I am a huge fan of Keller’s French Laundry cookbook, and I know the esteem with which he is held by chefs worldwide. When I finally got my hands on this new cookbook, it was with great anticipation. I love the “back to basics” approach like the pictorial on how to cut up a chicken, the chart differentiating between cheeses made of cow, goat or sheep milk, the pages on kitchen equipment and so forth. But the cookbook itself, the recipes, are very difficult to follow, not because they are especially complex but because of how the book is laid out.
For instance, one of the first recipes is for Pan-Roasted Chicken with Sweet Sausage and Peppers. At first glance, this doesn’t seem especially complicated, there are less than 10 ingredients, and the entire recipe fits easily on the page. But a careful reading reveals that the chickens should be no more than 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, a size that is not generally available in supermarkets but have no fear, there is a footnote that suggests trying a farmer’s market. The chicken is cut up according to the accompanying pictures, then brined. That recipe is on another page. The sweet sausages called for involve checking out the page of sources in the back of the book. The ingredient listed as “Peperonata Rustica” actually requires another recipe on another page. While many of the recipes are more self contained, many are not. “Grilled cheese” requires visits to three recipes on three separate pages, “iceberg lettuce slices” also requires three, plus another visit to the “sources” page, and “meatballs with pappardelle” requires 4 or 5 recipes, depending on whether you’re purchasing or making your pappardelle.
That said, the back of the book, the “basics” chapter is worth its weight in gold. Those mysterious gastriques that are on fancy menus and every episode of “Top Chef”? A simple recipe for cherry gastrique is here, feel free to impress your family and friends. Roux is explained, as is emulsified butter and clarified butter, and a recipe for mayonnaise that is so good and so easy you’ll never want to buy another jar. It’s too complicated to be my favorite cookbook, but some of the recipes are worth the trouble. It is a book that I know I will give as a gift and that I will refer to time and time again.
04/10 Stacy Alesi
AD HOC AT HOME by Thomas Keller. Artisan (November 6, 2009). ISBN 978-1579653774. 368p.
Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™ 