With the entire world focused on the Paris Olympic Games this summer, my thoughts are just a little bit south of there. Don’t get me wrong, Paris is fabulous. Paris is better than fabulous.  I would never pass up an opportunity to revisit Paris…but I just finished reading a new cookbook that has my mind completely elsewhere.  

Le Sud: Recipes from Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur is a cookbook that is bound to transform you and if you don’t want to take the next plane, train, or automobile to the south of France after reading it, I will be shocked. I met the cookbook author, Rebekah Peppler, recently at a conference in New York and just hearing her speak about the area, made me want to dig out my passport, pack my bags, and journey to one of Europe’s most beautiful areas along the sprawling Mediterranean Sea coastline.

Not only is the cookbook of basic French recipes but the stories, photographs, and helpful hints make it over the top.  Her books, and yes, she has more than one, tap into all of my favorite things.  Great food, effortlessly elegant presentation, and entertaining anecdotes that encompass the French way of doing things.  Charming and seemingly simple. 

Rebekah is an ex-Pat–an American food writer and stylist who moved to Paris.  In a new city, with new adventures and a very new lifestyle, she shares her stories of her weekly impromptu soirees and the foods that she lovingly prepares for her friends.  Her dinners with friends are just so French–or the way we imagine the French to be.  Laid back, lots of wine, a seemingly never-ending flow of food courses, and lots of laughter and good conversations.

The photography is just as much transforming as the recipes. Not only are there wonderful photographs of most of the recipes but there is a collection of casual photos of friends, the food and drinks, with the stunning backdrop of Paris. The stories that accompany the recipes are also very entertaining.  They not only speak to the food or the ingredients but they also tell Rebekah’s story.  The book is a glimpse into her life and is reminds me a lot of a diary or scrapbook–but in the most elegant way. Not only do you get the sense of how she cooks and entertains, but how she views life, love, and her pursuit of sheer bliss.

Le Sud is a book about the south of France. Published in April of this year, it’s a book that carries her theme of good food, entertaining, and wonderful experiences to the coast.  And again, the photography is breathtaking in a way that makes you wish you had been been invited along for the trip. This book, maybe more than the others, focuses on the seasons and getting the freshest, ripest ingredients available create these fabulous dishes.  Most of the recipes have their roots deep into traditional French cuisine but she has the knack for adding a modern, refreshing flair to each with the perfect blend of Old World France and a new, exciting, and, dare I say, curious twist to each recipe. She has even managed to spin the Old Fashioned in a French way using Amaro instead of Bourbon.  Her La Grande Plage, which is her take on a wine spritzer is perfect for the beach. Her use of plump green olives in cocktails that you wouldn’t think is also amazing

This book takes you through the four seasons in Provence using the freshest ingredients.  Her Radish Leaf Pesto and Strawberry Gateau usher in Spring.  Summer’s best tomatoes are featured in Tarte Soliel and the abundance of eggplants in the region for Caviar d’Aubergines.  Fall brings fig dishes and late season lettuces and hearty winter recipes, like Provecal Daube–French comfort food at its finest. 

A Table is another one of her masterpieces. It’s her third book and focuses on glimpses of her new way of life in France. Photos dotted throughout are of so many Paris street scenes, but also Proencal markets full of the most beautiful produce, Within it’s pages, you get to glimpse into her weekly gatherings and you find the French classics, such as Ratatouille and Creme Brulee alongside regional classics such as Nicoise for a Crowd and Alsatian Cheesecake.  She also tosses in some not-so-French recipes like Lamb Tagine and Bigger Bang Mi but somehow manages to incorporate a French infusion in each. 

She also authored Apertif: Cocktail Hour the French Way (a girl truly after my own heart) which was a James Beard Award nominated collection of cocktail recipes and entertaining ideas inspired by the French,  and Honey: A Short Stack, which is one within a series of small-format cookbooks authored and illustrated  by America’s top culinary talents.  Her edition features, what else, honey,and does a deep dive into the hive and the potential of this ancient ingredient. It’s not a huge collection of recipes, only about 20, but she covers the gambit from cocktails to popcorn.   And she is a regular contributor to The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Real Simple and Vanity Fair.  

As a fan of “all things French,” I simply cannot rave about these cookbooks and the author enough.  She’s bound to make a Francophile out of anyone.  Now, where is my passport?

Cheers!

MK