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| Chocolate and Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen | 
 enlarge | Author: Clotilde Dusoulier
Publisher: Broadway
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
Buy New: $10.45
You Save: $8.50 (45%)
New (30) Used (9) from $9.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  48 reviews
Sales Rank: 9692
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 6.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 0767923839
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.5944
EAN: 9780767923835
ASIN: 0767923839
Publication Date: May 15, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Clotilde Dusoulier is a twenty-seven-year-old Parisian who adores sharing her love of all things food-related—recipes, inspirations, restaurant experiences, and above all the pleasure of cooking with the fresh ingredients found in her local Montmartre shops. But her infatuation with food was born not in her mother’s Parisian kitchen, but in San Francisco, where she moved after college and discovered a new world of tastes. When she returned to her beloved France, her culinary exploits inspired her popular and critically acclaimed blog, ChocolateandZucchini.com.
In her first book, Dusoulier provides a glimpse into the life of a young Parisian as she savors all that the city has to offer and shares her cooking philosophy in the form of more than 75 recipes that call for healthy ingredients (such as zucchini) and more indulgent tastes (such as chocolate). The Los Angeles Times calls her recipes "simple, charming, and fun."
Appetizers such as Cumin Cheese Puffs, sandwiches and tarts like Tomato Tatin, soups like Chestnut and Mushroom, main dishes including Mustard Chicken Stew, and desserts like Chocolate and Caramel Tart can all be found alongside menus for entertaining, as well as tips for throwing cocktail or dinner parties with French flair. Chocolate & Zucchini is the book for anyone who has journeyed to Paris and can still recall the delicious flavors and aromas—or for those of us who only dream about them.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 43 more reviews...
Downhome Paris June 3, 2007
38 out of 40 found this review helpful
"It's great to nudge yourself out of your comfort zone, as that's how you'll grow as a cook, but don't take things (or yourself) too seriously: play with your food, and do whatever feels right and enjoyable. Something humble and simple, whipped up lightheartedly, will always taste better than an elaborate dish prepared by a stressed-out, cranky cook." -Clotilde Dusoulier
That's on page xxi in the section 'My Cooking Philosophy" of the book "Chocolate and Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen. If that way of thinking and approaching food appeals to you I know you will enjoy this little gem of a book! Trust me. It's innovative, down-to-earth, fun, yet practical too, with the occasional 'leap of faith' e.g. the chocolate and zucchini cake.
This book presents what a talented and creative lover of food might very well "throw together" at home in Paris and encourages you to do the same, no matter where you live. I wanted to write a review the day I received it (yes, I've followed her Blog for quite a while) for it seemed already familiar, like an old friend dropping by who had been on a journey and was now in my home. BUT to review a cookbook without trying out the actual recipes did not seem logical to me.
It's a fun read with great advice and yes, you can shut your eyes and pretend you do live in Paris (yet when you open them it's best to have some food sitting there)! Without too much effort you can please yourself and freinds with "downhome Paris" cooking in no time. To start - the Chocolate and Zucchini cake I found was best if you did NOT tell your friends the name of said cake..... just offer it casually with a side of ice cream or gelato or just as is and watch them ask for another piece. I made it with butter but Clotilde also suggests the peppery undertone of olive oil. I appreciate the optional method being given. Trust me, it's delicious!
The Honey Spice Loaf, perfect for Fall was also great in the Summer! If you like molasses and spice cookies, you'll love this loaf. Clotilde suggests candied ginger as an option and I heartedly agree. It really added a nice texture and added flavor kick.
The Curried Turkey Sandwich is wonderful and is made without mayo. I've nothing against mayo but this was nice and lighter in flavor and fat calories!
Baby Spinach and Shrimp Chilled Soup is light but satisfying and oh so easy. It calls for kefir but buttermilk (which is what I had on hand) may be used.
Lavender Apricot Compote was sublime. Apricots are in season now and I have lavender growing in my yard. No, I don't live in some exotic locale - I'm in Little Rock AR which is too far from Paris but I can pretend otherwise and enjoy the process with the help of this book! If you don't have apricots Clotilde suggests peaches or plums.
Yes, I have enjoyed everything I've made so far (there are more) and did not find anything difficult to put together. Some things may not appeal to some readers such as "Sardine and Tomato Club Sandwich" but I found it delicious and actually something you would secretly throw together when no one was looking and you were maybe home alone, only to discover you had a new delicious offering worth adding to your repertoire!!
I almost forgot to mention that Clotilde also gives wine recommendations for all her recipes - an unexpected plus for such a small cookbook. If any of the above appealed to you, buy this book (you cannot beat the price), read it, enjoy it and cook from it - you won't be sorry and hopefully you'll find a new friend in Clotilde and her enthusiastic approach to eating.
Wonderful book on light and decadent Parisian life and cooking! May 18, 2007
21 out of 26 found this review helpful
Several months ago I came across the Chocolate and Zucchini blog in my search for something else entirely. I read the first post (which I forget now)... and fell head over heels! I have tried several of Clotilde's recipes and they are fantastic!
I was also excited to learn she would have a book coming out and kept the release date on my calendar. This week I was fortunate enough to pick it up and attend the book signing at The French Library in Boston.
The book is amazing. Like she mentioned at her book signing, she goes into much more detail about her food habits and passion, preparing for dinner parties, food shopping, etc. There are 70+ recipes in this book, only five coming from her blog - so as to not disappoint long time fans of the blog.
Not only is she an impressive writer and food artist/cook, but she is an excellent photographer. During the book signing, her photos were displayed as a slide show on a large screen. She has taken all the photos in her book and for her blog too!
This book is a definite Must-Have!
Wonderful book! May 15, 2007
20 out of 22 found this review helpful
I just received this from Amazon yesterday, and have to say it is already one of my favorite cookbooks (and I have MANY)! I love to cook, love Paris, and have enjoyed the author's foodblog, so I've been looking forward to the printing of this book. It hasn't disappointed. Clotilde's conversational writing style makes me feel as if I'm sitting in the kitchen with a close friend. This is the first cookbook I've ever had the urge to read from cover to cover like a novel. I tried the first recipe in the book, Chicken Salad with Peaches & Hazelnuts, for dinner last night and loved the combination of flavors and the simplicity of preparation. Can't wait to read further and get back in the kitchen to try more of the yummy-sounding recipes!
Superb Foodie Read and Inspiration. Buy it now. May 17, 2007
14 out of 25 found this review helpful
`Chocolate & Zucchini' is written and photographed by Clotilde Dusoulier, a French culinary writer who spent several formative years in San Francisco. This book, subtitled `Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen' is the second book I've read and reviewed which is based on a popular culinary blog, the first being `Julie and Julia' by Julie Powell. While the books have this Internet origin in common, they are quite different in several regards. Ms. Powell writes a memoir of her experiences in working her way through all the recipes in Julia Child's `Mastering the Art of French Cooking'. Ms. Dusoulier's work has many more similarities with Nigel Slater's `Kitchen Diaries'. Powell's journey is dedicated to reproducing a set of classic, highly defined recipes. Slater and Mme. Dusoulier celebrate impromptu cooking, based on seasonal availability and a creative spirit supported by a deep understanding of the raw materials of dishes and a firm grasp of cooking techniques.
Thus, Mme. Dusoulier's recipes are all relatively simpler than those documented by the great Julia Child. And, virtually all the recipes are not so much models to be followed to the letter, but lessons in how to develop one's improvisational skills, since the most interesting aspects of most recipes is how Clotilde came to make the dishes, and what special techniques she may have used or developed in order to make the dish easily. Two examples illustrate this point.
First, ratatouille is a classic Provincial dish typically built from sauteed eggplant, zucchini, onions, sweet peppers, and tomatoes. The heart of the technique is to prepare each vegetable individually, so that cooking times can be tuned to the textures of each component. Then, all cooked ingredients are combined for a final heating en casserole and melding of flavors, plus the addition of a final touch of parsley (Child) or basil (`Joy of Cooking'). Many writers have come up with `quick' versions of the dish, and Mme. Dusoulier abbreviates the procedure by mixing all the prepped veggies in a baking dish and baking it, covered, for 45 minutes. Aside from requiring less `baby-sitting', this technique avoids the risk of mushy eggplant and zucchini. I made this recipe and find it has most of the virtues of the classic ratatouille, but it tends to be more crisp than `saucy' which makes it a great pasta sauce (one of my favorite uses for leftover ratatouille).
Second, one of the glories of French pastry work is `pate sablee' or short pastry, the kind commonly used in both classic French tarts and that very American apple pie. The problem is that classic short pastry requires a fairly careful technique that is almost impossible to get right after the first try. One never quite believes that the crumbly dough really has enough moisture in it to come together, and using a food processor is even more likely to lead to overheated or overmoistened dough. Mme. Dusoulier's short cut, which she attributes to her mother, is to remove the steps requiring rolling out and transporting the delicate dough to your pie or tart pan. Instead, she takes the crumbly moist Ur-dough and presses it into the plate as we are taught to do with graham cracker crusts for cheesecakes. I've tried this technique and believe that it is great for thin French tarts, but that it has some weaknesses when applied to the American deep dish pies, where one is expecting a crisp bottom crust with flaky layers. But one is far better equipped to improvise interesting things if you know both techniques.
The title shared by the book and the blog represent Mme. Dusoulier's interest in both the sweet and the savory; however, one is delighted to find that there is actually a chocolate and zucchini cake recipe in the book. The dish is a cousin to the familiar zucchini bread or banana bread, but with the special surprise appearance of chocolate chips. And, this is an example of one of the most enjoyable aspects of the book, in that so many recipes include surprising combinations of ingredients (surprising at least to my provincial Pennsylvania sensibilities).
This rather slim book does not contain a lot of recipes, but you do not buy this book simply for its recipes. Like Nigel Slater's book, and unlike so many cookbooks by culinary celebrities, this is a book you will really want to read from cover to cover. Many of the recipes are standards (see above), but none of them are done following a recipe by either Julia Child, Elizabeth David, or even Auguste Escoffier. They are all expressions of the author's improvisations to suit the contents of her pantry on any given day. This makes the book a great exercise in the principals of Tom Colicchio's `How to Think Like a Chef', for which this volume is an excellent extension, at less than half the cost.
Like Jamie Oliver, another of my favorite Brit culinary writers, Mme. Dusoulier has given us a superb study in a love of food and cooking, and manages to include even more substantial tips on technique than the `Naked Chef'. She also happens to be a far better writer than Sir Jamie.
Oh, and I almost forgot to point out that the book includes very specific wine pairings with each savory dish, very similar to those done by Patricia Wells in most of her books. Like Wells, the author specifies both chateau and year, and not just a generic varietal such as Pinot Noir or locale such as Burgundy.
For anyone who loves cookbooks, this is a must buy and read.
Buy this book! May 25, 2007
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
I don't buy many cookbooks these days, relying on old standbys for measurements or proportions, and the web for new ideas. I've been a fan of Clotilde's blog for years, where I can enjoy a walk through Paris anytime, a visit to an interesting Paris restaurant, or sit by her virtual side as she invents a new dish. I have long admired her devotion to unusual ingredients, or usual ones in unusual combinations. So buying her book was an act of loyalty. But I'm so glad I did! Before I got it home I had taken a peek at the photos and had in mind trying several of her recipes with ingredients I already had on hand -- like the chicken and nectarine salad, mushroom and cheese sandwiches, and mustard chicken stew. I figure any cookbook that provides a single "keeper" is a winner, and I already have three from this one. (The very chocolate cookies will have to wait for a trip to the store!) Clotilde has honed her skills in the kitchen and with the English written word for years, and it shows in this wonderful book. Unpretentious and accessible, all while being inventive and interesting. What can I say? Buy this book!
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