• Eat Your Books

  Errata for some copies of the first printing. An EYB note has also been added to the affected recipes.

• goodfruit on May 19, 2014

  Scalloped Potatoes with Blue Cheese and Garlic I tried the scalloped potatoes and halved the blue cheese as recommended in my "Cooking From Scratch" group and this turned out unbelievably creamy and so lovely. I will make again.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Sardine spread (Rillettes de sardines)

  • louie734 on January 19, 2015

    Made for a snacks-for-dinner night with pickled celery (smitten kitchen) and a homemade baguette (ABin5). Tasty, rich, great with a pale ale.

  • SheilaS on July 07, 2017

    I made this with smoked trout instead of sardines because I had it on hand and knew I would like it but I will try again with sardines soon. Lightly pickled red onions would be lovely with this.

  • ebgeo on November 16, 2015

    I have played around with this recipe a bit, my favorite is to substitute chevre for the cream cheese and butter as well as using chili pasilla or chpotle powder for the chili powder. whatever you do it makes for a quick and tasty appetizer. If you really want to upscale this recipe you can use smoked trout or salmon for the sardines.

  • Indio32 on October 12, 2021

    Made as per recipe. It was O.K but I felt that it was less than the sum of its parts.

• Frisée salad with bacon, egg, and garlic toasts (Salade Lyonnaise)

  • louie734 on February 08, 2015

    Well, this was amazing. A languishing baguette became croutons (used the oven for this; 15 minutes at 300), used the bacon fat to fry crispy eggs, skipped the potatoes. The mustardy dressing is perfect. With the potatoes it would have been amazing, but they're not totally necessary unless you're skimping on croutons or bacon. This would also be amazing with some sliced garlic-roasted portobellos instead of bacon.

  • Bloominanglophile on May 02, 2015

    My first frisee salad--delicious!!! The only thing I did differently was to toast the croutons in the oven instead of on the stove.

  • Lepa on April 02, 2021

    We had some frisee in our garden so I made this salad. It was a perfect meal to end the week- with a glass of cold rose. My husband keeps talking about how good it was and my kids liked it, too. We will be eating this again!

• Individual chocolate cakes with dulce de leche and fleur de sel (Mini gâteaux au chocolat avec un coeur de confiture de lait et fleur de sel)

  • Jane on December 10, 2017

    Very delicious and quick & easy to make. I used my own salted caramel sauce rather than dulce de leche and salt flakes.

  • bwehner on December 24, 2015

    Wow! Delicious & easy

  • MiChal.626 on February 27, 2015

    Very good but VERY rich.

  • rhughes24 on December 30, 2021

    So good.

• Celery root soup with horseradish cream and ham chips (Soupe de céleri-rave à la crème de raifort et chips de jambon)

  • Cheri on April 05, 2017

    This is delicious. Made as directed. Fresh celery root from farmers market!

• Lamb shank tagine (Tagine de souris d'agneau)

  • SilverSage on October 24, 2016

    This was great, but very rich. It was well served with the preserved lemon couscous to provide some needed brightness and acidity. I'll make it again.

  • vickster on August 03, 2014

    My husband came home with some lamb shanks he found on sale so I got to try the first recipe from this cookbook. We loved the dish. The flavors are great complements for the lamb, and it cooks down all stewy and delicious. I highly recommend!

  • RosieB on March 30, 2015

    I made this today and cooked it in the slow cooker for 9 hours. It was delicious and the meat fell off the bone.

  • FJT on October 19, 2014

    Lovely flavours and so easy to prepare. I made this a day ahead and stripped the meat from the bones before reheating to serve. I will definitely make this again.

  • bwehner on December 06, 2015

    This was so easy and delicious! Made it with the recommended couscous recipe. Perfect!

• Lemon-pistachio Israeli couscous (Couscous Israélien au citron et aux pistaches)

  • SilverSage on October 24, 2016

    I didn't have pistachios or parsley, so I used toasted pine nuts and cilantro. We loved it as a side dish to his lamb shanks tagine. The preserved lemon provided the acid to offset the sweet apricots and spices in the tagine. Great combo!

  • bwehner on December 06, 2015

    I didn't think of this as a salad at all. Made it with the recommended lamb shanks. Delicious & easy!

  • okmosa on March 19, 2017

    1. I did not have package directions for the couscous - they took about 10 mins in boiling water. 2. I forgot to salt the boiling water but did put the salt in the salad as directed. Overall I thought the salad was a little too salty, so next time I will salt the water and put less salt in the salad. 3. I used toasted pumpkin seeds instead of pistachios-just fine. 4. The salad was good and easy and quick. Butter instead of olive oil is a nice change.

  • chawkins on April 08, 2022

    Great and easy side dish. I used pine nuts, a mix of cherries, cranberries and apricots for the dried fruits.

  • Zosia on June 07, 2014

    Easy to make salad with vibrant flavours that improve over time. I used olive oil instead of butter and held off on the salt, adding it at the end to taste. Delicious warm or at room temperature.

  • Barb_N on January 15, 2015

    I made this with pine nuts, toasted a bit in the oven. Kept waiting for instructions to make a vinaigrette but this was perfect as is. Served it with Citrus roasted chicken, from The Kitchn, not yet indexed- thin slices of blood oranges, lemon etc with chicken pieces brushed with a glaze of olive oil, pomegranate molasses and allspice. The caption on the Kitchn "A famous painting or tonight's dinner?" is what caught my eye; the flavor will keep me coming back!

• Grated carrot salad (Carottes rapées)

  • westminstr on March 17, 2015

    This was really good, everyone liked it. 1/1/2018 - still a great salad!

  • SheilaS on July 31, 2017

    A great salad or fresh side dish. Very quick and easy. I used a mix of orange, yellow and purple carrots and so it was pretty, too. I love raw carrots and have the Mouli-Juilenne grater that's mentioned in the header notes so it was a no-brainer to try this and I wasn't disappointed.

  • eliza on January 07, 2022

    Very simple and delicious if you have good carrots. On permanent rotation. Edit; I recently made a version with dark purple carrots and it was great.

  • FJT on May 21, 2020

    Nice salad, but not my favourite grated carrot salad recipe.

  • Delys77 on October 25, 2022

    This was also popular at our house. I did use a sel de camargue with very large crystals so had to add a bit of salt. I also had closer to 800 grams of carrots and went with the full dressing and it was just right for us. Nice easy little side which will travel and keep well.

  • Zosia on April 28, 2014

    I'm rather partial to olive oil-lemon juice-Dijon mustard dressing so it's no surprise that I loved this salad. Bright and refreshing, it will be repeated often.

  • averythingcooks on May 27, 2020

    This was a delicious little veggie side with our dinner of souvlaki grilled chicken skewers & rice pilaf. I used 3 medium carrots for approximately 1/2 the recipe and stirred in a couple of spoonfuls of a grated beet chutney from the fridge. It is easy to scale up or down and we really liked the classic dressing combo. I will try Dori Greenspan's next time for a different take but we certainly did like this one.

  • angrygreycat on July 22, 2018

    A favorite in my family. So bright and fresh tasting!

• Baked eggs with kale and smoked salmon (Oeufs au four avec chou frisé et saumon fumé)

  • westminstr on June 10, 2014

    This was OK, there was an error in the recipe as my eggs were still basically raw after 12 minutes at 350. I had to turn the heat up to 450 and cook for about 25 min. Also, as written, the recipe called for too much breadcrumbs and cheese and not enough kale, but that was easy to adjust. My husband enjoyed it, kids refused to eat it, I thought it was fine but not good enough to repeat. ETA: I later heard that my kids scarfed down the leftovers and demanded more. So perhaps my initial assessment was too harsh. ETA: On a 5/2016 revisit, neither kid liked it.

  • KBHughes on June 02, 2019

    My husband and I really enjoyed this dish. I do agree with the previous review. 12 minutes was not enough time.

• Raw vegetable slaw with creamy garlic dressing (Salade de crudités rapées, sauce crémeuse à l'ail)

  • westminstr on May 03, 2020

    Made w cabbage, carrot, radish & apple, and the garlic vinaigrette (dialed back the garlic a bit). Very good!

  • TrishaCP on June 01, 2019

    I made a version with kohlrabi, carrots, and radish, and only used about one tablespoon of garlic. We liked this a lot, though I would definitely add the apple next time.

  • bernalgirl on December 30, 2022

    I also opted for the vinaigrette and used white and red cabbage, fennel, radish, carrots, apple, and about 1/2 bunch of slivered kale leaves. I also tossed in some toasted pepitas for added texture. This is a great fridge clearing salad with lots of color and flavor. I’ll definitely make this again.

  • FJT on June 16, 2019

    I scaled back the garlic after reading the notes here and wished I hadn't! This really didn't stand up well against the other very tasty salads on my buffet table. Even though the mayo tasted garlicky enough on its own, once the veggies were tossed in it it became rather bland. Used a mix of carrot, kohlrabi, fennel, radish and apple.

  • Delys77 on May 20, 2014

    Served this with his Chicken lady chicken and it was a good accompaniment. Used fennel, apple, beat, cabbage, and carrot and the salad was just beautiful. I went with the garlic vinaigrette option and it was also deliciously pungent with garlic and mustard, pairing very well with the julienned salad. I used a mandolin for the beet, carrot and fennel, but didn't work as well with the apple which I suggest you hand cut. Total was about 1/4 cabbabe, half a fennel bulb, 1 medium beet, 1 large carrot, 1 large apple.

  • swegener on January 30, 2015

    Very good, I went with the not creamy option! I like that it is so versatile!

  • Lepa on February 20, 2021

    Wow, my family loved this salad! I made it with radicchio, endive, apple, beet, carrot, and radish. We used the creamy dressing. It was garlicky but we like garlic so no complaints here. We ate every bit of the slaw and I'm excited to try it again. I think next time I'll use cabbage or broccoli instead of radicchio because the kids appreciated the non-bitter parts of the salad more. We ate this with Melissa Clark's sweet potato bacon quiche and it was a really delicious and special dinner.

  • lizbot2000 on July 09, 2017

    Made this to go with the smoky pork. I used half kewpie mayo and half regular, so it ended up taking a bit more garlic and cabbage to counteract the kind of overwhelming mayo-ness of the kewpie. We ended up going with cabbage, carrot, broccoli, apple, and radish, and I thought that was a really good balance of textures and tastes. This is a nice change of pace from standard slaw.

  • sosayi on October 29, 2018

    The creamy garlic/mayo version was... pungent. Good, no question, but it needed something rich to cut the "garlickyness" of it. It was a good foil for our pulled pork sandwiches. I used fennel, savoy cabbage, and tart apple for my veggies and added green onions, parsley and tarragon for herbs. Even cutting back to 1.5 tablespoons garlic was strong, so I might start at 1 tablespoon in making again.

  • jhallen on February 04, 2021

    I like the versatility of this salad, but the creamy dressing had enough garlic to scare off vampires (and I really like garlic). It overwhelmed the vegetables, but maybe the garlic would balance more if chicken or a protein were added in? Otherwise, I would probably dial it back a bit. All in all, still good and a good way to use up cabbage and other root vegetables, which are not always my personal favorite.

  • jhallen on February 15, 2021

    Made this again with the vinaigrette and it was way better than the creamy garlic dressing in my view. Awesome - I used red cabbage, kohlrabi, apples, kale, and carrots.

• Caramel pork ribs (Travers de porc au caramel)

  • JoanN on June 06, 2014

    Wowie zowie these were good. Use baby backs. Consider cutting into 2- rather than 3- or 4-rib sections. One-and-a-half hours covered is enough. If pourable sauce wanted, for the accompanying rice for instance, pour off fat from Dutch oven, add a little water to what's left in the pan, bring to a boil, and strain.

  • BlytheSpirit on June 10, 2014

    This was a winner. I agree with the previous poster - about the timing, using baby back ribs and cutting the ribs into 2-rib sections. This was a tad on the sweet side for me. I used light soy sauce (it was what I had on hand) but I think dark soy would be saltier and work better as my final result was a little bit lacking in salt. I would definitely make these again with a few modifications for personal taste. Perhaps more vinegar.

  • stockholm28 on July 04, 2015

    These were good and I loved that this was basically a one pot dish. I agree with BlytheSpirit's recommendation to cut into 2 rib sections. I cooked for 1.5 hours covered and 30 minutes uncovered and they were pretty much falling off the bone. These were a bit sweeter than I care for and I like more spice. If I make them again, I might doctor up the sauce a little with some more harissa or red pepper.

• Multigrain bread (Pain aux céréales)

  • SheilaS on July 07, 2017

    Good crust, can be sliced thinly and makes great toast. I was hoping for a bit more chew but I'll try it again.

  • Melanie on May 06, 2014

    I used a small amount of sourdough starter to replace the starter that gets made one day early. My sourdough starter is struggling and I found that adding the extra dry yeast required in this recipe helped to boost the rising activity. Flexible recipe - I've substituted rye for part of the white flour and used a different mix of seeds with great results. Keen to keep experimenting with this one.

• Artichoke tapenade with rosemary oil (Tapenade d'artichaut, huile d'olive aromatisée au romarin)

  • SheilaS on July 07, 2017

    Very good. A drizzle of the rosemary oil on crusty bread really elevates this tapenade. I used frozen artichoke hearts instead of canned and EVOO instead of olive oil for the rosemary oil.

• Potato, feta, and basil tortilla (Tortilla de pommes de terre à la feta et au basilic)

  • SheilaS on July 07, 2017

    Very good. I made this as written but my preference would be to par-cook the potatoes (steam or MW) as it was a bit fiddly to keep them moving around as they cooked from raw and I knew that anything stuck to the pan would make it difficult for the eggs to release.

  • Delys77 on June 03, 2014

    Use a pie plate and add some thyme

  • thekitchenchronicles on November 04, 2014

    Super easy, flavorful and filling dish. Make in a nonstick pan!! http://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2014/09/02/potato-feta-and-basil-tortilla/

  • doughet on July 18, 2017

    I'd agree -- it's probably easier to make this in a non-stick pan. Mine stuck horribly, but actually did come out after I let it sit in the pan for a few minutes and ran a spatula around the edge of the pan. The basil really starts to shine as the tortilla begins to cool down. We ate this hot because we were hungry (and it was very good). I liked the texture of the potatoes sautéed in olive oil.

• Cherry tomato crostini with homemade herbed goat cheese (Tartines de tomates cerises, chèvre frais maison aux herbes)

  • SheilaS on August 01, 2017

    I love the way roasting brings out the flavor of the tomatoes and I like to use different colored tomatoes if I can find them and make a double or triple batch so I can use them on pasta or polenta. So good. The header notes say the herbed goat cheese was inspired by Boursin. I've used that as a shortcut and I think I like it better than my homemade version.

• Green beans with snail butter (Haricots verts au beurre d'escargot)

  • RosieB on March 26, 2017

    Now our favourite way to cook green beans.

  • joanhuguet on January 24, 2015

    A delicious and easy way to dress up steamed green beans.

  • lils74 on June 15, 2020

    Made this last night, with Jamie Oliver's Chicken in milk https://www.eatyourbooks.com/library/recipes/10090/chicken-in-milk Tasty, especially as the beans were still firm. I didn't have as much parsley as was called for, sadly--but the garlicky flavor was really good.

  • anya_sf on January 05, 2022

    I had very slender haricots verts, which I boiled for a few minutes instead of steaming. Even with slightly less butter and garlic (still a generous amount), the beans were delicious.

  • DFarnham on October 19, 2021

    Delicious!

  • rhughes24 on December 30, 2021

    Great way to add more excitement to green beans.

• Steak with mustard butter and French fries (Steak frites au beurre de moutarde)

  • DKennedy on April 19, 2014

    Utterly delicious! Making this again tonight and noting my notes from the book - for the rub: grey salt, pepper, smoked paprika, mushroom powder, chipotle. Use grass fed butter.

  • stockholm28 on June 08, 2014

    i think that I would like the mustard butter better with something else (maybe pork). I thought it was just ok with steak. My steak was a Delmonico and I did grill it rather than cook it on the stove.

  • DFarnham on October 19, 2021

    So good! Something about butter and good mustard....

  • rhughes24 on December 30, 2021

    The mustard butter is so good and versatile. I've served it with beef tenderloin as well.

• Celery root salad with mustard sauce (Céleri rémoulade)

  • DKennedy on April 25, 2014

    I made this with homemade creme fraiche but store bought mayo. I halved the recipe and still had enough to dress an entire celery root, with some left over. This dish got skeptical looks from my posse but everyone ended up eating it and saying they liked it. I ate the leftovers this morning for breakfast. As DL advised, the leftovers were a bit limp but still tasty. Next time, I think I would combine this with another veggie to add some textural and color contrast. Perhaps carrots, radish, or jicama. If you used all four, it would be very pretty esp. if you used the multi color carrots available these days. The dressing would also be wonderful on a potato salad.

  • Lepa on May 27, 2021

    This was the first time I have had celery remoulade. I liked the salad but loved the dressing. I love @dkennedy's idea of adding other veggies to this salad next time - similar to the raw vegetable slaw in this book (a family favorite).

• Buckwheat crêpes with ham, cheese, and egg (Galettes complètes)

  • DKennedy on April 25, 2014

    Made these last night for dinner, omitting the egg. I used the buckwheat crepe recipe set out earlier in the book. It came together nicely and the crepes were easy enough to form and turn over when made on my tortilla pan. We did not like the taste of the buckwheat alone, so next time I will try the variation using white flour too (found on his blog). Since we are GF, we will try the suggestion listed to substitute cornstarch in place of the white flour. While we did not love the crepe itself, the whole dish, grated comte, country ham, and the crepe altogether made for a lovely meal. Note to self: I bought the ham and comte at the Cheese Shop on Westwood Blvd. Next time add a little smooth Dijon.

  • eliza on August 27, 2017

    Very nice and easy to make. Buckwheat crepes were made ahead, and the assembly was quick. I made mine vegetarian omitting the ham and using some pre cooked veggies from the garden with the cheese and egg topping. Next time I would fold the sides up after just a couple of minutes while they are still flexible. I used regular buckwheat and liked the taste of the crepes. Will definitely make again.

  • Zosia on April 28, 2014

    With the crepes made the day before, this was very quick and easy to put together. I used "light" buckwheat flour which has a mild and nutty flavour so we thought the crepes were tasty on their own but they are transformed in this dish, becoming crisp and translucent, almost like a fried spring roll wrapper. Really delicious filled with Gruyere, Canadian back bacon and a runny egg with a tossed green salad to complete the meal.

• Chicken with mustard (Poulet à la moutarde)

  • DKennedy on June 23, 2014

    Page 167 A quintessential bistro dish. The bacon (1/2 package, cut into lardoons), mustard (I used 1/2 grainy, 1/2 smooth dijon), and cream (I used cream, not creme fraiche) thickens up beautifully. This dish comes together almost effortlessly though the resulting sauce would lead you to believe this had been stewing all day. I loved how the crisp skin that stuck to my pan became part of the sauce. Delay's suggestion to put the chicken under the broiler to re-crsip the skin is a good one.

  • TrishaCP on December 07, 2016

    This was incredible served with fresh cavatelli pasta. I took the advice of others and crisped the skin under the broiler. I also did find that the mustard really stuck to the pan, making it difficult to brown the chicken (I was using a Le Creuset braiser), but it was sufficient to create a perfect fond for the sauce. I used heavy cream.

  • blintz on October 16, 2016

    A perfect recipe for company. We made it with bone-in thighs and served it with Ottolenghi's Sweet Corn Polenta from Plenty with the very last corn at the farmers' market. Made the recipe in the afternoon and then heated up the pan and added the creme fraiche, etc., to make the sauce right before serving a couple of hours later. Definitely improved by a few minutes under the broiler to crisp up the skin. Garnished with thyme branches instead of parsley.

  • Astrid5555 on November 25, 2014

    Surprisingly, this recipe is on the quick side, but tastes as if the stew has been cooking for hours. Could not get enough of the sauce!

  • FJT on October 19, 2014

    Easy and full of flavour. I served this (as suggested in the recipe) with celeriac puree and this was a winning combination.

  • Melanie on July 09, 2017

    Chiming in with the chorus here - make this dish! I served with linguine.

  • Delys77 on June 02, 2014

    This is a very simple braise that yields an absolutely delicious sauce. The bacon, mustard, and cream along with the natural juices of the chicken make for a semi thick jus that beautifully enrobes the chicken. I would say the chicken needs about 18 minutes on medium low. Also, it might be worthwhile to pop the chicken under the broiler to re-crsip the skin.

  • meggan on October 14, 2018

    Like everyone else, I thought this was great. I didn’t really have too much problem with sticking but I fussed around with the chicken pieces a lot.

  • chawkins on June 27, 2014

    A lovely dish that is easy to put together with simple ingredients. It did take some effort to pry the chicken off the pan when browning them because of the mustard marinade, but as pointed out by the previous reviewer, the stuck bits became part of the sauce. I used grainly mustard and heavy cream.

  • SACarlson on January 25, 2015

    I'm a sucker for the combination of chicken, creme fraiche and mustard! This recipe exceeded all expectations. Will definitely make it again. I agree with Astrid5555 that this tastes like it was slow-cooked, but was actually quite quick to make.

  • imaluckyducky on July 29, 2016

    5/5 I don't think I've ever seen my family so readily eat dark chicken meat in their lives. Will make again!

  • stockholm28 on September 01, 2018

    The sauce is delicious. Definitely serve with noodles or rice to sop up the extra sauce. I omitted the salt as suggested since there was plenty of salt in the mustard and bacon.

  • Rinshin on April 27, 2018

    This is now my third favorite western style chicken thigh recipes. Others are Chicken Canzanese from Cook's Illustrated and Crispy braised chicken thighs with cabbage and bacon from Serious Eats (both by Kenji Lopez Alt). I like all three equally. I knew right off that these thighs would need a blast of broiler heat to crisp up the skins before serving like other two recipes. I broiled high for 7min. Skins did stick a lot while browning because of the Dijon mustard. 2 pieces stuck badly enough to pull off the skins. Not sure how I am going to handle that next time - perhaps rub the mustard mixture except on the skins. Used sour cream instead of creme fraiche and that was perfectly fine. Used Pinot Gris for white wine. Since mustard seed color was not specified, I used combo yellow and black. Enough sauce to liberally coat fettuccine. Photo added.

  • Rinshin on November 27, 2020

    Made this again for our Thanksgiving and again the skin stuck badly making chicken drier than we like esp breasts. Next time not browning chicken pieces stovetop but instead roasting skin side up in the oven.

  • Zosia on March 18, 2015

    Unbelievable flavour from simple ingredients and surprisingly little time and effort. Following Delys77's recommendation, I popped the chicken under the broiler to re-crisp the skin just before serving. I used grainy mustard and cream for the sauce.

  • stef on September 05, 2016

    Delicious. Hubby kept saying over and over how much he loved the sauce. Next time I will use my cast iron which is better seasoned than my all clad. Used thighs bone in

  • stef on May 31, 2020

    Made again. Used my dutch oven. Had no wine so used vermouth and the sauce was delicious

  • HerBoudoir on December 15, 2015

    A simple recipe worthy of the hype. I did go ahead and make fresh herb pasta as suggested because I was feeling ambitious; it was an excellent pairing. It would have also been wonderful over egg noodles, orzo, or cous cous, all of which would make this a weeknight meal. I used creme fraiche since I had it for another recipe this week; heavy cream or even sour cream would have worked just fine too.

  • meginyeg on September 28, 2021

    This was so good. Such simple ingredients but absolutely lovely. Definitely will make again.

  • Cookie24 on August 19, 2018

    This recipe is simple and tasty. As others have noted, the chicken tends to stick to the pan however it does create a very flavorful fond so long as it doesn't burn. Followed the recipe as written, but next time I will reduce the salt because mustard already has a lot of salt and once the sauce reduced it became a tad salty. I added more creme fraiche to tame the salt. I was in a hurry to get food on the table so didn't put chicken under the broiler, but I can see how that would work well.

  • bwhip on March 08, 2017

    Such great flavor. Pretty easy to put together. I also put the chicken under the broiler just before serving to crisp up the skin, which was an excellent suggestion.

  • anya_sf on October 15, 2022

    My Dijon mustard was not super strong or spicy; with a stronger mustard, I'd use less. The chicken needed closer to 30 min to cook through (I like it very tender). The sauce didn't reduce much, so I stirred in an extra tablespoon of creme fraiche to help thicken it; there was a lot of sauce. This was really yummy served over mashed potatoes.

  • purrviciouz on September 04, 2018

    I was surprised how much my family and guests loved this. A LOT of mustard went into the sauce and I was concerned it would be too much but it was absolutely delicious. I cooked mushrooms before the onion step and added them to the final sauce and served with linguine.

  • angrygreycat on February 03, 2019

    Like the other posters, I really liked this and will definitely make again. Very simple with a lovely sharp bite from the grainy mustard. I served with steamed small potatoes and green beans. You definitely need a starch of some kind to soak up the great tasting sauce.

  • Totallywired on November 13, 2018

    Predictably delicious - a high impact weeknight meal for sure. Sauce inferior to a similar recipe in Country Cooking of France (Cotes De Veau Dijonnaise) which leans harder on the cream and is smoother and better integrated as a result. This one can still taste like a spoon of Dijon mustard at times, thick and rustic. I would thin with strong stock or cream to dilute its potency somewhat, though there is nothing at all wrong with this sauce, just in comparison. Suggested pairing of celery root purée is perfect, though I don’t get the suggestion of fresh pasta at all with this sauce/texture/potency. Served here with a roasted mushroom and pickled artichoke salad, missed having a starch to sop up the sauce.

  • DFarnham on February 20, 2021

    Simple and delicious!

  • TLouise on January 14, 2021

    Love this dish and will definitely make it again. As others have commented my chicken also stuck so will be more careful next time.

• Fennel, radish, orange, and crab salad (Salade de fenouil, radis, orange, et crabe)

  • TrishaCP on January 04, 2020

    I also made the salad to serve as the base for crab cakes. I had radicchio so used that as my greens, along with watermelon radishes. I dressed the salad rather than the crab cake. This was great!

  • Bethcote on April 08, 2015

    Made this for easter and served with Serious Eat's crab cakes instead of crab in the salad, which would have been great as well. Perfect meal! Used spinach for greens. It worked beautifully.

• French lentil salad with goat cheese and walnuts (Salade de lentilles au chèvre et aux noix)

  • TrishaCP on November 24, 2019

    This salad is extremely delicious. I needed 30 minutes for my lentils to be perfectly cooked, but I may not have added sufficient water from the outset. (I used Puy lentils.) I loved everything about this and will definitely make this again.)

  • jhappel on May 05, 2014

    Made this ahead and will leave cheese in fridge for serving. Terrific dish.

  • eliza on January 09, 2023

    I also loved this and made a few changes to this adaptable recipe. I used beluga lentils that I had previously cooked and served with salmon and steamed kale from the garden which was a delicious combination. I used feta cheese since I had some on hand, and also omitted the celery.

  • michalow on November 28, 2021

    This is really delicious, even without the cheese. Beluga lentils worked well.

  • jenmacgregor18 on October 18, 2022

    This worked well and it's adaptable to what you have on hand. I doubled the carrots & onions and omitted celery. Subbed cilantro for parsley and oregano for thyme. Feta & pecans for the walnuts & goat cheese. Happy to have this ready to go for lunch this week.

  • stockholm28 on July 07, 2015

    Good dish and I like that he adds the vegetables part way through cooking the lentils to the same pot. It makes for easy clean up. I thought this was better on day two.

  • ksg518 on March 11, 2021

    Excellent salad! I didn't have celery so I doubled the carrots. Normally I would sauté the vegetables and add to the final dish but I thought this method of adding the vegetables to the cooking lentils worked fine and was one less dish to clean.

  • mharriman on September 23, 2020

    I agree with others who thought this was a great dish. A nice break from eating meat/fish. I had green lentils but not Puy, and at 25 minutes (including the addition of the vegetables) my lentils were a bit overcooked but still workable. My husband and I thought the goat cheese made the dish. I used hazelnuts- which we liked- instead of walnuts.

  • Barb_N on June 24, 2017

    I made this pretty much as written, adding the goat cheese each day along with baby arugula for a hearty lunch salad.

  • ricki on October 30, 2018

    Made it, and will make again. Used less oil (half olive and half walnut), twice as much vinegar, little salt, and a bit more mustard. Twenty-five minutes was perfect to cook the lentils. I find that the cheese is optional, but the nuts make the dish.

  • lean1 on October 09, 2021

    I love this recipe. I used some thyme from my garden, bay from my Morocco trip and Rancho gordo lentils. Easy to make and very flavorful. I will be eating this for a few days.

  • Skamper on March 11, 2018

    This was good but could have been more flavorful. I made as directed, using half walnut oil.

  • Christinalego on August 20, 2020

    Perfect. Make this one again! 06 2021 melissa and nat, new beau, to spend the night

• Chicken lady chicken (Poulet crapaudine façon Catherine)

  • mfto on September 16, 2014

    My husband couldn't praise this chicken enough. I bought a free range small chicken and butterflied it myself. Not a pretty job but after cooking, who cares. Serious Eats warns about being careful when browning breast down so I checked half way at 5 minutes and it wasn't brown but blackish. However, there was no smell of burning and it didn't taste burned. I used a 13 inch cast iron skillet and the chicken fit easily in it. The marinade is easy but one thing I would do differently next time is after making the salt/garlic paste in the plastic bag, I would add the mustard and squash it in the bag. Following David's ingredients listing, mustard is almost the last item and it is very difficult to get it to mix in all the liquid. I used Sriracha as listed but next time I will slightly increase until I get the heat right for us. Also very garlicky but we are garlic fans. The salt was right for us. 25 minutes in the oven was right. Meat was not dried out at all.

  • Delys77 on May 20, 2014

    Essentially a spatchcocked chicken which is weighted down while being browned on the burner before going into a hot oven. The marinade is excellent, if a touch loose, which means it is hard to get it under the skin and have it stay there. That said, if you use a large back you can rotate it and massage it in over a few days to really try and get it in there. In terms of cooking my bird was very well browned after 7 minutes, I could have actually pulled it at 6.5 minutes (the wings actually burnt a bit). The suggested 25 minutes in the oven was just right for my 3.5 lb bird. Overall the result is very good, with crispy browned skin and well flavoured meat. I would say that a touch more salt would be good. Perhaps it could be brined for a day then spatchcocked and marinated for a day.

  • Zosia on September 25, 2015

    The chicken had wonderful flavour and was juicy and tender. Like the others, my bird browned/blackened rather quickly in the cast iron fry pan, not surprising given the sugar in the marinade, and my roasting time was a little longer since my chicken was 1.7kg, but the cooking method generally worked well and the seasoning was just right for family's tastes so I'll definitely make this again.

  • Barb_N on March 07, 2017

    The marinade was flavorful but it did not tenderize. I had a tough old bird- maybe due to the time of year and the free range life. I used half a preserved lemon instead of juice, remembering comments about more salt. I might try this again with a flabbier bird because my husband liked it a lot. I would just as soon stick with the Zuni Cafe's technique which has always resulted in meltingly tender meat.

  • Rutabaga on September 07, 2015

    I was a bit disappointed with this bird, but perhaps that's because I didn't follow the instructions exactly as specified. Instead of marinating the chicken in a large plastic bag, I used a large bowl, and it seems the flavors just didn't really penetrate, even though it marinated for over 24 hours. It was juicy and tender, just not especiallly flavorful, and I agree that more salt would also help. Also, I used a sautee pan to brown and roast it, as I have no cast iron pan. The skin started to blacken right away after it hit the pan, but this didn't seem to be problematic, as it did not taste burnt - it just took some serious scrubbing muscle to clean the pan afterwards.

  • Bethcote on April 08, 2015

    Had the same issue as others with almost black breast from the inital browning after 4 mins. I think I had the cast iron pan too hot. I used a 11 inch pan for a 3.5 lb chicken and it worked fine. Since the breast got too brown at first I flipped it a bit more than the recipe called for but still worked out great, tasted wonderful and the 25 mins worked well in the oven. Will make again! Didn't have harissia on hand so used Bangkok seasoning from Prenezy's.

  • BasicStock on March 05, 2018

    I really liked the marinade in the recipe. I was pretty sure my skin would stick to the pan (doesn't it always), so I did a little research and found a comment where a cook placed the bird on a pan that had heated up with the oven, and then broiled the top skin before going on to convection roast it. Probably missed having the authentic rotisserie aspect of the recipe that DL duplicated, but it was lovely and golden and tasted exceptionally good.

• Tangerine-Champagne sorbet (Sorbet à la mandarine et au Champagne)

  • EdM on March 12, 2019

    Add Champagne to warm sugar juice, to cook off a bit of alcohol, before adding rest of cold juice - will help with freezing. Chill juice in refrigerator, plus last 20-30 min in freezer. Soft sorbet doesn't form the nice balls shown in picture.

• Mashed potatoes (Purée de PDT)

  • Astrid5555 on November 25, 2014

    Makes for very rich, but delicious mashed potatoes. Served as a side to the "Chicken with mustard".

• Onion tart (Pissaladière)

  • Astrid5555 on March 29, 2019

    Excellent, lots of chopping and crying involved. Used half a recipe of Richard Bertinet‘s “White dough” instead of the dough called for in this recipe because I had half a recipe leftover from another bread recipe I made. Big hit with my Apéro crowd!

• Salted butter caramel-chocolate mousse (Mousse au chocolat au caramel au beurre salé)

  • Astrid5555 on December 26, 2018

    These are good, but did not wow me as much as I had expected. The caramel flavor did not come through that much, maybe I should have let the caramel darken a little longer. However, got rave reviews from my dinner party guests.

  • FJT on December 19, 2014

    I've only just made these for a birthday dinner tomorrow - just licking the bowl and spoon were enough to tell me that this recipe is awesome. Can't wait for the party!

  • Melanie on July 09, 2017

    Absolutely delicious! This mousse is very rich but I loved it.

  • cadfael on March 22, 2022

    A favourite

  • Kinhawaii on January 12, 2019

    Lovely & rich, hard to stop eating!

  • rhughes24 on December 30, 2021

    This is so good. Absolutely decadent. I have made this for many dinner parties and it always impresses. It's great too because you can make it ahead and then it's ready and waiting when it's time for dessert.

• Buckwheat rolls with seaweed butter (Galettes au sarrasin au beurre aux algues)

  • eliza on January 02, 2015

    Made the crepes without the seaweed butter. Very easy, good taste. Added 1 tbsp olive oil to the batter, made as regular crepes in the blender.

  • SpatulaClark on April 20, 2020

    The crepes alone are tasty, even good to use as a thin wrap for savoury fillings. I've had best results on a cast iron pan, which kept the heat for better browning without being too hot when the batter hits the pan.

• Egyptian spiced nut mix (Dukkah)

  • eliza on December 28, 2014

    Easy to make and good. I make this often and sprinkle it on grains, lentils, and on vegetable curries. I use the spice grinder or mortar and pestle to grind the pepper and coriander seeds, then pulse everything else in the large food processor. I cut back a little on the salt, using half a teaspoon. Works well with other nuts such as cashews and almonds; my current favourite is hazelnuts and sunflower seeds with the peppery spices. Delish.

  • Zosia on May 03, 2014

    Fragrant, nutty, and spicy, this was very quick to make despite having to toast the ingredients individually. My mortar is quite small and after grinding a portion of the mixture in it and seeing what remained, I resorted to a food processor to do the rest. I used it to make the fantastic roasted cauliflower (page 224).

  • Skamper on August 25, 2018

    This was tasty in the roasted cauliflower recipe in the same book. I'll also try his recommendation of using it as a dip. I made this in the food processor. Next time, I'll take the advice of another reviewer and grind the coriander seeds and peppercorns in my spice grinder first.

• Dukkah-roasted cauliflower (Chou-fleur rôti au dukkah)

  • eliza on April 04, 2020

    I don’t know why I didn’t post about this before. I make the dukkah often so I usually have it on hand to put on the cauliflower, however today I started the roasting and realized I had none. No problem, it’s easy to get done in the time while the cauliflower has its initial roast. Delicious as always. One of my favourites in the book.

  • Rinshin on May 26, 2014

    This was good. It would be an easy recipe to pull off with already made dukkah. Rate this about B range. Coming from Asian background, I would have liked it more with maybe a splash of good quality vinegar. I really like the dukkah and looking forward to using it with other foods.

  • Zosia on May 03, 2014

    Delicious! (I definitely had an "Oh my God!" moment). The only thing I would caution against is the seasoning - the dukkah contains salt and pepper so you want to use these (especially salt) sparingly on the cauliflower at the start of roasting.

  • Skamper on August 25, 2018

    First time using dukkah and I really liked it. I didn't use the full amount of olive oil and that may have prevented the dukkah from really sticking to the cauliflower. Used his recipe for dukkah.

• Bay leaf pound cake with orange glaze (Gâteau week-end parfumé au laurier, nappage à l'orange)

  • adrienneyoung on August 07, 2020

    Ok, but not great. A bit too dry (though that could be my fault: is it possible I overbaked it?). Will probably be cubed, frozen and used for trifle later. Note that this is one of very few David Lebovitz recipes that leaves me unmoved. He is SO reliable: hence I really do suspect that it’s general underwhelmingness may be my fault...

  • ldyndiuk on October 28, 2022

    The recipe skips a step in that it never tells you when to add the melted butter. My inclination is to combine it with the other liquids and then add them all at once to the dry ingredients. However, in the introduction to the recipe he talks about the unique way that he makes this cake, by melting the butter and using it to soak the flour (I can't remember the exact wording now) so I added the butter directly to the flour, which just made giant lumps. It all came together ok though. He also has you line the bottom of the cake pan with bay leaves before putting the batter on top and then never mentions them again. I wasn't sure if this was supposed to be decorative - do you flip the cake over? But it bakes with a rounded top so I don't think that's the case. I removed the bay leaves (which he also doesn't mention, but you don't want to eat those) and in some cases they broke apart and little bits were buried in the bottom of the cake. Tasty enough, but not a keeper.

• Buttermilk ice cream with olive oil and fleur de sel (Glace au lait ribot, huile d'olive et fleur de sel)

  • adrienneyoung on August 06, 2020

    Very good. Not quite as riveting as his chocolate sorbet, but dead easy and very good.

  • adrienneyoung on August 08, 2020

    This is a very good, ridiculously easy ice cream all on its own. But this weekend, it being that time of year, I skinned and blitzed a couple of nectarines I had to use up and mixed them in with the buttermilk. Result: outstanding! I’m going to try this with other summer fruit.

• Counterfeit duck confit (Faux confit de canard)

  • bernalgirl on October 10, 2022

    Dead easy and delicious. Just watch the salt, I found it had melted and was difficult to rub off, and the finished duck was very salty. It worked great in a salad, controlling the salt from other ingredients.

  • Zosia on November 18, 2016

    These were pretty amazing and very easy to make - fuss and mess-free. Lacking gin, I included a few crushed juniper berries in the spice rub.

  • e_ballad on November 18, 2016

    These are brilliant. Recipe can also be found at: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/08/02/428134024/counterfeit-duck-confit-all-of-the-flavor-without-the-labor

• Salt cod and potato puree (Brandade de morue)

  • FJT on March 27, 2021

    Absolutely wonderful. I have a feeling I will be making this whenever I can get salt cod. Served as suggested with a crisp salad and some toast ... and a glass of dry white wine.

• Chicken in red wine sauce (Coq au vin)

  • FJT on February 01, 2015

    This was a big hit - I'll be making this again. The sauce tastes wonderful even before adding the cocoa, but the cocoa adds a real depth of flavour. It seemed a bit odd cooking the pearl onions separately and only adding them at the end, but that worked well too as they kept their own distinct flavour. Loved everything about this recipe!

  • stef on January 13, 2019

    I made this with bone in chicken thighs. A very easy recipe to follow. Adding cocoa at the end gave the sauce a very rich dark colour. Chicken was very tender. We loved everything about it. A repeat

• Scalloped potatoes with blue cheese and roasted garlic (Gratin de pommes de terre au bleu et à l'ail confit)

  • FJT on December 20, 2014

    So good! Very easy to make and packed with flavour. I used a bit less blue cheese than stated in the recipe because I thought it might be overpowering; I don't think I would add any more when I make it again.. A fantastic side dish for a steak dinner.

  • okmosa on January 07, 2017

    This dish probably came out as it was supposed to, but is pretty rich. I used 2 c. half and half with about 3/4 c. extra cream that was in the refrig and it was not soupy at all - perfect consistency, really. Our house loves blue cheese so I thought this would be killer at the table, but it wasn't any greater for us than a standard potato gratin. The roasted garlic was a great addition - I'll try this technique with my next gratin.

  • goodfruit on May 19, 2014

    Used less cream and more half n half and also halved the amount of blue cheese used and this turned out so creamy and delish! Will be making again. Thinking of adding bacon.

  • averythingcooks on April 17, 2021

    I cut this to 1/3 using one very large russet potato and a mix of 5% & heavy cream. I also added sauteed leeks (freezer find!) to each layer and mixed the last layer of chives with breadcrumbs & butter for a crispy top. I will admit to simmering the potato slices in the cream for several minutes (then fishing them out to form the layers before pouring the cream over). I always do this now as I've made too many potato gratins where I've been disappointed with undercooked potatoes. Oh yes......this was deliciously indulgent beside some steaks and I will absolutely make this again.

• Dee's fabulous cheesecake (Le fabuleux cheesecake de Dee)

  • FJT on December 25, 2019

    This was excellent! I did half quantity in an 8" tin, baked for 60 minutes rather than 70 and left to cool in the oven for 1.5 hours. Worked really well. Will definitely make this again.

• Salted butter caramel sauce (Caramel au beurre salé)

  • FJT on December 29, 2020

    Easy to make with very clear instructions.

  • stef on July 20, 2019

    The instructions for this sauce are so clearly written. The sauce came out a nice amber colour. I had sweet butter so added a scant teaspoon of kosher salt. It took about 10 minutes to make - a repeat.

  • Kinhawaii on October 15, 2019

    Just like stef found, easy, quick, & delicious. I agree, I will repeat it whenever I need a caramel sauce.

• Shallot marmalade (Confiture d'échalottes)

  • FJT on December 01, 2020

    I think there is a problem with the weight measures here .. when I came to add the last ingredient (raisins) I realised that 85g was way more than then 1/3 cup stated. At this point I wondered if I also had too much sugar relative to vinegar. The whole thing didn't really become marmalade-like, so I guess that was the problem. It tasted ok, but more sweet than sweet-sour; next time I would go with the cup measurements rather than the weights.

• Honey-spice bread (Pain d'épices)

  • Melanie on May 06, 2014

    I agree that the finished bread improves with time - the flavour is much better on day 2. My only issue with this recipe was my inability to get all of the lumps out of the batter. I think the key lump causing step was adding the flour to the hot mixture - I spent a bit of time trying to remove the lumps but didn't have much success, which created a lumpy / speckled cake interior. Spend extra time trying to whisk / beat the lumps out.

  • twoyolks on December 12, 2015

    This is a highly spiced and dense bread. I suspect it's a bit of an acquired taste but it was too dry and spiced for my taste.

  • Crumbles on January 22, 2023

    I am very glad that I made this. The spices lift it to a heavenly dimension. It states that it should be left for a day to develop to it's full potential. Now I am only human and waited until it was just warm, cut a thick slice, buttered and gorged. Mmmmmm delicious. Tomorrow, I will try with some cream cheese. I will be making more of this.

• Roast lamb with braised vegetables, salsa verde, and chickpea puffs (Epaule d'agneau aux legumes, sauce verte, et panisses)

  • Melanie on May 06, 2014

    I made a couple of changes - I only cooked the lamb and the braised vegetables, and served the vegetables as a side along with crunchy roast potatoes. The lamb took 30-45 minutes longer than indicated in the recipe and although it tasted nice, I think the flavour improved overnight. I liked the flavour that the white wine brought to the recipe. For the braised vegetables I used a mixture of carrots, turnips, parsnips and kohlrabi in addition to the peas. I thought this was a nice and simple preparation but agree that it needs the punchy flavour of the lamb or the suggested salsa to help liven it up a bit.

• Spiced meatballs with Sriracha sauce (Boulettes de merguez à la sauce Sriracha)

  • Melanie on August 13, 2017

    I thought that these had a great flavour, I served with buttered orzo and roast pumpkin and skipped the mayo but would possibly serve with something more complex next time. Used lamb mince, harissa and sumac.

  • twoyolks on October 06, 2016

    The flavor of the spice is very strong. These aren't bad but the spicing is just too over the top.

  • Zosia on September 25, 2015

    These were intensely flavoured little meatballs and served with a sriracha-yogurt sauce (a hybrid of the suggested accompaniments) probably would have made a good appetizer where one is expected to consume only one or two. I made the mistake of serving these as a main - they just too strongly flavoured for my family's tastes.

  • AdamTheAmateur on July 11, 2017

    Fantastic flavor - I think other commentors just have a different threshold than my wife or I do. Needs moisture - be sure to get a fatty ground beef or add bread crumbs and/or butter.

  • purrviciouz on March 17, 2020

    I enjoyed these and thought the spice level was appropriate for merguez although I might add more heat next time. I used harissa, added the sumac, and used 100% ground lamb. I served with spiced basmati rice and the loved the cooling tahini yogurt sauce to balance the spiced meat. I browned the balls on the stove in olive oil then transferred to the oven to finish cooking through.

• Celery root puree (Purée de céleri-rave)

  • Delys77 on June 02, 2014

    A bit different from other renditions I have tried as there is a good deal more celery root than potato. the result is a bit darker in colour than usual, with a slightly less smooth more fibrous texture. That said the flavour is really nice and would go very well with any braised dish. I used the finest plate on my ricer and this worked well enough but I think the food processor would achieve a nicer texture. I used 1% milk which did separate a bit when simmering, that said, I actually didn't need any of the liquid in my puree so the separation made no difference.

  • purrviciouz on April 02, 2020

    This was my first time having pureed celery root and I found I prefer it in salad and soups. The recipe worked well and I used my food mill to mash.

  • Totallywired on October 18, 2018

    Good flavour and texture. Made without stock for cleaner celery root flavour. Mashed with potato masher and then incorporated hot liquid with immersion blender until satisfied with the texture.

  • DFarnham on October 19, 2021

    Great side to mustard chicken recipe

• Pork and chard sausage (Caillettes)

  • Delys77 on June 13, 2014

    This comes together relatively easily and was different but quite tasty. I went with about half the amount of bacon and possibly slightly overprocessed the mixture but the flavours were good. The herbs and liver give it the flavour of pate, but the rest of the ingredients give it good substance. You definitely need a side or two as the portion is fairly small. Husband liked very much.

• Vegetable soup with basil puree (Soupe au pistou)

  • Delys77 on June 10, 2014

    I modified his approach by using canned beans and chicken stock instead of water. Also, make sure to season aggressively as the pistou on its own doesn't have enough salt to season the full 3 litres of liquid. That said, very easy, very tasty soup that captures the essence of this southern French delight. I also loved the tomato in the actual pistou, it was very nice touch.

  • twoyolks on June 24, 2014

    When I made this, I pressure cooked the beans in 2 quarts of water for 12 minutes which worked well as a base for the soup. For me, the individual vegetables were no longer identifiable in the end soup; the flavors melded too much together. However, the pistou providing a nice brightness to the soup.

  • Zosia on April 15, 2014

    Fresh-tasting but hearty soup that's good on its own but fabulous with the pistou. I pretty much followed the recipe as written since I had all of the ingredients on hand but added the zucchini with the pasta towards the end of cooking so it would retain more of its texture.

• Shakshuka (Chakchouka)

  • Delys77 on July 02, 2014

    This was very easy to prepare and the sauce was delicious. The spice mix really elevates this from a simple tomato sauce to something just a little exotic. I cooked a bit longer than suggested fearing my eggs would be too runny and I should have followed the recommended time as my eggs were overdone. Still very tasty, but would have been better with a bit of a runnier yolk.

• Buckwheat madeleines (Madeleines au sarrasin)

  • bwehner on December 31, 2015

    I agree with Zosia's note. Delicious & not difficult. As per instructions do not over fill. I used a generous teaspoon for each of my forms. When I used more, they became too heavy.

  • Zosia on April 28, 2014

    These were tender little cakes with a pleasant, nutty flavour. The batter came together quickly and required no rest period as madeleine batters often do, and even though I had to bake in 2 batches, they were done in less than 30 minutes. The most time consuming part was browning the butter, a step you don't want to skip since these little cakes owe most of their flavour to this ingredient. I thought they were a little too sweet - no one agreed!

• Almond cakes with browned butter (Financiers)

  • twoyolks on September 06, 2021

    When I first tried one, I was a bit underwhelmed by them. And then I couldn't stop eating them.

• Warm chocolate cake with salted butter caramel sauce (Moelleux au chocolat tiède, caramel au beurre salé)

  • twoyolks on February 01, 2019

    These were nice but they weren't good enough for the amount of work that I had to put into them. And the left overs aren't great.

• Madeleines

  • twoyolks on January 20, 2019

    The cookies had a good level of sweetness. The vanilla paste was the dominant flavor and I think it might have been a bit too strong for my taste.

  • joanhuguet on January 24, 2015

    I have searched for a madeleine recipe for years, but invariably find them too sweet. This one is perfect! They really do have to be eaten immediately, though.

  • Starrysky on September 03, 2017

    Wonderful! Foolproof recipe, so easy and so delicious :)

• Christmas cake (Bûche de Noël)

  • twoyolks on January 01, 2021

    The instructions make this easy enough to make (even if I misunderstood that the mushroom stems are piped vertically) despite being a rather complicated cake. It also ended up looking like a fallen log. The flavor is very orange and it's not particularly sweet. I liked it but didn't think the payoff was quite worth all the work.

  • DFarnham on December 12, 2022

    Great recipe. Instructions are straight-forward, and not as difficult as it appears. I made this twice for two separate holiday events without a lot of stress. This receipt is not overly sweet, which we liked. A wonderful cake to impress your guests.

• Harissa

  • twoyolks on August 07, 2014

    I made this with a combination of ancho and guajillo chiles and hot smoked paprika and the end result was not particularly spicy.

• Belgian beef stew with beer and spice bread (Carbonade Flamande)

  • twoyolks on December 15, 2015

    There wasn't enough beef flavor in the sauce for my preference. There was also a weird bitter flavor (from the spice bread?) in the sauce.

• Panisse puffs (Panisses soufflées)

  • twoyolks on January 31, 2017

    These puffed well but I felt that the cumin flavor was too strong.

  • stockholm28 on March 21, 2015

    These are Very easy (you whiz everything up in a blender) and quite tasty; however, I made these in a muffin tin (rather than popover) and mine barely puffed. They were still good.

  • Zosia on March 16, 2015

    With the appearance and texture of a popover and the flavour of socca, these were delicious. They baked up beautifully in a regular oiled muffin tin filled about halfway with batter in 30 minutes in my oven. Mine did look a little different from the book photo in that they had a flaky exterior which was quite wonderful. Note that if buttering the pan, you should use clarifed - mentioned in the head notes but not addressed in either the ingredient list or recipe instructions.

• Potatoes cooked in duck fat (Pommes de terre sautées à la graisse de canard)

  • twoyolks on January 04, 2015

    The potatoes were nicely flavored but never became crispy and had a tendency to stick to the bottom of the pan. I'd consider using non-stick cookware in the future and a higher heat.

  • stef on May 05, 2019

    Potatoes were nice and crispy. I used a cast iron pan

• Butternut squash crumble (Crumble de butternut)

  • twoyolks on September 30, 2016

    This was very good. This brings out the savory side of the butternut squash well. The crumble worked fine for me (even though I was making a quarter recipe). I didn't have any sage so I just used more thyme in the crumble.

  • Rinshin on May 02, 2014

    Butternut is cut into about 3/4 inch size which is perfect size to brown and to taste each piece accented with thyme. Thyme is perfect accent to butternut. Two stages to making this recipe and the first stage is making of butternut and second stage is the crumble making. The crumble part did not work will for me. Maybe my egg was too big but the crumble mixture balled up into more or less pasty mess and did not have enough to cover the dish. I separated as much as I could, but the result was more like series of small dumplings after it was baked. We still liked the taste and texture of butternut though but will be experimenting more with the crumble part. Although sage is added to the crumble part, I could not discern much flavor of sage. I plan on increasing the amount of sage next time as well.

  • Frogcake on October 10, 2016

    Delicious and very simple to make. It's important to brown the squash well. We loved the fresh thyme on the pan roasted squash and onions. As well, the minced fresh sage in the crumble complimented the thyme. I forgot to add the egg in the crumble -I don't think I will add it next time I make this side dish as the crumble was easy to manage and savoury without it.

  • bwhip on March 09, 2019

    Very delicious dish. Wonderful flavor and texture. Crisp topping turned out great. I didn't have the perfect sized casserole dish, so used a 9" x 13" ceramic baking dish and it worked out quite well. Wonderful accompaniment to the Chicken with Mustard from the same cookbook. Lovely.

• Roasted root vegetables (Légumes racines rôtis au four)

  • twoyolks on January 22, 2015

    This is very simple, easy, and quite tasty. I was surprised by how much I liked the roasted beets in the mix. I would probably use potatoes over sweet potatoes in the future. The sweetness of the sweet potatoes didn't mesh with the other vegetables well. Also, the serving size could be considered a suggestion: 3 adults and 1 young child ate an entire recipe.

• Parisian gnocchi (Gnocchis à la Parisienne)

  • twoyolks on December 12, 2014

    This is really rich but really good. Use a larger baking dish than you may initially think as the gnocchi puff up significantly as they bake. These do not reheat particularly well.

  • okmosa on January 12, 2020

    I wouldn’t change anything about this recipe. It was absolutely delicious. Reading the recipe I assumed it would have more cheese, but I tried hard to trust the recipe ;) and didn’t add extra and it was just perfect. I think the Parmesan cheese was very helpful even though there is not much. I was also surprised that the dish puffed up in the oven. It looked SO impressive!

• Garlic mayonnaise with accompaniments (Le grand aïoli)

  • twoyolks on July 24, 2014

    While the ingredients and preparation are simple, this is really good. It would make an great picnic. I made this with roast chicken, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, and hard boiled eggs. The chicken and hard boiled eggs were excellent. The green beans, potatoes, and tomatoes were good. The sweetness of the carrots made them a bit odd in comparison to the aioli (I did use heirloom carrots). I'd probably choose a different vegetable next time.

  • meginyeg on February 19, 2021

    Only made the aioli but it was delicious. I wasn't sure it would work in the mortar but it was perfect and simple.

• Beet hummus (Houmous de betteraves)

  • twoyolks on August 08, 2015

    The earthiness of the beets was just too strong for hummus.

  • SpatulaClark on July 09, 2020

    Found the beet flavour pleasant, different to usual 'vegetable hummus' which is often more chickpea-dominant. Substituted molasses and balsamic vinegar for pomegranate molasses (suggested by author), and apple cider vinegar for lemon juice.

• Comté and ham wafers (Sablés au Comté et au jambon)

  • twoyolks on December 21, 2014

    These were very salty (the recipe introduction does warn of that but they were even salty give that). The texture is a little bit strange for a savory item also.

• Butternut squash bread soup (Panade de butternut)

  • j_h on May 04, 2014

    Need to use high quality ingredients on this one, otherwise it's a bit bland. With good stuff though, it's great. Can use Jarlsberg, Gruyere, or fontina cheese instead of Comte. Can use dry Vermouth instead of white wine if you don't want to open a bottle. Recipe halves ok.

  • joanhuguet on January 24, 2015

    Incredibly delicious and warming - a more complex French onion soup. Leftovers would not do well, so I halved the recipe to feed two.

  • AlyssafromRhody on September 30, 2021

    This might be squash’s finest hour.

• Carrot cake (Gâteau aux carottes)

  • Yildiz100 on April 21, 2019

    I made just the frosting (half recipe) to use on a different carrot cake. I saw a blogger who complained it wasn't sweet enough, but for me, it was just right. It's nice for people who often find frosting overwhelmingly sweet, and the mascarpone makes it taste fresher and lighter than just cream cheese.

• Fried ham and cheese sandwich (Croque monsieur)

  • mondraussie on July 05, 2020

    A bit of dijon mustard gives this a little extra something

  • stef on July 25, 2021

    Sandwich is made with bechamel sauce. After grilling you pile grated cheese on top and put under broiler. Keep a close eye because things happen very quickly. Bread burnt a bit but it was still delicious.

• Chocolate-dulce de leche tart (Tarte au chocolat et confiture de lait)

  • thekitchenchronicles on November 04, 2014

    All-around crowd-pleaser, especially for chocolate lovers. Incredibly indulgent and decadent. http://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2014/08/18/chocolate-dulce-de-leche-tart/

  • Zosia on June 16, 2014

    Made for Father's Day, this was a huge hit. The chocolate filling was creamy and silky in texture, and overall, the tart was intensely chocolatey and not overly sweet. I did have a few issues while making it. I weighed my flour and cocoa powder but found the crust to be quite dry and crumbly even after baking...a little water might have helped me out this time but perhaps a little less of my high protein Canadian flour is the better route to take. Also, the filling was still completely liquid after the allotted baking time so I baked an additional 10 minutes until the edge started to set before turning off the heat. It was still very loose when I took it from the oven but refrigeration changed all of that. I'm not sure it needed the extra baking time, but it certainly didn't hurt the texture. I used semi-sweet chocolate (55% cacao).

  • Kinhawaii on May 06, 2019

    I think this is a wonderful tart. I had the same issues as Zosia. The first time I made it awhile ago I thought the crust was easy to roll out in between parchment- I think my press in crusts get too uneven. When I made it last night, I added a little water but it still was a little dry. Whenever the oven setting is low I try to use an oven thermometer but the filling was very liquid after 20 minutes so I bumped up the heat for 10 minutes & left it in the oven another 30 minutes. Both times it became barely jiggly so maybe I am overcooking it but it looks like the photo in the book, doesn't curdle, & I think it tastes divine! When I cut it after refrigeration, the dulce oozes a little but never flows out.

• Spiced speculoos flan (Crème caramel à la pâte de spéculoos)

  • stockholm28 on April 12, 2014

    I've used speculoos paste in ice cream, but thought it was just average in the flan. I did like the five spice powder in the caramel. Although I probably won't make this again, I will use the simple technique of mixing the flan in a blender and also covering with aluminum foil while baking in the future. The flans were perfectly set.

• Smoky barbecue-style pork (Porc fumé façon barbecue)

  • stockholm28 on March 20, 2015

    This was really quite good and the leftovers are great. The house smelled amazing while it was cooking. It is super easy ... just need to plan in advance so you can put the rub on the meat and let it sit overnight. I cooked it for 3 hours as he suggested, but next time I make it I might plan to cook it longer. I had a bone-in butt and it could have used a bit more time. It was delicious with cole slaw.

  • Zosia on July 07, 2015

    Really easy and flavourful with leftovers tasting even better next day. Like the previous reviewer, I had a bone-in pork butt. The 2kg roast needed 3-1/2 hours.

  • mharriman on November 14, 2019

    The smallest pork shoulder (boneless) I found at my grocer was 3 1/2 pounds. Mine was falling away at 3 hours. As others have said, this is quite tasty. My husband said he wanted seconds but upon checking what remained said he going to hold back so there’d be plenty to eat tomorrow night. We ate ours unembellished (no bun, tortilla, etc) accompanied with mashed potatoes from a Cooking Light recipe. First time using the cookbook for a recipe - have been enjoying reading his stories.

  • lizbot2000 on July 09, 2017

    Really good! As with the other folks, I found that it took longer than expected. Really tasty and really flexible recipe - we'll be eating off this all week, probably, in various ways. Goes well with the garlicky cole slaw in the same book, or on Texas toast with raw onion. I bet it'd be awesome in a quesadilla, too.

  • DFarnham on February 20, 2021

    This was surprisingly outstanding! My husband is a Texan and has pretty strong opinions about BBQ. We decided to take a leap of faith, thinking the flavors would come off more on the African side given the harissa. The pork butt ended up in the fridge for 48 hours, not 24, and the results were mouth-watering. Used Wiburs Spicy Hickory BBQ sauce and Corona beer. Will double sauce in the future. Definite repeat!

• French onion soup (Soupe à l'oignon)

  • Rinshin on May 01, 2014

    Fantastic. Not sure which one I prefer - one I've been making using Julia Child's or this one. This recipe was very straightforward. Cooking time was mostly right on except the second phase after adding the stock and wine/sherry. It says 20 mins, I think mine needed double that amount to bring out the color. I used comte for the cheese. Serving amt is right on too. I made it as 3 servings and it made 3 servings - yeah! I will be repeating this again.

• Ham, blue cheese, and pear quiche (Tarte salée au jambon, au bleu, et aux poires)

  • texannewyorker on October 01, 2015

    I would have given this 5 stars if not for the crust being very difficult to work with. It calls for one egg, and I needed two before the dough even had a prayer of coming together. I let it rest 1 hour, and then rolled it out. When I tried to transfer it to the baking pan, it tore so badly I had to gather it into a disc again and roll it out all over again. For whatever reason, the second time rolling it out was the charm. The filling is DELICIOUS. So thick and rich and French. I used crisped bacon instead of ham (personal preference). Also used gorgonzola because it's what I had on hand. A really incredible meal.

  • stef on October 01, 2021

    This turned out beautifully . The amount of blue cheese is just right. Will be repeated

  • meginyeg on April 17, 2021

    We loved this. Super tasty and filling.

• Baked Provençal tomatoes (Tian)

  • sbessell on August 24, 2020

    Easy to throw together and tasted delicious! Used leftovers for pasta sauce, paninis, and ramen toppings!

• Chicken pot Parmentier (Hachis Parmentier au poulet)

  • Zosia on October 11, 2018

    Family loved this dish. I replaced the chicken with leftover Thanksgiving roast turkey and used stock made from its carcass. The tarragon went well with it and made it a little different from other similar post-Thanksgiving turkey dishes I've made. I used only 1 tbsp butter in the potatoes (and omitted the melted butter topping); between the cream and egg yolks, they still tasted rich and creamy.

• Fattoush (Fattouche)

  • sweetchefgirl on September 29, 2014

    Excellent recipe will make again!

• Coffee crème brûlée (Crème brûlée au café)

  • joyofcooking1931 on December 14, 2014

    Excellent! Subtly coffee flavored and not too sweet. I will absolutely make these again.

• French fries (Frites)

  • joanhuguet on January 24, 2015

    This recipe does create crisp oven fries, but you'd never mistake them for the real thing.

• Eggplant caviar (Caviar d'aubergines)

  • joanhuguet on January 24, 2015

    Elegant, light, and a constant presence in my fridge during eggplant season. I up the smoky flavor by using smoked salt in addition to smoked paprika.

• Salted olive crisps (Croquets salés aux olives)

  • joanhuguet on January 24, 2015

    Being quite addicted to the expensive fruit-and-nut crisps sold in cheese shops, I was excited to try this recipe. I did not love the large quantity of olives, finding them overwhelming, but would use the base recipe to make different flavors. In addition, I found the loaf quite difficult to cut into thin slices before baking the individual crackers - it wanted to crumble. Perhaps some time beforehand in the fridge or freezer to chill would make this step easier.

• Indian cheese bread (Naan au fromage)

  • hun1ahpu on December 26, 2014

    It's really hard to keep cheese inside the bread while cooking. I end up putting 25% less cheese but still it happened from time to time. I think i never managed to properly seal the envelope.

  • Sttlady on October 08, 2018

    I love this bread! It was easier than I thought it would be and best eaten right after cooking.

  • Shirls on May 04, 2020

    Loved this, if you give yourself enough time unlike me this was not stressful to make at all and looks impressive. Only complaint would be that I will never be able to buy from a supermarket again, in the future it will either be restaurant naan or homemade.

• Mayonnaise

  • Lepa on February 16, 2021

    This came together better than other mayos I have made. The instructions were perfect. I might like a bit more salt or a spot of dijon but it was delicious with steamed artichokes. My eight year old says it was five stars!

• White bean, sausage, duck confit casserole (Cassoulet)

  • meginyeg on September 06, 2021

    This was good. Definitely will make again. Used supermarket soup bean mix and it was fine.

  • Running_with_Wools on May 17, 2021

    Absolutely delicious and this will be my go-to recipe in the future. We enjoyed this Christmas of 2020 - coming out of a long year of covid.

  • ellwell on January 23, 2023

    This was good, everyone had second helpings. However, it doesn’t beat Melissa Clark’s Contemporary Cassoulet which is divine and easier. From now on, I will probably use this method for cooking the beans and use her (MC) flavor layering.

• Green olive, basil, and almond tapenade (Tapenade d'olives vertes au basilic et aux amandes)

  • doughet on July 25, 2017

    This was a surprisingly simple, quick-to-make, and delicious snack. I had accidentally bought green olives stuffed with jalapeños to use in this tapenade. So I used instead some very mild green olives that were still in our refrigerator because we didn't particularly like them, and threw in two of the jalapeño-stuffed olives. The basil (from the garden), lemons, capers, and almonds really made this a much more interesting dish than most tapenades that I've tasted in the past. I can only imagine that it will be even better next time when we use better olives. (Next time we'll buy some good olives from the olive bar.)

• Winter salad (Salade d'hiver)

  • Kinhawaii on April 15, 2021

    We enjoyed this salad- although we substituted sour cream for the yogurt & a different blue cheese- because that’s what we had on hand. As an option given, we added some apple. Would definitely make again, also with nut option.

  • Indio32 on October 17, 2021

    Had this for today's lunch. Made as directed but added some chopped walnuts as per variation. Very good. Made with full fat genuine Greek yoghurt at room temp.

• Food52

  How to participate and get started in Food52's cookbook club featuring this cookbook July 2017.

  Full review

• Food52 by Bill Buford

  The 2015 Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks vs. Brooks Headley's Fancy Desserts

  Full review

• Food52 by Kate Christensen

  The 2015 Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks winner vs. Maria Elia's Smashing Plates

  Full review

• Food52 by Melissa Block

  The 2015 Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks winner vs. Rawia Bishara's Olives, Lemons & Za'atar

  Full review

• Food52 by J. Kenji López-Alt

  The 2015 Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks winner vs. Nicolaus Balla & Cortney Burns' Bar Tartine

  Full review

• Serious Eats

  ...it was clear to me that Lebovitz took great care to work out all the kinks in each dish. The recipes simply worked. On the other hand, he also has a sense of levity in his style...

  Full review

• Food52

  Q & A with author David Lebovitz

  Full review

• Fine Cooking

  Lebovitz's candid stories about the (many) ups and (few) downs of living and cooking in France are eye-opening and often hilarious. Evocative photos offer a glimpse of contemporary Parisian life...

  Full review

• Vogue

  Spring's best books: ...captures the daily flavors and textures of his adopted Paris life, from market shopping to l’heure de l’apéro—all in a non-cloying prose style all too rare in the blogosphere.

  Full review

• Saveur.com

  ... an especially personal work, with eclectic recipes unified by Lebovitz’s musings on the pleasures and quirks of living, cooking, and eating in Paris...an irresistible invitation to keep cooking.

  Full review