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 sautés 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 Wine
Spectator described as "as close to dining perfection as
it gets."