Thomas Keller (1) (1955–)

The only one of Keller's cookbooks one can actually *cook* from at home, without being a crazy person. Yeah, the French Laundry is in fact all that, but you'll never cook anything at home like that. This stuff is plausible. Well written, beautifully illustrated, with recipes that perfectly capture what goes on in that marvelous restaurant. And it gives you a really good sense of the amazing amount of care and precision that Keller brings to his food, which goes a long way toward explaining show more how everything one eats at his restaurants is so exquisite. show less

I cannot stop reading this book! The photography is fantastic! I want to make everything in it. Nougat will be first. I just have to buy the specialty items, like rice paper and silver leaf gelatin. Then, there's the dog biscuit recipe, made with chicken stock, chicken livers, bacon, and finished with a ketchup glaze. Note: Keller uses foie gras trimmings when he make the dog biscuits.

Although the instructions seem clear, this isn't beginner pastry. I'm sure the specialty ingredients and show more detailed steps are worth the time, money and effort. The challenge makes the recipes more appealing, to me. This book lets everyone enjoy the products of Bouchon Bakery, including the dogs! show less

I've owned Thomas Keller's French Laundry cookbook for yeas - it's even autographed. I've never cooked a single recipe from it. I flip through the pages and sigh longingly, saddened because I do not have the years of culinary training, the professional kitchen or half the sources one needs to cook a few items contained in that tome. But it is beautiful.

ad hoc at home to the rescue! This is the accessible Thomas Keller for the home cook. It's not a dumbed-down version of recipes he threw show more together for the home cook - these are the dishes that inspired ad hoc in Yountville, CA. Ad hoc - a daily tasting menu made up of dishes chefs want to cook for themselves. No complicated garnishes, no cutting-edge technologies, no need to find a restaurant that will part with 5 pounds of prime dry-aged beef so you can try to cook with it at home. Of course, this doesn't mean that you're looking at 20-minute-to-table recipes. The buttermilk fried chicken recipe requires overnight brining (the smell is unbelievable), bringing the meat up to room temperature slowly and monitoring two different oil temperatures. But you know what? This will be the best fried chicken you'll ever make. Until you have the slow-roasted veal shanks. Those are insanely simple, but require 7 hours of oven-roasting. Worth.Every.Single.Second.

This is not to say that things are always simple. I live in a fairly large midwestern city, but some ingredient sourcing has been difficult. I'm already good with going to my various ethnic markets, so when he mentioned finding chicken feet for the chicken stock recipe, that was easy. Finding Piment d’Espelette just ended up a bust (exhausted Penzy's, Whole Foods, local grocers that have random everything, an indoor market that includes one stall where I can even get raw capers) - so I had to mail-order it. He offers some on-line sourcing in ad hoc, but his source for the spice wanted double what my source wanted for the same brand. In another case for a specific brand of duck legs, his sourcing doesn't offer to the general public and only sources to Northern California. On the upside, you will get to know your local merchants - so get ready to visit butchers, fish mongers, farmers markets and just about any other foodie store you found interesting if you really want to cook through this wonderful book. show less

This is my introduction to Thomas Keller in a cookbook.I saw it on the library shelf and thought I'd check it out, and I am really pleased that I did. The photos are beautiful, and you can really tell just how enamored Keller is with food--his passion is contagious. It's true that the recipes are fussy, but I rarely (if ever) follow a recipe exactly. I consider recipes as general guidelines to point you in the right direction. I enjoy learning about techniques and the science behind them show more since I am neither a trained chef nor someone who has any interest in being part of that industry. I am pretty passionate about food and learning though, so I think I am probably the perfect audience for this cookbook. I plan on picking up a copy of my own after returning this one to the library. I think it'll make a great "browsing" cookbook...you know, when you just feel like flipping through and looking at the pictures and dreaming about that dinner party that you never get around to throwing ;) show less