La Buvette

May 18, 2020
The spunky and encouraging Fourmont, proprietor of La Buvette wine bar in Paris, shares the stories behind the wine and food she serves in this enjoyable cookbook. The upbeat mini-essays in this volume cover such topics as developing a good palate and overcoming wine misconceptions. Recipes are organized loosely and lean toward snacks, though there is a chapter on more robust options that includes a whole chicken nestled in a bed of hay and roasted on the stovetop. Many of the inventive offerings employ just a few ingredients: burrata cheese sprinkled with mandarin peel dust and drizzled with olive oil; canned sardines served with seared lemon halves, sturdy sourdough, and butter; and a sweet spread of cream, sugar, and fromage blanc. Fourmont thrills in both classic desserts (a time-tested chocolate mousse) and new combinations (sablé cookies inspired by a Pierre Hermé tart incorporate cumin, dried apricots, and dehydrated rosebuds). Recipe headnotes often drift into reverie (a dish of clams with sage butter recalls a childhood island visit spent clamming with her brother), and Fourmont fondly describes her wine discoveries (a Fleur de Savagnin, for instance, is “a little like sherry—rich with flavors of hazelnuts, toasted bread, honey, and spices”). Fourmont transports readers to Paris in this pleasant volume of simple recipes.