The French Laundry Cookbook

Thomas Keller, chef/proprietor of the French Laundry in the Napa Valley – "the most exciting place to eat in the United States," wrote Ruth Reichl in The New York Times – is a wizard, a purist, a man obsessed with getting it right. And this, his first cookbook, is every bit as satisfying as a French Laundry meal itself: a series of small, impeccable, highly refined, intensely focused courses.

Most dazzling is how simple Keller?s methods are: squeegeeing the moisture from the skin on fish so it sautes beautifully; poaching eggs in a deep pot of water for perfect shape; the initial steeping in the shell that makes cooking raw lobster out of the shell a cinch; using vinegar as a flavor enhancer; the repeated washing of bones for stock for the cleanest, clearest tastes.

From innovative soup techniques, to the proper way to cook vegetables, to secrets of great fish cookery, to the creation of breathtaking desserts; from beurre monte to fois gras au torchon, to a wild and thoroughly unexpected take on coffee and doughnuts, The French Laundry Cookbook captures, through recipes, essays, profiles, and extraordinary photography, one of America?s great restaurants, its great chef, and the food that makes both unique.

One hundred and fifty superlative recipes are exact recipes from the French Laundry kitchen – no shortcuts have been taken, no critical steps ignored, all have been thoroughly tested in home kitchens. If you can?t get to the French Laundry, you can now re-create at home the very experience the Wine Spectator described as ?as close to dining perfection as its gets.?

Thomas Keller, chef/propietor of the French Laundry—"the most exciting place to eat in the United States," writes Ruth Reichl in The New York Times—is a wizard, a purist, a man obsessed with getting it right. His flavors have clarity and intensity. His methods dazzle. Every mouthful is an explosion of taste. This cookbook, Keller's first, is as satisfying as a French Laundry meal, a series of small, highly refined, intensely focused courses. One hundred fifty recipes and more than two hundred photographs capture the impact of this extraordinary food. Keller's wit and whimsy find expression in unique recipes (and titles) such as lobster-filled crepes with a carrot emulsion sauce, topped with a pea shoot salad dressed lightly with lemon-infused oil ("Peas and Carrots"), or sauteed monkfish tail with braised oxtails, salsify, and cepes ("Surf and Turf"). This is a book to cook from, to learn from, to savor.

Thomas Keller, chef/proprieter of the French Laundry in the Napa Valley—"the most exciting place to eat in the United States," wrote Ruth Reichl in The New York Times—is a wizard, a purist, a man obsessed with getting it right. And this, his first cookbook, is every bit as satisfying as a French Laundry meal itself: a series of small, impeccable, highly refined, intensely focused courses.

Most dazzling is how simple Keller's methods are: squeegeeing the moisture from the skin on fish so it sautées beautifully; poaching eggs in a deep pot of water for perfect shape; the initial steeping in the shell that makes cooking raw lobster out of the shell a cinch; using vinegar as a flavor enhancer; the repeated washing of bones for stock for the cleanest, clearest tastes.

From innovative soup techniques, to the proper way to cook green vegetables, to secrets of great fish cookery, to the creation of breathtaking desserts; from beurre monté to foie gras au torchon, to a wild and thoroughly unexpected take on coffee and doughnuts, The French Laundry Cookbook captures, through recipes, essays, profiles, and extraordinary photography, one of America's great restaurants, its great chef, and the food that makes both unique.

One hundred and fifty superlative recipes are exact recipes from the French Laundry kitchen—no shortcuts have been taken, no critical steps ignored, all have been thoroughly tested in home kitchens. If you can't get to the French Laundry, you can now re-create at home the very experience the Wine Spectator described as "as close to dining perfection as it gets."

Thomas Keller was named "America's Best Chef" by Timemagazine and is the only person to receive consecutive "Best Chef" awards from the James Beard Foundation. The French Laundry Cookbook(Artisan, 1999) won an IACP trifecta: "Cookbook of the Year," "Best First Cookbook," and "Best Photography." Keller has opened a Bouchon at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas and two Bouchon Bakeries--one in Napa and one in New York City, where he has also opened Per Se.

Acknowledgments

Pleasure and Perfection

The Road to the French Laundry

A Sad Happy Story

Cornets

About the Chef

When in Doubt, Strain: Notes on How to Use This Book

CANAPES

The Law of Diminishing Returns

The Mushroom Lady

Soup

Blini

The Importance of Hollandaise

Garden Canapes

FIRST COURSE

Big-Pot Blanching

Hearts of Palm Grower

Tools of Refinement: The Chinois and Tamis

Agnolotti

Truffles

Foie Gras

The Importance of Staff Meal

FISH

A Passion for Fish

The Accidental Fishmonger

Cooking Lobster

Beurre Monte: The Workhorse Sauce

Infused Oils

MEAT

The Importance of Trussing Chicken

Salt and Pepper and Vinegar

Braising and the Virtue of the Process

The Pittsburgh Lamber

Vegetable Cuts

The Importance of Rabbits

The Importance of Offal

Stocks and Sauces

Quick Sauces

Powders

CHEESE

The Composed Cheese Course

The Importance of France

The Attorney Cheesemaker

DESSERT

Beginning and Ending

The Ultimate Purveyors

Sources

List of Recipes

Index