Category: Bonal

Bourbon Peach Cooler

Depending on your point of view, I’m either the best or the worst person when it comes to shopping for fruit at the outdoor market in the summer. I tend to buy way, way too many fruits; since they ripen at different rates, I want to have my pick of the crop when I feel like eating a peach or nectarine. On the other hand,…

Depending on your point of view, I’m either the best or the worst person when it comes to shopping for fruit at the outdoor market in the summer. I tend to buy way, way too many fruits; since they ripen at different rates, I want to have my pick of the crop when I feel like eating a peach or nectarine. On the other hand, I find myself with way too much fruit on my hands at any given time and in between coddling the fruits through their different stages of ripeness, to refrigerating any overload that I can’t use right away, it seems like my entire summer is all about managing fruit. (When, to be honest, I could use some beach time.)

This week I bought way too many peaches. For some reason, they didn’t just ripen all at once, but they all went from unripe to almost overripe, within a day. I’ve been thinking about a bourbon and peach-based cocktail for a while and had been eyeing my bottle of Bonal, figuring the earthiness of the French apéritif would pair nicely with all-American whiskey in a fruity, refreshing summer drink, and knew I got it right when I took my first sip of this Peach Bourbon Cooler, which really hit the spot.

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The Making of Drinking French

A few years ago, after My Paris Kitchen came out, I began thinking about what I’d write about next. Whenever you have a book come out, the most common question is, “What’s your next book?” Sometimes you already have an idea, but other times, it’s nice to sit back and enjoy what you’ve written. I was happy that people took to that book so much,…

A few years ago, after My Paris Kitchen came out, I began thinking about what I’d write about next. Whenever you have a book come out, the most common question is, “What’s your next book?” Sometimes you already have an idea, but other times, it’s nice to sit back and enjoy what you’ve written. I was happy that people took to that book so much, and after a respite, I started thinking about what to write about next.

Because I was asked about it so much, I decided that telling the story of my apartment renovation would make an interesting book, which turned out to be true, knowing that people would be surprised at what a comedy of errors it turned out to be.

But another subject I found myself becoming more and more interested in was the culture and traditions of French drinkings, and the drinks themselves. I submitted both proposals at once, nearly six years ago, in a two-book arrangement with my publisher, deciding to tackle the renovation story first while it was still fresh in my mind and take on French drinks when I was done. That ended up being a good thing…because I needed a drink after reliving L’Appart…and from what many of you have told me after reading it, so did you!

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