Category: Ten Speed Press

Blog Notes and Online Appearances

-This Thursday, April 16th, I’ll be on my publisher’s Instagram Feed at Ten Speed Press I’ll be talking about how to set up your own French bar as well as sharing a classic French apéritif that I’ll be demonstrating, which you can make at home. It’ll be taking place at 10 pm CET which is 4 pm ET, 1 pm PT. Please confirm the time…

-This Thursday, April 16th, I’ll be on my publisher’s Instagram Feed at Ten Speed Press I’ll be talking about how to set up your own French bar as well as sharing a classic French apéritif that I’ll be demonstrating, which you can make at home. It’ll be taking place at 10 pm CET which is 4 pm ET, 1 pm PT. Please confirm the time it is where you live with Google or using a time converter if you don’t want to miss it*.

-Thanks for tuning into my daily/nightly Apéro Hour on IGTV, which happens every day except Sunday, live at 6 pm CET, Noon ET and 9 am PT. You can access the live presentations from my kitchen by heading to my Instagram profile at that time, and tapping on my profile picture there, which will have a red ring around it when I’m live. If you miss it, you can watch a replay either in my Instagram Stories within 24 hours after they occurred using a smartphone or tablet (it doesn’t appear to work on the IG desktop app) or in my IGTV archives. (Note that two-way interviews and discussions that I do with guests can’t be archived in the IGTV archives.) For more info on accessing the daily Apéro Hours, check my post here.

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Drinking French Book Tour update

My bags were packed, and I was ready to go (and planning on stocking up on Sharpies as soon as I hit the ground) but due to current circumstances, I’ve had to cancel my Drinking French book tour. With travel difficult between countries and advisements to avoid large gatherings, my publisher and I decided it was best to put it off for now. Hopefully, the…

My bags were packed, and I was ready to go (and planning on stocking up on Sharpies as soon as I hit the ground) but due to current circumstances, I’ve had to cancel my Drinking French book tour. With travel difficult between countries and advisements to avoid large gatherings, my publisher and I decided it was best to put it off for now.

Hopefully, the situation will improve, and if possible, I may do some events later in the spring, summer, or even in the fall. I may be doing a live virtual booksigning on Instagram, where we can “meet” and I can sign a bookplate for anyone that would like one to put in their books. I’ll let you know when and if that happens. But perhaps we’ll meet in the future, in person, and share a drink, and perhaps a bite to eat.

For those who would like to get a copy of Drinking French (and to be honest, who doesn’t need a good cup of Parisian hot chocolate, or an apéritif or cocktail right now?) you can pick up or order a copy from you local independent bookseller, or online at Book Larder, White Whale, Kitchen Arts and Letters, Omnivore, Powell’s, Now Serving, Strand, and RJ Julia. All would welcome your support, especially now when in-store business is down. Global readers can order Drinking French from Book Depository, which offers free international shipping.

Drinking French is also available at Indie Bound and Amazon, as well as Barnes & Noble, which is offering signed editions of the book.

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Drinking French is Out!

I’m excited to announce that Drinking French: The iconic cocktails, apéritifs, and café traditions in France, with 160 recipes is out! My latest book features recipes for the iconic beverages of France, from café specialties hot chocolate, tisanes and infusions, and chilled chocolate frappés, to classic French apéritifs, recipes to make liqueurs, crèmes, wines, punches and cordials at home, as well as French-themed cocktails from…

Drinking French

I’m excited to announce that Drinking French: The iconic cocktails, apéritifs, and café traditions in France, with 160 recipes is out!

My latest book features recipes for the iconic beverages of France, from café specialties hot chocolate, tisanes and infusions, and chilled chocolate frappés, to classic French apéritifs, recipes to make liqueurs, crèmes, wines, punches and cordials at home, as well as French-themed cocktails from my favorite bars in Paris. To make sure you and your guests are properly fed, there’s a whole chapter of Snacks for apéro hour, such as a Terrine facile (an easy-to-make, meaty terrine), savory Cornmeal-Bacon Madeleines, bite-size Mushroom-Roquefort Tartlets, a recipe for Duck Rillettes as well as another for Chicken Rillettes (spread), one being quite rich, and the other for those who want to eat a little lighter. Or those who can’t get duck. (Writing the book, I thought of everything…and everyone.) And there’s a Kale Crespèu, a specialty of Provence which is perfect for summer with glasses of chilled rosé.

Drinking French starts out as a typical French morning does; at a café with a small shot of coffee or a more leisurely wake-up at home with a steaming bowl of Café au lait. Later in the day, people enjoy other café favorites, such as Citron pressé, Lemonade, Fresh Mint Tea, and if it’s the summer, to beat the heat, nothing beats a chilled Chocolate Frappé. For those needing a little more of a boost, there’s a Coffee Frappé, as well as one that uses one of the most popular liqueurs in France (which, interestingly, isn’t French), in case you want something cool and spirited. But there are dozens of recipes that don’t have any alcohol, making Drinking French enjoyable to all.

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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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