Elegant Entertaining ─ Seasonal Recipes from the American Ambassador's Residence in Paris

In the heart of Paris’s exclusive Faubourg St. Honore neighborhood, the magnificent nineteenth-century residence of the American ambassador to France is the center of Franco-American relations and the site of elegant entertaining. Nearly every day of the year, master chef Philippe Excoffier prepares dazzling meals and parties for foreign dignitaries, French friends of America, and Americans in Paris. In this beautifully illustrated volume, Excoffier shares forty of his favorite recipes, including grilled veal with sage sauce and stuffed zucchini flowers, a new twist on French toast with roasted pineapple and rum raisin ice cream, and wild strawberries and cognac in dark chocolate baskets. Excoffier also reinvents American classics such as the Fourth of July picnic and Thanksgiving dinner. Specially commissioned photography sets the recipes against the backdrop of the residence’s splendid interiors. Partial proceeds of the book will be donated to FXB, a charity dedicated to fighting childhood poverty and AIDS.

Dorothy W. Stapleton is wife to the former American Ambassador in Paris. Philippe Excoffier has been the master chef to the American Ambassadors for nearly a decade. He worked with Michelin-starred chefs and was a contestant on Iron Chef. Francis Hammond’s photographs have appeared in Elle Decoration, Martha Stewart Living, and Mariage Freres: French Tea.