Bouchon
by Thomas Keller (Author), Jeff Cerciello (Author)
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Thomas Keller, chef/proprieter of Napa Valley's French Laundry, is passionate about bistro cooking. He believes fervently that the real art of cooking lies in elevating to excellence the simplest ingredients; that bistro cooking embodies at once a culinary ethos of generosity, economy, and simplicity; that the techniques at its foundation are profound, and the recipes at its heart have a powerful ability to nourish and please. So enamored is he of this older, more casual type of cooking that show more he opened the restaurant Bouchon, right next door to the French Laundry, so he could satisfy a craving for a perfectly made quiche, or a gratinéed onion soup, or a simple but irresistible roasted chicken. Now Bouchon, the cookbook, embodies this cuisine in all its sublime simplicity. But let's begin at the real beginning. For Keller, great cooking is all about the virtue of process and attention to detail. Even in the humblest dish, the extra thought is evident, which is why this food tastes so amazing: The onions for the onion soup are caramelized for five hours; lamb cheeks are used for the navarin; basic but essential refinements every step of the way make for the cleanest flavors, the brightest vegetables, the perfect balance-whether of fat to acid for a vinaigrette, of egg to liquid for a custard, of salt to meat for a duck confit. Because versatility as a cook is achieved through learning foundations, Keller and Bouchon executive chef Jeff Cerciello illuminate all the key points of technique along the way: how a two-inch ring makes for a perfect quiche; how to recognize the right hazelnut brown for a brown butter sauce; how far to caramelize sugar for different uses. But learning and refinement aside-oh those recipes! Steamed mussels with saffron, bourride, trout grenobloise with its parsley, lemon, and croutons; steak frites, beef bourguignon, chicken in the pot-all exquisitely crafted. And those immortal desserts: the tarte Tatin, the chocolate mousse, the lemon tart, the profiteroles with chocolate sauce. In Bouchon, you get to experience them in impeccably realized form. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
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 how everything one eats at his restaurants is so exquisite.
A beautiful cookbook. The recipes look scrumptious, and reproduce the best dishes from the restaurant, but the order of difficulty for many of them are high. This is good project cooking if you have some time on your hands.
You may have noticed this: I own all of Thomas Keller's cookbooks. What more can I say? Perfect for the ambitious cook.
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Common Knowledge
- Important places
- Bouchon (restaurant)
Classifications
- Genres
- Food & Cooking, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 641.5944 — Technology Home economics & family management Food and drink Cooking; cookbooks Cooking characteristic of specific geographic environments, ethnic cooking Europe France
- LCC
- TX719 .B67395 — Technology Home economics Home economics Cooking
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 561
- Popularity
- 52,398
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.33)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 2
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 2
