DORIE GREENSPAN

Hungry For Paris

The only thing wrong with Alec Lobrano's new book, Hungry for Paris, is that, after 418 pages and 102 stories (and solid information) about restaurants, you're starved for more.  Read the book like a novel - the writing is superb and each restaurant "review" is more short story than traditional critique - and when you reach the end, you might want to start all over again.  For sure, you'll want to go to Paris, follow in Alec's footsteps and eat your way through the city.  The book is a little gem.

And really, so is Alec, who is a friend of mine and the best dining companion on any side of the Atlantic.  Alec is an American who's lived in Paris for over 20 years, has watched the Paris scene since his arrival, and has reported on it for many, many publications, most notably as Gourmet's European Correspondent, all of which doesn't tell you the important stuff about Alec: he's top-of-the-class smart, charming, so funny that I never go out with him without making sure I have a handkerchief, so I can dab away the inevitable tears of laughter (I also make sure not to wear mascara that can run), boundlessly talented and deeply passionate about food and restaurants.  After years of eating out, thousands of restaurants and just as many articles about his adventures, Alec is still in love with the scene - and it's all on the page.

Can you tell I'm crazy about him?  And can you see why?

Funny, but I think that when you read Hungry for Paris, you'll be able to tell why.  You'll also be a lot more savvy about Paris restaurants.  In addition to what Alec calls "portraits" of the 102 restaurants, there's a section about "how to have a perfect meal in Paris," a glossary of French food, quick summaries of each restaurant, indexes of restaurants by type and price, and, at the end of each chapter, a not-to-be-missed story.

I've lived in Paris for a while and I know a lot about the city's restaurants, but still, as I read through Hungry for Paris, I found myself sticking Post-its on tens of pages.  Bet you will, too.

If you want to follow Alec as he travels around, visit his new website.

Hello, Cupcake! Hello, Fun!

Just when you thought cupcakes couldn't get any cuter, in march these penguins!  And, along with them, a passel of pandas

a field of sunflowers, a litter of Westies, a garden planted with peas and carrots and the craziest crazy horses made with circus peanuts, creme wafers, twist pretzels and gobs of frosting straight from the supermarket shelf.  In fact, all of the giggle-guaranteed cupcakes in Hello, Cupcake are made with supermarket stuff and require not a bit of baking talent.  It's pure fun!

And the fun comes from friends of mine, the photographer Alan Richardson, and the woman Gourmet magazine called the "cake whisperer," Karen Tack, both of whom I credit with making Baking From My Home to Yours beautiful.  (Alan took the pictures for my book and Karen was the food stylist.)

Working together in Karen's Connecticut kitchen, the team created a collection of cupcakes so completely heart-winning -- and whacky (wait until you see the little kid cupcakes having a slumber party!) -- that you'll find yourself grinning and giggling even before you've got your first cake in hand.

I'm not a good predictor, but I think it's a safe bet that within weeks we'll be seeing Hello, Cupcake Clubs.  Me, I'm thinking of becoming a club-of-one and starting with the mama and baby owl cupcakes made with some of my favorite things:  Oreos (regular and mini), Junior Mints, chocolate-covered sunflower seeds and M&Ms.  What a hoot, right?

New Year's Resolutions

The good thing about not keeping any of your new year’s resolutions is that you can recycle them for the following year, which is exactly what I did:  I took all my resolutions from 2006 and moved them over to 2007.  But, young as this new year is, it’s looking like it might be a good one because here I am ticking off one of the list’s biggies – I’m welcoming you to my new home on the web.   

I'm thrilled to finally start this adventure, but I think I might have procrastinated even longer had it not been for the wonderful people I met on my recent tour for my new book, "Baking: From My Home to Yours".  In every city I visited, I met someone I knew from the web – people who’d been baking from my book and posting stories and pictures about the desserts on their blogs and on websites where groups were working their way through the book – and I loved it.  I loved the immediate sense of community, warmth, openness and enthusiasm for sharing, and I wanted a way to keep in touch with everyone I met and to meet even more people who are as passionate about food as I am. .     I hope this site will be just the kind of place where we can get together. 

I’ll be writing about what I’m doing in the kitchen, where I'm traveling and what life is like in America and France, and I’d love for you to keep me company.  It will be such fun to have you along.