The French Laundry Cookbook

by Keller, Thomas

• ISBN13: 9781579651268
• ISBN10: 1579651267
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-11-01
• Publisher: Artisan

Summary

Thomas Keller, chef/proprieter of the French Laundry in the Napa Valleythe most exciting place to eat in the United States, wrote Ruth Reichl in The New York Timesis 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 green vegetables, to secrets of great fish cookery, to the creation of breathtaking desserts; from beurre mont 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 kitchenno 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.

Author Biography

Thomas Keller is the chef/owner of the French Laundry in Yountville, California.

Table of Contents

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

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.