I buy cookbooks for how they will help me be a better cook while giving me a certain joy through beautiful photography and writing. So, what I love about Rebekah Peplar’s A Table (French for “dinner is served, now sit down”) is that there are truly elegant recipes — curated with an eye for entertaining friends but casual enough for everyday — ensconced between gorgeous photographs of food, drinks, and the author’s beautiful life in Paris. This books celebrates the pleasures of living. The recipes and photography convey that food and drink can be pleasures unto themselves, or a springboard to connection, conversation, and celebration.

However, nothing is so foreign that you can’t find the ingredients at Whole Foods. No recipe is so complex that you can’t just make it for yourself while you heat chicken tenders and frozen peas for your children. This cookbook is aspirational within reach. Yes, you deserve to be sipping on a kir royale and nibbling on roasted lemons and olives while you short-order cook for picky kids, a gluten-free partner, and a pet with digestive issues. You deserve to imagine you are dropping in on a fabulous soirée of soignee parisiennes, whose linen blouses bear the most gorgeous buttons you’ve ever seen. Or just shopping for a few choice apricots in a sunny open air market. Or maybe that is your life already. Either way, this could be the perfect cookbook for you to refresh your culinary life while stirring your imagination.

The Dinner recipes are all delicious straightforward recipes for a small crowd. Overall, they represent the pantheon of classic French dishes, but here prepared with slight variations and modernized for today’s palates and American grocery stores. If you already own cookbooks on French cuisine, there might not be anything explicitly new here for you at first glance. Look again. Party Steak serves 6-8 and looks so enticing. The Royal Couscous sounds amazing. The Bigger Banh Mi as well. Recipes like Cassoulet and Bouillabaisse are written to balance flavor with practicability, which I appreciate.

The section on sides is perhaps the most interesting. Here we find easy recipes but with a “Why didn’t I think of that? Oh, because I’m not French” twist. Parsnips with fennel and honeycomb - oui! Carrot tarte tatin - absolument. Beans with pistachio aillade- now, please.

After covering desserts the book finishes with a long list of digestifs - after dinner drinks. So fun! This is a category of thoughtful drinking totally under-recognized stateside. And it’s so much fun to continue the party with something unexpected to drink!

Know that the author, despite having formally studied French pastry, relies on frozen puff pastry a lot throughout the appetizer and dessert sections. You will thankfully not be asked to make any puff pastry, pâté brisee or galette dough in this book. Unless you make her kouign amann , which is from scratch. Merci.

Rebekah Peppler is clearly passionate about food and an expert entertainer. I quite like her casual, unfussy, yet thoughtful style. It's made me rethink the way I entertain (and made me highly anticipate the day that I can finally entertain again...if this pandemic ever ends).

The recipes in this book are contemporary french. Don't think old-fashioned, fancy French pastries. There are no croissants from scratch here. These are current, cultured, and relatively simple. I noticed some reviewers comment that the food was fancy. I disagree. They weren't all quick, week-night meal selections, but techniques were not very complicated, nor were the ingredients. A few ingredients may be challenging to source in North America, but you can certainly make do. The photos are exquisite. I haven't cooked a lot of french food in the past and am now inspired to expand my repertoire. I've tagged probably 40 recipes that I genuinely want to try. I am seriously hungry right now.

I absolutely adore French cuisine and I also love hosting friends and family. In fact, when my husband and I bought our house 9 years ago, the main sell was the spacious kitchen with plenty of counter space for get togethers. Even when we are not entertaining, my husband and I are foodies at heart so we enjoy elevated food at home from time to time as well. I was drawn in by the gorgeous cover of this book, but what I really loved were the excellent recipes. I am even planning to make one of the recipes today (heirloom tomatoes and Armagnac? Yes, please!). I recommend this book to anyone who is a foodie or who wants to venture away from their usual kitchen fare.

4.5- A wonderful cookbook for those who enjoy the art of cooking the French way. Many mouthwatering photographs are included and add to the ambience of taking your time and gathering many flavorful ingredients for a satisfying meal. These are not recipes you can cook in a hurry but ones I feel you need to take your time and enjoy the art of cooking itself. There are many sections included for appetizers, main meals, veggies and side dishes. The olives cooked with lemons look divine and the Tomato tart is one I look forward to making this summer when they ripen. Also included are recipes using pork, chicken and lamb. I’ve often wondered what to cook with eggplant and this book offers at least 2 recipes that look very appetizing. The only problem I see with some of these recipes is acquisition of certain ingredients required since I live in small town USA. A great book for those who love to cook!

From opening up the first pages of this cookbook, I was obsessed. It has everything that makes a cookbook great - varied, simple recipes, pithy insight from the author, and great design. However, A Table goes beyond that. The photography is luscious, spiriting the reader away to the balconies of Paris among the laughter of friends. Peppler's commentary is honest, heartfelt, woke, and funny, and I adored her real, lively voice. She not only shares her recipes with the readers, but her world, her life, and the table around which it happens. She's open and true and not a small part of why I adored the book. The delicious-sounding recipes don't hurt, either.

Reading through this cookbook, especially in the midst of a pandemic, sweeping me away to glittering Paris for the space of a few hours. It may feel ironic for a cookbook about dinner parties to be published during a time when we can't gather with friends, but conversely, it's just the slice of optimism we need. I can't wait to try out the dishes and drinks once we're able to safely be together once again.

A Table by Rebekah Peppler is more than a cookbook of French recipes. It's a volume of stunning photography and practical advice on entertaining the French way. Ms. Peppler is an American woman living in Paris who enjoys sharing an elegant, intimate evening of good food and drink with friends. In her book, she gives the reader advice on how to recreate the same type of gathering in one's own home.

She begins the book with a list of typical french pantry items that are the mainstay of French recipes, followed by her simple philosophy to make entertaining easy and enjoyable. The book is then divided into Before, During and After.

I enjoyed the short excerpts that are included before each recipe either detailing what the food/drink is or including the author's personal, helpful tips about it.

The recipes themselves are easy enough for a home cook, yet elegant and unique. Included are substitutions for items that may be difficult to obtain in America. Beautiful photos are included with the majority of the recipes.

This is definitely a book that the modem cook should add their collection.

#ATableABook #NetGalley

This was excellent. The recipes are very accessible and for the most part, have easy-to-find ingredients. The organization of the book would make it very useful for planning a stress-free group meal. There's lots of content but the author is informative instead of preachy.

This cookbook is such a beautiful concoction of gorgeous recipes and stunning photographs. I could smell and taste the food coming off the pages! I am particularly keen on trying the french onion soup. I cannot wait to formally try these out, but the browsing experience sold me upfront. Everything is straightforward, easy to understand, and easy to follow.

This book starts with a good list of fun cocktails for starting diner. Aperitif, the pre-diner drinks and snacks, is a real institution in France, I've seen kids books about them, and recipe books dedicated to them. It's fun, relaxing, and is the moment when everyone catches up before plunging into the serious diner talks. It makes sense the book should start there. The French photos peppering the book are a little cliché, but hey, I guess they're part of trying to build a French atmosphere.
I loved that there was a section on none-alcoholic drinks and cocktails, because not everyone drinks, not everyone wants alcohol all evening, sometimes people just can't, and when people have a long way by car to go you want to have a few nice alternatives to give them so that they can alternate and drink reasonably. Those sounded lovely and refreshing too.
All the recipes are things I have cooked or eaten in France, similar to things I ate in France or sound like something I could eat at one of my friend's or family's place, I'm half French, lived over there for a good portion of my life and think I know the place pretty well. There is the middle eastern influence we now find at every home in France and that gives a nice fresh kick to it. The recipes are simple, require easy ingredients and look tasty. You do need a Dutch oven for some of the more interesting ones. For example I was particularly excited about the chicken confit, which is something I always wanted to try making, though I am surprised the author recommends olive oil - I would be afraid of such a strong oil giving a bitter taste when cooked too long. And the carrot tarte tatin. Admittedly those are recipes that you have to cook for a long time, but once in the oven you don't have to think about them for a long time!
I really liked the vegetable side dishes too. Most seem really tasty and lots of people seem to have a hard time knowing how to cook vegetables for the most flavour.

This book was exceptional! I loved the recipes and the little personal touches. The recipes feel largely accessible to various skill levels too.

Thank you to @netgalley, the publisher and author for gifting me this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love cookbooks and love discovering new cuisines and tastes. This cookbook is a modern one. I feel like it's more turned towards younger people, with a bit more free time on their hands rather than families with children. The recipes are a bit posh in my opinion and hence a bit on a pricier side.

All in all photos are excellent, recipes are solid but still, I feel like I couldn't use most of them.

With this cookbook I was transported back to Paris and can’t wait to make some of these dishes- most seem approachable and very French! The cocktails and aperitifs are near the end, and perhaps saved the best for last? But there are so many classic dishes here, all written in a simple and shoppable way for an American audience. As a French teacher I’m always looking for good French (or French-ish) books and cookbooks, and I want a hard copy of this one for my shelf. In part because it’s gorgeous! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for this unbiased review.

Interesting dishes and writing in this cookbook, which meets at the intersection of French and American culture. To begin, I really enjoyed the sheer artfulness and beauty of the images in this book, which effectively read as an advertisement for enjoying life and eating in France. I was hungry by the end and already plan to try out some of the recipes soon. The dishes are not only French traditional cooking but also borrow from other cultures, which I appreciated. Lots of butter, dairy, eggs, so this cookbook is not exactly vegan or vegetarian friendly.

As for the writing itself, I found myself not completely sold on some of the points made here. I liked the parts of the cookbook which were self-aware, recommending on how to treat guests, plan a dinner party, eschew traditional social “rules” (like starting a dinner right on time or having pressed linens, etc.) Peppler is an an American in Paris, from Wisconsin, and doesn’t claim to be an expert on anything, but rather, suggesting more casual and tried-and-true methods for hosting, selecting ingredients and cooking. In this way, the book felt very approachable for a novice, informative for those who haven’t spent time cooking in France. I love the thoughtful, realistic addition of options for people who choose to abstain from drinking to the book.

My only real critique of the book would be some of the awkward sexual references or insertions here and there that I’m not sure were totally relevant; over and over about how she dated women in France, comparing hosting a dinner party to a dominant/submissive dynamic felt a little odd, all things considered. Overall, I think Peppler wanted this cookbook to give readers a real slice of life feeling of what it was like for her to experience a new culture abroad.

The last thought that ran through my head while reading was that this cookbook felt almost scarily similar to Alison Roman’s “Plenty More” cookbook, albeit with a French twist. This book would be great accessible read for anyone who is looking to get into French cooking but doesn’t know where to start, or simply those who love French culture and cuisine and are looking for a different way to approach it. (Myself included!)

Overall, I’ve already recommended this cookbook to my cooking friends and can’t wait to try out some of the delicious cocktails and recipes here at my very own dinner party! (post-Covid....) Thanks Netgalley and Rebekah Peppler!

This book is filled with stunning full-page photographs and recipes to make French-styled dishes of all kinds from updated classics to twists on other dishes, to drinks.
There's also a lot of information on how to be the perfect host, which was both informative and fun to read.
Some of the recipes are involved with lots of steps, but the book explains them all well, and those who want to take on a complex dish should have no problem following any of them. There are also a number of more simple dishes that anyone could try. Overall, this is a fantastic guide.
Many thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

#ATableABook #NetGalley

Special thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle books for providing me with ARC.

I loved this book so much, it's so good

I just read through an ARC of A Table: Recipes for Cooking and Eating the French Way by Rebekah Peppler. What a wonderful book! The photographs are stunning, and the recipes look so good! I really liked the beginning section on a modern French pantry with ingredients and where to find them or what to substitute for the ones listed and why they are important in French cooking. I can't wait for publication so that I can buy a copy for myself! Thank you, NetGalley and Chronicle Books, for the advanced copy.

This book is a hipster collection of French recipes, often adapted or with additional ingredients. Lengthy sections on French staples and ideas for serving and entertaining are useful. Unlike the majority of other books, A Table has nicely edited sections on pre- and post-dinner drinks.

À Table is so much more than just a cookbook filled with amazing recipes and gorgeous photos, it's a wonderful guide on throwing dinner parties and getting together with friends - the French way! This book is so approachable and provides a low-stress guide to dinner parties. Broken down into parts of the meal, À Table beings with pre-dinner drinks and snacks. There are AMAZING cocktails, easy-to-follow recipes and honestly, I need a hard-cover copy of this book to help me plan every get-together from here on out. 10-out-of-10 would recommend to anyone who loves cocktail and dinner parties with their friends.

5/5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

À Table is a beautiful cookbook filled with with simple food made special. I liked it instantly judging by the way its divided into sections: Before (Aperitifs and Snacks), During ( Mains and Sides), and After (Desserts and Digestifs). There are great suggestions and practical tips on how to stock a Modern French pantry. The photography is stunning and captures the very essence of France in its light, hospitality, and delicious food. I’ll be buying print copies of this for myself and friends!

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a delightful French cookbook that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I may not ever cook most of the recipes for a multitude of reasons but they all seemed delicious and doable. You're obviously going to need to source a lot of French foods like cheeses, meats and alcohols, but Peppler sets you up to succeed. The book is not just a cookbook but a guide to being a wonderful host, and I came away thinking that her guests were lucky friends. There are beautiful color photos throughout, both of the foods and drinks and of the author. These never seemed vain and staged like other cookbooks though, they just added to the charm.

No nutritional information is provided. Many of the recipes are naturally gluten free and many would work for paleo and (to a lesser extent) vegetarian diets. Photos are provided for about 2/3 of the recipes, perhaps a little less. Highly recommended.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.