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The Sweet Life in Paris
The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious - and Perplexing - City | David Lebovitz
24 posts | 22 read | 29 to read
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF MY PARIS KITCHEN Like so many others, David Lebovitz dreamed about living in Paris ever since he first visited the city in the 1980s. Finally, after a nearly two-decade career as a pastry chef and cookbook author, he moved to Paris to start a new life. Having crammed all his worldly belongings into three suitcases, he arrived, hopes high, at his new apartment in the lively Bastille neighborhood. But he soon discovered it's a different world en France. From learning the ironclad rules of social conduct to the mysteries of men's footwear, from shopkeepers who work so hard not to sell you anything to the etiquette of working the right way around the cheese plate, here is David's story of how he came to fall in love withand even understandthis glorious, yet sometimes maddening, city. When did he realize he had morphed into un vrai parisien? It might have been when he found himself considering a purchase of men's dress socks with cartoon characters on them. Or perhaps the time he went to a bank with 135 euros in hand to make a 134-euro payment, was told the bank had no change that day, and thought it was completely normal. Or when he found himself dressing up to take out the garbage because he had come to accept that in Paris appearances and image mean everything. The more than fifty original recipes, for dishes both savory and sweet, such as Pork Loin with Brown SugarBourbon Glaze, Braised Turkey in Beaujolais Nouveau with Prunes, Bacon and Bleu Cheese Cake, Chocolate-Coconut Marshmallows, Chocolate Spice Bread, Lemon-Glazed Madeleines, and MochaCrme Frache Cake, will have readers running to the kitchen once they stop laughing. The Sweet Life in Paris is a deliciously funny, offbeat, and irreverent look at the city of lights, cheese, chocolate, and other confections.
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xicanti
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I‘ve finally found a madeleine method that produces a dough dense enough to take on the shape of the mould but light enough to be good eating! David Lebovitz always comes through for me. I really oughta cook my way through this whole book (minus the oniony recipes, of course).

AmyG Those look perfect. 2y
xicanti @AmyG they taste it, too. I want to eat them allllllll. 2y
KristiAhlers Those look amazing! 2y
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catiewithac Perfection! 2y
xicanti @KristiAhlers @catiewithac I‘m so glad I finally found a method that doesn‘t produce super porous madeleines! They always tasted great before, but the airy surface ruined the look. 2y
catiewithac Is the recipe online?? I'd like to try it if you have a link! 😉 2y
tpixie Lovely 2y
xicanti @catiewithac it‘s from the tagged book; I‘m not sure if it‘s ever been reprinted on a blog or somewhere. If you search for David Lebovitz‘s lemon madeleines, it might come up! 2y
SamAnne I love madeleines. 2y
catiewithac @xicanti found it! Thanks!!! 2y
xicanti @SamAnne I plan to eat them a lot more often now I‘ve got a good recipe. 2y
xicanti @catiewithac glad to hear it! 2y
55 likes12 comments
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keithmalek
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xicanti
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I finally got around to making my second recipe from the tagged book: bacon and bleu cheese cake! (While it‘s a quick bread by Canadian standards, Lebovitz says the Parisians call this sort of thing le cake.) It doesn‘t look very flashy, but it‘s frickin delicious. The crumbled bleu cheese spreads through the whole of that spongy crumb and the bacon adds the perfect smokey element. Totally worth the million and one steps to prep the ingredients.

BookNAround Ooooo! I might have to drag this book out and read it for this recipe if nothing else! 2y
LaraS Oooo that looks and sounds so good! 😋 2y
xicanti @BookNAround there‘s a convenient recipe index in the back if you want to check out what he bakes and save the stories for later! 2y
xicanti @LaraS it‘s gonna be my delicious breakfast for the next couple days, with half tucked away in the freezer for later. 2y
37 likes4 comments
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xicanti
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I finally made my first recipe from THE SWEET LIFE IN PARIS: Thérèse‘s chocolate cake. It‘s not the most attractive thing out there and I‘m not entirely sure if I incorporated the egg whites correctly, but the flavour was good. There‘s very little added sugar, so it‘s perfect for people who like chocolate-forward things.

Lindy I like chocolate-forward things. 🙋‍♀️ 3y
batsy I count myself among the chocolate-forward fans, as well! It looks yum. 3y
xicanti @Lindy @batsy it‘s a very simple recipe, ingredients-wise. You melt 250g semisweet or bittersweet chocolate with 8T butter, then blend in 4 egg yolks, 2T flour, and roughly 1/6 cup sugar. While that cools, you wisk 4 egg whites until they hold their shape, adding another 1/6 cup sugar during the back half. Then you fold 1/3 of the whites into the chocolate, fold in the rest, and scrape it into a buttered loaf pan. Bake at 350°F for 35 mins. 3y
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xicanti @Lindy @batsy the recipe said to leave it in the cupboard for two days before you eat it to let the chocolate‘s flavour deepen. I did that, and I‘m honestly not sure if it made a huge difference. 3y
Lindy @xicanti I‘m familiar with letting the flavour of spice cakes develop, but I didn‘t know chocolate would do that too. David Lebovitz‘ recipes are always reliable. 3y
batsy Thanks so much for the recipe! 3y
squirrelbrain Loved this book! ❤️ 3y
xicanti @Lindy I think the texture also changed a bit from the broken-off corner I ate Sunday to the piece I had last night. 3y
xicanti @batsy any time! 3y
xicanti @squirrelbrain he‘s got a lot of fun stories, and I want to try a bunch more of the recipes. 3y
36 likes10 comments
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peacegypsy
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Pickpick

I thoroughly enjoyed this! An audio listen, so I always wonder how that alters things, but I delight in his writing overall.

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xicanti
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My NYE plans include this cool book and this pretty beer (a Ransack the Universe IPA from Collective Arts Brewing).

While I‘m enjoying the book, I AM frustrated with Lebovitz‘s assumption that all his readers are American. (Please don‘t do this, USians.) Still, he‘s had some good adventures and I‘d very much like to try several of the recipes he includes at the end of each chapter. His neighbour‘s chocolate cake sounds especially tasty.

mandarchy I like USians 😉 I'm a Washingtonian from the U. S. And American is not specific enough. 🙄 I have to many members in my family spread out over North and South America. 🇨🇦 🇨🇴 🇻🇪 🇪🇨 🇺🇸 3y
43 likes1 comment
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JacqMac
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I love reading books set in Paris. Here are a few of my nonfiction Paris books from the shelves. There are many more.
#Paris #JulyJourneys
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Eggs Me too! Love Paris HF❤️❤️ Nice collection!! 3y
45 likes1 comment
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LeslieO
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Had a lovely May immersed in Paris. Paris By the Book was not a fav but really enjoyed the others. I have plenty of Paris books left to do another #buzzwordbookathon in the future.

Clwojick So glad you enjoyed the buzzword challenge! 4y
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MargaretPinardAuthor
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Bailedbailed

It‘s a bit dated and his humor is a bit predictable but on the whole entertaining. Haven‘t tried recipes but saved a few before bailing. Things 👏to👏do! 👏

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arlenefinnigan
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Pickpick

This was really good fun. A lot of very funny insights into Paris life, especially the pitfalls of trying to master the language (apparently you should be VERY careful about pronouncing the French name for the Black Virgin correctly). I'm now going to rewind and note the name of the cafe he says does the best hot chocolate in Paris, and his directions.

Ruthiella I like how you are reading for where you are traveling. Hope the hot chocolate is delicious 😋 5y
Libby1 Café du Monde? ?☕️ 5y
arlenefinnigan @Libby1 ooh that might be it! 5y
Libby1 Café de Flore! The other one is the famous café in New Orleans! ? 5y
arlenefinnigan Pâtisserie Viennoise. 5y
33 likes5 comments
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squirrelbrain
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This book has #glorious in its subtitle, and it is *the* most glorious book!
#Septembersins

jenniferw88 Yum! 5y
arlenefinnigan I'm listening to this on audio atm, it's a really fun read. 5y
71 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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arlenefinnigan
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Next up. (guess where we're going on holiday next month?)

TrishB Cool 👍🏻 5y
33 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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JacqMac
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Pickpick

This was a fun read. With lots of delicious sounding recipes that I might have to try. It also confirmed my suspicion that I could never live in Paris. The rudeness and super slow pace would push me over the edge. It‘s fun to read about though.

Fridameetslucy Have you read The Belly if Paris by Zola? Anthony Bourdain turned me in to@the delicious book 5y
JacqMac @Fridameetslucy I have not. But it sounds great. And Anthony Bourdain. How could I pass that up? I just put it on hold at the library. Thanks! (edited) 5y
Christine I love, LOVE David‘s ice cream cookbook The Perfect Scoop. And his blog. And his book 5y
65 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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JacqMac
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I pulled this one off the TBR stack. Something about this time of year makes me want to read about Paris. Maybe it‘s my need for a vacation that I‘m not going to get this summer.
#24B4Monday
@TheReadingMermaid @Andrew65 @jb72

Andrew65 Always good to read books set in Paris. 😊 5y
Crazeedi I love books set in Paris!💕 5y
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squirrelbrain
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A wonderful book following an American pastry chef who makes the move to live in Paris. He writes about the foibles and illogicalities of Parisian life, but it‘s done in a wonderfully warm and amusing way.

It‘s chock-full of recipes too ( salted caramel sauce, anyone?!) and there‘s a list of ‘mes bonnes adresses‘ if you want to shop or eat at the best places in Paris.

@youneverarrived - as an aspiring Parisienne you‘ll love this!

youneverarrived Going straight on the tbr 😁 sounds right up my street 💕 5y
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squirrelbrain
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#sweetdisposition

#maymoviemagic

This is on my TBR shelf and it‘s one I‘m really looking forward to reading.... The author is a pastry chef who moves to Paris and falls in love with the city. There‘s a lot of cooking and recipes too! 😋

Velvetfur That book sounds so good! Stacked 😁 6y
squirrelbrain I found it in a charity shop @Velvetfur but it looks like new! 6y
Cinfhen This would be great for #booked2019 #foodOrBeverageOnCover 6y
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arlenefinnigan We're off to Paris in September, this looks like good pre-holiday reading 👍 6y
Caroline2 Oh this sounds charming. 😊 stacked! 6y
Velvetfur @squirrelbrain Oh cool! I love really good finds like that, well done you 👍 6y
RohitSawant Sounds so fun! 6y
80 likes5 stack adds7 comments
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tipsy
Pickpick

nice book.

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BooksForYears
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#JubilantJuly Day 14 - Set in France 🇫🇷

Happy Bastille Day! In honor of le 14 juillet, here are a few books celebrating French cuisine, and how delicious and inspirational it is!

Cinfhen Gorgeous photo🍷 7y
mrp27 Great book picks! 7y
GabrielleDubois Vive la France! 7y
102 likes3 comments
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Otherworld_Library
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Pickpick

This book has many amusing anecdotes that might make you never want to go to Paris.

But that's not what matters.

There is a recipe for a chocolate cake that has (among a few other things) 9oz of chocolate, 8 tbsp of butter and only 2 tbsp of flour.

How can you go wrong?

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BlissReads
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Closing out the first day of 2017 with bubbly and a short stack of books.

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alanacristin
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Attempted #booksforbreakfast with the help of our local grocery in an effort to finish up in progress books before the year end...and then babe woke up. sigh. i love reading David Lebovitz, though, and these short chapters stand alone which is helpful for brief reading moments. #mommyreads #food #paris #cookbook

mcipher Breakfast looks delicious. Mommy eating/reading can be so tough to get time for! 8y
18 likes1 stack add1 comment
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alanacristin
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wait, I'm supposed to be productive while baby naps? what if i just hold the snoozer while productively drooling along with David Lebovitz? because girl in Tokyo not so secretly longs to be girl in Paris. #mommyreads #tokyomom #deliciousbooks #memoir

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Dvmheather
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I'm really enjoying this book and I want to make some of the recipes.

TriniCapini Cute socks! 8y
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Dvmheather
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Homemade ice cream in a French apartment

TriniCapini What could be better?! 8y
7 likes1 comment