It's Publication Day! Raise a Glass! — French Cooking for Today

May 17

May 17 It's Publication Day! Raise a Glass!

If you’re looking for a good reason to try a new cocktail, I’ll give you one! Today is the official publication day of Everyday French Cooking, meaning that you can now get your hands on a physical copy — check your local bookstore, and if they don’t have it, ask them why not 😁. This is the revised paperback edition (with photos) of my earlier cookbook, The Bonne Femme Cookbook. Here’s what’s different.

In celebration, I’ll be raising a glass with one of my favorite French cocktails (see the recipe, below). Feel free to do the same.

Incidentally, is anyone else out there a fan of going to fancy French hotels and ordering their “cocktails maisons” (house cocktails)? In spite of my appreciation of the more simple pleasures of everyday France, every once in a while, I adore seeking out a little swank. Frankly, I often find the food at older, high-end French hotels a bit fuddy-duddy, but the cocktails generally send me sailing! Here’s a photo of Mr. Sportcoat sipping a cocktail at the currently-shuttered Hotel Metropole in Beaulieu-sur-Mer France.

Cocktails at grand hotels in France are always served with such style and panache — and graciousness. Just asked my husband, Mr. Sportcoat. Photo take at the Hotel Metropole in Beaulieu-sur-Mer France.

I love the way that — if you’re willing to dress up a bit — the staff at posh French hotels can make you feel luminous. They completely adhere to the pact: You’ve come for a lovely time and you’re willing to pay for it; without fail, they hold up their end of the bargain — in my experience, anyway.

Next time you’re in France, give it a try — and let me know how it feels!

Meanwhile, if you’re somewhere else, bring a little of that luminosity home with Le Coucher de Soleil (Sunset) — one of the best French cocktails I discovered in a hotel bar.

Le Coucher de Soleil Cocktail / Sunset Cocktail

The colors of this “Sunset” cocktail are meant to reflect the colors of the setting sun.

It’s funny. Sometimes when the French want to show off, they use a phrase or two in English; we do the same, of course, using French. I saw this drink—titled “Sunset,” in English—on a French menu. I enjoyed the way the pinkish-red grenadine and the slice of lemon or orange resemble the streaks of color in a sunset. Yet when it comes to the name, I like the ring of the French translation better. Meant for enjoying at the end of a hot day, it’s a drink I once enjoyed at a hotel at a seaside resort.

FOR EACH COCKTAIL:

1 1⁄2 ounces gin
3⁄4 ounce Cointreau or triple sec
3⁄4 ounce fresh lemon juice
4 or 5 ice cubes, plus more for serving
3 to 4 ounces chilled tonic water (preferably Fever Tree Refreshingly Light)*
Drizzle of grenadine syrup
1 lemon or orange slice, for garnish

Combine the gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, and ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass. Top with chilled tonic water and stir gently. Drizzle with just a little grenadine and garnish with a lemon or orange slice.

*Note: Lately I’ve been using less tonic water than this — really about 1 to 2 ounces. I really like the more concentrated flavors of the other ingredients. However, the drink was first served to me with more tonic. Do as you like! Also, I love Fever Tree Refreshingly Light Tonic Water. It offers nice tonic flavor without heaviness, which also lets the other flavors of the cocktail really shine through.

I’ll leave you with this 2019 photo of me enjoying a cocktail at the Hotel Belles Rives in Juan-les-Pins. The hotel is a hallowed stop for any fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald et al.