I’m thrilled that my new novel, The Lost Vintage, will be published this summer! It’s a story about wine, World War II, and family secrets that have been buried for generations. The book will be in stores on June 19, 2018, and I’m honored that it’s already received some lovely advance praise: “Mah’s detailed descriptions of life on a family vineyard, how wine is produced, and how subtle differences in taste are discerned are so robust that a novice wine drinker may progress to aficionado status by the end. Engaging… will delight Francophiles and readers who enjoy historical fiction with a twi ..read more

Four years equals 1,460 days, which is approximately the number of sunsets I’ve watched from the windows of our apartment on the 35th floor. I know – four years, already! It’s gone by in the blink of an eye, hasn’t it? And yet, impossibly, here it is, summer 2017, and the baby who was still on the inside when we arrived is now a walking, talking, lemon-squeezing almost-four-year-old who loves elephants, puzzles, and princesses, and who would eat rice and salmon for every meal if we let her. If you read this blog (or my book – or my newsletter), you probably know where this post is going ..read more

The first literary pilgrimage I ever made was to Stratford-Upon-Avon. I was twelve or thirteen, traveling in England with my parents, and I remember standing inside Anne Hathaway’s cottage and thinking “Shakespeare breathed inside these walls, he stepped on these floors.” I was awed. From Dickens’s London, to Hemingway’s Paris, I have always loved traveling through the footsteps of my favorite writers – and I also love writing about these kinds of trips, and reading about the experiences of others, too. Now my favorite column in New York Times Travel has a new book, The New York Tim ..read more

Acquacotta means, literally, “cooked water,” but as cookbook author Emiko Davies would tell you, it’s so much more. It’s a soup simmering with all the nostalgia of comfort food. It’s a recipe that stretches to feed an army. It’s a symbol of a region, the Maremma, a strip of land bordering the Tyrrhenian sea, a place so beautiful and magical it completely captured Emiko when she moved there with her family in the warm months of 2016. Last but not not least, Acquacotta is a cookbook, a collection of photographs, memories, and recipes lovingly gathered by Emiko during the six months sh ..read more

There’s no season in France quite like springtime – and there’s no better way to celebrate springtime in France than with cake and new books! Today I’m thrilled to welcome three beautiful new volumes – a cookbook, an illustrated guidebook, and a memoir – in other words, a book for every room of the house. And because no celebration is complete without something sweet, I also made a lemon yogurt cake with lemon curd and whipped yogurt. Ready? Let’s dive in! For your kitchen counter: Perhaps you remember Elizabeth Bard from her charming memoirs, Lunch in Paris and Picnic in Provence?  ..read more

To be honest, my usual modus operandi when it comes to fresh herbs is that I use a few sprigs for a special recipe, and allow the remainder to wilt and rot in the bottom of my crisper drawer. But the other day I found myself with a lot of extra cilantro and mint (leftover from making this), and I remembered this chicken recipe from my friend, Mallika Basu, which blends large quantities of herbs into an aromatic marinade. Just to keep things cutting edge, I threw the chicken over a bed of spiced potatoes and cauliflower for a SHEET PAN SUPPER of chicken hariyali and aloo gobi. Mall ..read more

I don’t usually associate Paris with (good) Asian food (sorry). But while researching this article on non-French spots in Paris, I remembered how much I love a Vietnamese-inspired noodle salad that’s beloved in the City of Light. The French call it bò bún (pronounced “bo boon”), though in Vietnam and elsewhere the same dish is named bún bò. It’s a summery salad of rice noodles that have been tossed with a light dressing of fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice, and topped with fresh herbs, chopped peanuts, slivered vegetables, sautéed lemongrass-scented beef, and a crispy ..read more

I don’t know about you, but there’s something about longer days and milder temperatures that makes me want to travel. If you’re dreaming of France, why not take an armchair trip with a signed copy of Mastering the Art of French Eating? I have two copies to give away! (If you already have your own copy, it makes a great gift for a friend.) If you subscribe to my newsletter, you’re already entered to win. (Or you can subscribe here.) One randomly selected winner will receive a signed copy of the book. I’ll announce the winner here on my blog on Wednesday, March 29. For a second chance ..read more

I’m thrilled that my new novel, The Lost Vintage, will be published this summer! It’s a story about wine, World War II, and family secrets that have been buried for generations. The book will be in stores on June 19, 2018, and I’m honored that it’s already received some lovely advance praise: “Mah’s detailed descriptions of life on a family vineyard, how wine is produced, and how subtle differences in taste are discerned are so robust that a novice wine drinker may progress to aficionado status by the end. Engaging… will delight Francophiles and readers who enjoy historical fiction with a twi ..read more

Four years equals 1,460 days, which is approximately the number of sunsets I’ve watched from the windows of our apartment on the 35th floor. I know – four years, already! It’s gone by in the blink of an eye, hasn’t it? And yet, impossibly, here it is, summer 2017, and the baby who was still on the inside when we arrived is now a walking, talking, lemon-squeezing almost-four-year-old who loves elephants, puzzles, and princesses, and who would eat rice and salmon for every meal if we let her. If you read this blog (or my book – or my newsletter), you probably know where this post is going ..read more