anyone advise you to stop doing something you very obviously do so well….bring back the stories and non-foodie comments…oh pleazzzzzzze! Thanks, Patricia

    • Zoomie

    I doubt very much if you will read down this far but, if so, let me add my voice to the chorus of people who think you should go on writing as you always have. If someone doesn’t like it, they can surf away to some other site. Those of us who enjoy vicariously your experiences in Paris would be sad to see only recipes on this blog. Do your own thing and enjoy it! We do.

    • Avesta

    wow this looks interesting. I am very excited to try this out!

    • Leah

    Who the heck is giving you such crappy advice? So many of your readers turn to your blog because it is about more than just the recipes. A great recipe is a find. A story to go with it and the occasional ramble down other, non-food paths, written in funny prose, is a gem. Please don’t change.

    • Maja

    I object to “just recipes”, whoever gave you that advice is not to be listened to at all! And i see i’m not the only one saying that. Don’t change, love your recipes AND stories!!! :)

    • David

    Tone: That’s almost funny (except for the part about people getting sick…) I recall someone I knew did a recipe for a big American food magazine that used 1/4 teaspoon wintergreen oil which I guess is toxic. When the magazine realized it, they sent stickers with a new ingredient list to subscribers, using wintergreen extract to replace the wintergreen oil.

    • janelle

    Well, my advice is to smack those people over the head with a stale baguette.
    Now whose advice sounds more desirable? >:D

    • Paula Maack

    I had my first major recipe typo occur on my blog this week, and I was completely mortified! Well, once I finally recognized I had made the typo that is, which took a while, because apparently I can be dense at times.

    One of my very sweet readers toiled over the mistyped recipe trying to make it work, and I felt so bad that I still want to find a way to make it up to him, even though everything turned out fine in the end. Presenting recipes, it seems, is a big responsibility.

    My respect and appreciation for you, and every recipe writer who has been doing this for years, has just deepened considerably. I never considered the ramifications of sharing my simple culinary creations with the world. Clearly, the task is not to be taken lightly.

    You must have an excellent technique for brushing it off and powering on, as you seem to get a steady dose of flack from the unrelenting peanut gallery. Either that, or you have a tear-stained keyboard, and none of us realize it. ; )

    You continue to be my hero, David. That is, unless you stop writing stories. Don’t ever stop sharing your stories!!!

    XOXOXOX,

    ~ Paula

    • Sarah

    NOOOOOOO!!! I like the recipes but I love the stories so please don’t stop!

    • Christine

    What? Who are these people?? If they only came for the recipe, it’s not that hard to scroll down the post and look for it, especially considering you highlight it! This isn’t just a food blog, this is a cooking and eating in Paris kind of blog, and if you cut out the “in Paris” part, well, where would the fun be in that? I love hearing your stories of everyday life in Paris, I find some solace in knowing that I’m not the only one who smiles or shakes my head at the crazy things that happen here.

    • Victoria, Bellingham, WA

    Surely you jest…..I want to hear what EVER is on your mind. Love your blog just the way it is….it’s insightful, informative….and very funny.

A

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