My friend Jane from La Cuisine came by my place recently, saw the scenario above, and said, “David — that says everything about your year.” Looking at the impromptu tableau of masks and French spirits, I had to admit that she was right. It was a nature mort (still life) of 2020. Early in the spring, my book tour for Drinking French was canceled, so I took it online with my Instagram Live Apéro Hours. They were a lot of fun and it was nice for me to connect with more people than I could have imagined. Even more gratifying were the many people who told me the live videos helped brighten up their days in confinement. To be honest, they helped me too. When I wrote Drinking French, I didn’t realize that its release would coincide when travel to France was going to be off-limits, so was thrilled when many of you told me you were transported to everyone’s favorite city - Paris, by my book. Fait accompli!
I don’t mean to be Debbie Downer but the end of 2020 was a slog and I’m glad it’s in the past. In Paris, daylight doesn’t arrive until 9am and it’s dark by 5pm. I saw a picture of myself last summer, wearing a mask, bathed in sunlight surrounded by a vast expanse of blue skies. But December was tough. It was cold and grey, so I’m planning on taking some comfort in home baking while in confinement “light,” which will probably get more strict, the way the needle is moving. But I will continue to support my local bakeries, which is why I don’t feel the need to bake bread. Plus going to the bakery is pretty much 100% of my social life at the moment. So don’t take that away from me. It’s finally 2021 and let me just say, I am optimistic about our future. That may be my côté américain side (yup, I’m using the same word twice there), but everything about last year turned our lives upside-down. Unfortunately there’s a côté of humankind that I don’t get. As a baker, I’m part of a worldwide group that - by nature of what we do - we do to make other people happy, give them pleasure, and nourish them. So my mind is boggled when I see people who do the opposite. Not sure what the end result is for them, but I decided to stay in my own corner of the world and continue to surround myself with people that are amazing, which of course means that a lot of my friends are bakers, and nowadays, also bartenders. But there are several good omens. One is that Netflix moved Cobra Kai III up a week, so it starts streaming today. It’s the small things in life that are giving me thrills but when you see ‘em, take ‘em.
Speaking of my social life, because I worked in restaurants since I was 16 years old, I was happy to stay at home last night and do nothing. I have zero interest in being in a surging crowd of people, waiting for the clock to strike midnight. We had a few dozen oysters, hot sausages, smoked trout, a bottle of cool Muscadet white wine, and a lemon meringue tart for dessert. (One upside to the curfew here in France, is that there continues to be a decrease in the annual New Year’s Eve tradition of burning cars. I didn’t see any blazes last night.)
Finally…I’d truly like to thank all of you who helped make 2020 better for me. Last year at this time, who would have thought that a mysterious virus would upend our lives and send us into lockdowns? If someone had told me twelve months ago that we’d all be wearing masks (…well, most of us 😐) I’d have thought they were nuts. But that’s where we are now.  On verra, as they say. Let’s welcome 2021, and hope that happy days are indeed, here again…
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Tartiflette is proof that potatoes (and bacon and cheese) are gifts from the French Gods. This winter dish is a classic from the alps, but even if you didn’t spend the day on the slopes, if you need a respite from the frosty chill, this easy-to-make gratin will warm you up like no one’s business.
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Slow-cooker chili is where I finally made peace with my slow-cooker. The much-maligned machine has replaced my rice cooker, it makes excellent, slow ‘n easy stock, and a warm batch of chili in just a few buttons away.
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Emily who works with me, wrote up what a Socially Distanced Holiday Season will look like for her and her family in Paris, which included shellfish platters, bubbly, and a Bûche de Noël.
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One of my most-searched-for posts this season was How to Poach Pears, so I updated it and polished it up with new photos and intel. Poached pears go well with everything; a bowl of yogurt and granola, vanilla ice cream with warm chocolate sauce for Poires Belle Hélène (or cinnamon ice cream, but don’t tell the authenticity police…), or simmered in red wine and baked atop a buttery crust for a shiny red tart.
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If you say “leftover panettone” online, the inevitable response is “What’s leftover panettone?” To that I say, “If you can eat an entire panettone in one sitting, you have my admiration” (Although I don’t admire the inevitable tummy ache one must have after eating an entire loaf of bread.) So I offer up Panettone bread pudding and Panettone French toast for the more prudent among us. Or, if you’re anything like me, and see panettone on sale after the holidays and can’t resist a bargain.
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If you want a true taste at France at home, make a Galette des rois, the famed epiphany cake (above). They traditionally go on sale in January, but I started seeing them in, uh…November. But they’re so good, it’s understandable that some people just can’t wait.
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