Ahhhh, Linda Dannenberg, Paris Boulangerie-Pâtisserie. Yes, yes, yes. She taught me how to make a good Pain aux Raisin. I made a batch, then drove to Disney Orlando to get the French pastry chef Alain's approval. "No, soak the raisins in dark rum for two weeks, try again, and come back." After a few more tries, he deemed them perfect. And I've got Linda Dannenberg's book to thank. Great recommendation!
Remembering that I relied upon a couple of Simca's recipes when newly married, I pulled the book from the shelf and looked at the two I'd used some fifty years ago. Sardine butter canapes were very well received I'd noted as was a chocolate cake with whiskey soaked raisins. Thanks for this lovely survey you've done.
Thank you for a fabulous reference / suggestion list. Hard to find great places to get lost for awhile these days, but cookbooks are a favorite refuge of mine. BTW - I am culling my bookshelves, and have a (good to very good condition) copy of Elizabeth David's, French Country Cooking, I would be willing to part with.
no markings throughout, pages tight and binding in good shape. "Made and printed in Great Britain by Purnell and Sons LTD. (Make me an offer I can't refuse :).....I'm in the heartland, USA. Cheers.
I am a cookbook addict and immediately attempted to reserve the books at two library systems in my area which serve 1.7 million people and found only 2 in one system: French Menu Cookbook and The Cooking of South-west France, and none of the titles in the other. However, they are all available on Amazon and no doubt at good used book stores. I have added them to my wish list. Thank you for sharing your list.
David, thank you for this fabulous list of French cookbooks. I own a few of them, but was not familiar with the Saveur book. I was able to find a copy of it through Abe’s Books.
I loved the original, large format magazine with its magnificent photos, background stories, and recipes. I still have a sizable collection of them that are no longer being used. I can’t bear to throw them out and my local library no longer accepts magazines for its annual used book sale. Any thoughts on an appreciative recipient? Thanks.
It's a challenge to find someone who will love your cookbooks as much as you do. Even libraries and used bookstores are overwhelmed. Perhaps put them in boxes and ask friends to drop by and take what they'd like? (Local friends are better so you don't have to ship!)
One more comment, David, to add to this excellent compilation. As you mentioned, many of these books are, alas, out of print and not easily available. Among other sources that I've found useful is the very excellent Rabelais Books in Biddeford, Maine (rabelaisbooks.com) with an extensive online catalog, overseen by Don Lindgren's expertise in old and antiquarian books about food and wine. His shop in the old Pepperell Mill complex is also great for a visit, with a bunch of good eating places close by.
Thank you for this excellent overview. I'm thrilled to see you mention several books I also own.
I too love "Auberge of the Flowering Hearth" and find myself re-reading it now and then. I read a great many books about food -- books that are not cookbooks. I think Auberge sets the standard for illustrating how culinary discoveries can be truly life changing.
I am also a huge fan of On Va Déguster France/Let’s Eat France. David had a blog post about it. https://www.davidlebovitz.com/lets-eat-france/. It is a pretty hefty tome that is funny, informative and can also be used for self defense! Definitely everything you might want to know about French food, but did not know you needed to!
This is a wonderful compendium of cookbooks. I also have many of them, including many back issues of Gourmet which I treasure - we’re talking 1960s and beyond. “When French Women Cook” is still one of my favourites; she is not afraid to list original ingredients such as “gappe”, the skim from clarified butter in the wonderful recipe for Fougasse à l’huile de noix (I substitute hazelnuts), and I love her precise nature. Richard Olney is still without peer, imho, and I seriously doubt he was envious of Julia Child or anyone else! He was a man who rightly had the courage of his convictions and the great knowledge and experience to back them up. Besides, his writing was perfection. I highly recommend his autobiography “Reflexions” and all of the Time-Life “The Good Cook” series, for which he was editor, found here and there on Amazon. I find myself referring to them constantly. Last but not least, “Honey from a Weed” by Patience Gray. Thanks again for a wonderful newsletter, and I hope you have a sink by now!
Richard Olney was brilliant and a great writer but I've read in places that he wasn't especially fond of how others modified French cooking from an English-speaking audience. There's a more complete profile of him, and his relationship to others such as Julia Child and Simone Beck, in The Gourmand's Way by Justin Spring: https://www.thegourmandsway.com/
I have so many of these books you mention like M. Kamman’s “Savoie” in great condition I’m downsizing and would like to pass them on. Besides a local discount t reseller his best to pass them on?
Local libraries often accept books so you might want to ask them. If there is a used bookseller in your community you could ask compile a list and ask them to buy them. You could sell them online but honestly, I just looked and saw used copies of Savoie selling for (starting at) $3-$6 so it's usually not worth the time and trouble to sell and send them to someone.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm so glad you mentioned Clotilde Dusoulier. I was very sad when she stopped writing her blog Chocolate & Zucchini. I found you thru her!
Do you know "Madam Maigret's Recipes" by Robert Coutine, based on the Georges Simenon character? It's not one of the great books on French cooking, but it's a fun read if you're familiar with the Detective Maigret stories.
Ahhhh, Linda Dannenberg, Paris Boulangerie-Pâtisserie. Yes, yes, yes. She taught me how to make a good Pain aux Raisin. I made a batch, then drove to Disney Orlando to get the French pastry chef Alain's approval. "No, soak the raisins in dark rum for two weeks, try again, and come back." After a few more tries, he deemed them perfect. And I've got Linda Dannenberg's book to thank. Great recommendation!
What a fabulous compilation. Many thanks for putting it together 🙏🏻
Remembering that I relied upon a couple of Simca's recipes when newly married, I pulled the book from the shelf and looked at the two I'd used some fifty years ago. Sardine butter canapes were very well received I'd noted as was a chocolate cake with whiskey soaked raisins. Thanks for this lovely survey you've done.
Thank you for a fabulous reference / suggestion list. Hard to find great places to get lost for awhile these days, but cookbooks are a favorite refuge of mine. BTW - I am culling my bookshelves, and have a (good to very good condition) copy of Elizabeth David's, French Country Cooking, I would be willing to part with.
Anyone who's interested my email: amethyst@mailfence.com. Original dust jacket intact.
no markings throughout, pages tight and binding in good shape. "Made and printed in Great Britain by Purnell and Sons LTD. (Make me an offer I can't refuse :).....I'm in the heartland, USA. Cheers.
I am a cookbook addict and immediately attempted to reserve the books at two library systems in my area which serve 1.7 million people and found only 2 in one system: French Menu Cookbook and The Cooking of South-west France, and none of the titles in the other. However, they are all available on Amazon and no doubt at good used book stores. I have added them to my wish list. Thank you for sharing your list.
David, thank you for this fabulous list of French cookbooks. I own a few of them, but was not familiar with the Saveur book. I was able to find a copy of it through Abe’s Books.
I loved the original, large format magazine with its magnificent photos, background stories, and recipes. I still have a sizable collection of them that are no longer being used. I can’t bear to throw them out and my local library no longer accepts magazines for its annual used book sale. Any thoughts on an appreciative recipient? Thanks.
It's a challenge to find someone who will love your cookbooks as much as you do. Even libraries and used bookstores are overwhelmed. Perhaps put them in boxes and ask friends to drop by and take what they'd like? (Local friends are better so you don't have to ship!)
Good suggestion. Thanks!
My daughter would be in heaven with all these cookbooks!
One more comment, David, to add to this excellent compilation. As you mentioned, many of these books are, alas, out of print and not easily available. Among other sources that I've found useful is the very excellent Rabelais Books in Biddeford, Maine (rabelaisbooks.com) with an extensive online catalog, overseen by Don Lindgren's expertise in old and antiquarian books about food and wine. His shop in the old Pepperell Mill complex is also great for a visit, with a bunch of good eating places close by.
I use Thriftbooks com. I recently purchased near-pristine copies of Cuisine of the Sun and Cuisine of the Rose from them, each for a very low price.
Thank you for this excellent overview. I'm thrilled to see you mention several books I also own.
I too love "Auberge of the Flowering Hearth" and find myself re-reading it now and then. I read a great many books about food -- books that are not cookbooks. I think Auberge sets the standard for illustrating how culinary discoveries can be truly life changing.
This is a classic piece David, one to post again and again over the years. It covers such a range that it feels definitive. 3 stars for you!
I am also a huge fan of On Va Déguster France/Let’s Eat France. David had a blog post about it. https://www.davidlebovitz.com/lets-eat-france/. It is a pretty hefty tome that is funny, informative and can also be used for self defense! Definitely everything you might want to know about French food, but did not know you needed to!
I love that book as well. He did a great job with it
I also love his radio show. I can get it as a podcast. It helps me keep my French up to date and has great conversations about food!
David,
Thank you SO much! This was great fun to read…just have to back and focus on a couple…yours are still my ‘go-tos’!!!!! Blessings, Marianne
This is a wonderful compendium of cookbooks. I also have many of them, including many back issues of Gourmet which I treasure - we’re talking 1960s and beyond. “When French Women Cook” is still one of my favourites; she is not afraid to list original ingredients such as “gappe”, the skim from clarified butter in the wonderful recipe for Fougasse à l’huile de noix (I substitute hazelnuts), and I love her precise nature. Richard Olney is still without peer, imho, and I seriously doubt he was envious of Julia Child or anyone else! He was a man who rightly had the courage of his convictions and the great knowledge and experience to back them up. Besides, his writing was perfection. I highly recommend his autobiography “Reflexions” and all of the Time-Life “The Good Cook” series, for which he was editor, found here and there on Amazon. I find myself referring to them constantly. Last but not least, “Honey from a Weed” by Patience Gray. Thanks again for a wonderful newsletter, and I hope you have a sink by now!
Richard Olney was brilliant and a great writer but I've read in places that he wasn't especially fond of how others modified French cooking from an English-speaking audience. There's a more complete profile of him, and his relationship to others such as Julia Child and Simone Beck, in The Gourmand's Way by Justin Spring: https://www.thegourmandsway.com/
I have so many of these books you mention like M. Kamman’s “Savoie” in great condition I’m downsizing and would like to pass them on. Besides a local discount t reseller his best to pass them on?
Local libraries often accept books so you might want to ask them. If there is a used bookseller in your community you could ask compile a list and ask them to buy them. You could sell them online but honestly, I just looked and saw used copies of Savoie selling for (starting at) $3-$6 so it's usually not worth the time and trouble to sell and send them to someone.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm so glad you mentioned Clotilde Dusoulier. I was very sad when she stopped writing her blog Chocolate & Zucchini. I found you thru her!
Do you know "Madam Maigret's Recipes" by Robert Coutine, based on the Georges Simenon character? It's not one of the great books on French cooking, but it's a fun read if you're familiar with the Detective Maigret stories.
Oh, cool! I love the Maigret mysteries. Maigret often went home for lunch. Thanks for the reference.
I don't know the book but I'll check it out : )