Cooking from the French Laundry Cookbook

[Jenise]

This is rather amusing:

http://carolcookskeller.blogspot.com/2007/04/chicken-stack-ups-and-fruited-nectar.html

Hollandaise from KNORR

[Jenise]

Hollandaise from KNORR

Wasn't that funny? I hope you got far enough to realize that this was an April Fools post.

Ha!!!

I'm sure Peeps are something Thomas Keller never goes without....

I have that cookbook - the recipes are very work intensive. Has anyone here made any that you would make again?
It was great reading but I have not tried a single thing. Chiarello'sTra Vigne is a fun book, as well.

Keller was on Charlie Rose last week. He talked about his philosophy in writing this cookbook. He was opposed to putting any recipes in the book, but his editor and publicist told him he was crazy -- they would not be able to sell a cookbook without recipes. He's an interesting guy and I'd love to have dinner with him, but I don't think I would wantto have a conversation with him about food. His relationship with food is far too intense for my appetite. Food is supposed to be taken seriously, but I think there is also supposed to be an element of fun. I didn't get the idea that Mr. Keller has fun with his food, but he has had some fabulous experiences! I do plan to purchase the book.

Keller was on Charlie Rose last week. He talked about his philosophy in writing this cookbook. He was opposed to putting any recipes in the book, but his editor and publicist told him he was crazy -- they would not be able to sell a cookbook without recipes. He's an interesting guy and I'd love to have dinner with him, but I don't think I would wantto have a conversation with him about food. His relationship with food is far too intense for my appetite. Food is supposed to be taken seriously, but I think there is also supposed to be an element of fun. I didn't get the idea that Mr. Keller has fun with his food, but he has had some fabulous experiences! I do plan to purchase the book.

My wife's boss actually cooks stuff from that book on a somewhat regular basis. As for us, it's one of the few cookbooks published in English that my wife has stayed away from. Too much work!

I finally now know what Peeps are! Always had wondered...cheers, Bonnie

This is rather amusing:

http://carolcookskeller.blogspot.com/2007/04/chicken-stack-ups-and-fruited-nectar.html

I was about to get all huffy and scoff at the absence of the miniature, multicolored, pastel-tinted marshmallows - and then she substituted the Peeps!

Brilliant!

That is too funny Jenise! The peeps part really made me LOL. Those pancakes didn't look half bad though.

I have the French Laundry Cookbook too, but haven't ever attempted anything from it. But it's are really nice looking cookbook .

"Mad knife skills." - II LOVED it!

rwj

Guilty. I have used the French Laundry cookbook and have made some things multiple times.

I think of it as "graduate school" -- the way it relates to most other cookbooks is very similar to how getting my PhD felt as compared to undergraduate work. All those details, all that time! If you want to try something in the same vein but a little less stressful, get the Bouchon cookbook. It's still Thomas Keller but a few of the recipes are actually EASY, and just about all of them are delicious. Both books expect you to make stock (really a meat glaze) that takes several days to execute.

As to what I've done, hmm, quail eggs and the potato blini, not so bad. My neighbor made the black sea bass with spinach. Yabba Dabba Do -- friends have cooked and I've done a version of it, and I have done the Pommes Anna with prunes that is part of the recipe, separately. The composed cheeses are good, many times I have made a salad based on his Ashy Chevre with beets. I bought a Girolle and have served Tete de Moine cheese many times simply because I love the picture on page 245. My wife made the lemon Sabayon on 294 but I wasn't crazy about it and I think maybe the one place where my idol Thomas Keller falls a little short is in desserts. I used page 171 to truss and roast a chicken -- but he gives more specifics in Bouchon.

I think it is a valid criticism that a LOT of the effort in making the French Laundry recipes is aimed at features of style and presentation that the home cook may not care very much about. Food that is "chichi." I don't mind spending 3 days on a meat stock that will make every single diner roll his eyes. But working to slice things so thin that I can read a newspaper through them seems a little like a waste of time. Buy the Bouchon cookbook, the food tends to be honest savory and wonderful. Bistro cooking at the very highest level...

Frank

PS I forgot "Peas and Carrots." I've had that home cooked several times but have never made the dish myself -- I think of my cooking/dining circle as kind of a cohesive group. It's butter poached lobster and at least I can state that it tastes fabulous when done in a home kitchen.

But working to slice things so thin that I can read a newspaper through them seems a little like a waste of time. Buy...

...a mandoline. MUCH better solution.

This year's April Fools post was pretty funny (but not as classic as the '07).

I will never buy my wife this cookbook. She did the Keller recipe for lobster with beet essence, etc one time:
http://carolcookskeller.blogspot.com/20 ... leeks.html

I got home to find her madly cooking/mandolining/etc. Hours (several) later we had a fantastic meal. And then I spend about 2 hours cleaning up.
Food is great, but to me these are recipes for someone with a prep guy and (human) dishwasher.

[Jenise]

Guilty. I have used the French Laundry cookbook and have made some things multiple times.

I think of it as "graduate school" -- the way it relates to most other cookbooks is very similar to how getting my PhD felt as compared to undergraduate work. All those details, all that time! If you want to try something in the same vein but a little less stressful, get the Bouchon cookbook. It's still Thomas Keller but a few of the recipes are actually EASY, and just about all of them are delicious. Both books expect you to make stock (really a meat glaze) that takes several days to execute.

As to what I've done, hmm, quail eggs and the potato blini, not so bad. My neighbor made the black sea bass with spinach. Yabba Dabba Do -- friends have cooked and I've done a version of it, and I have done the Pommes Anna with prunes that is part of the recipe, separately. The composed cheeses are good, many times I have made a salad based on his Ashy Chevre with beets. I bought a Girolle and have served Tete de Moine cheese many times simply because I love the picture on page 245. My wife made the lemon Sabayon on 294 but I wasn't crazy about it and I think maybe the one place where my idol Thomas Keller falls a little short is in desserts. I used page 171 to truss and roast a chicken -- but he gives more specifics in Bouchon.

I think it is a valid criticism that a LOT of the effort in making the French Laundry recipes is aimed at features of style and presentation that the home cook may not care very much about. Food that is "chichi." I don't mind spending 3 days on a meat stock that will make every single diner roll his eyes. But working to slice things so thin that I can read a newspaper through them seems a little like a waste of time. Buy the Bouchon cookbook, the food tends to be honest savory and wonderful. Bistro cooking at the very highest level...

Frank

PS I forgot "Peas and Carrots." I've had that home cooked several times but have never made the dish myself -- I think of my cooking/dining circle as kind of a cohesive group. It's butter poached lobster and at least I can state that it tastes fabulous when done in a home kitchen.

Frank, good analysis. I feel the same, though I may like "chichi" more than you. Did you ever do his lobster braised in butter? Ultimate decadence, that. And oh the things you can do with that butter later!

Did you ever do his lobster braised in butter? Ultimate decadence, that. And oh the things you can do with that butter later!

After the evening I mentioned, I suggested Betsy save the poached lobster part, forget the beet essence and the leek mix (tasty though they were). We've done just the lobster couple times since.

And "Peas and Carrots" in my PS is another butter poached lobster dish.

Just in case I didn't get the point across -- you can get a very similar level of satisfaction from the Bouchon cookbook. But the point there is really deliciousness. The Salmon Rillette is a complete piece of cake, totally quick and easy, and is a knockout appetizer. I would have to go through the whole cookbook to remind myself what I have done but there are many more recipes than French Laundry and frankly I no longer look in the FL cookbook when I want to make "something special."

The Parisian Gnocchi with winter squash is a wonderful classic. The French Onion Soup is phenomenal. It takes hours and hours but it is one hundred percent totally worth it. Once again the shortcoming I can recall is the "bouchon" -- literally "plug" (the restaurant is named for the Lyons version of "bistro", you plug your hole meaning you fill your belly) -- a "bouchon" is a little chocolate cake shaped like a plug. My wife executed this and it's not up there with her better desserts, and I'm sure she did it perfectly.

SO -- if you are a home chef with ambition, buy Bouchon and give it a try...

Frank

I agree. My wife has made several dishes from Bouchon with excellent results.

Guilty. I have used the French Laundry cookbook and have made some things multiple times.

xxx I used page 171 to truss and roast a chicken -- but he gives more specifics in Bouchon.

I think it is a valid criticism that a LOT of the effort in making the French Laundry recipes is aimed at features of style and presentation that the home cook may not care very much about. Food that is "chichi." I don't mind spending 3 days on a meat stock that will make every single diner roll his eyes. But working to slice things so thin that I can read a newspaper through them seems a little like a waste of time. Buy the Bouchon cookbook, the food tends to be honest savory and wonderful. Bistro cooking at the very highest level...

It's butter poached lobster and at least I can state that it tastes fabulous when done in a home kitchen.

This recipe intrigued me because I would like to be able to produce a non-chewy lobster tail. Does this recipe do the trick?

http://carolcookskeller.blogspot.com/2007/04/chicken-stack-ups-and-fruited-nectar.html

Ha, those dishes look appropriately foul.

I've done a few things from the French Laundry Cookbook. It's not just good for the presented dishes, but also for taking out or modifying single components and using them for other dishes. The White truffle oil-infused custards (p.16) are fantastic (I do them with a porcini ragout instead, so vegetarians eat them) and are very dramatic in their presentation. The Port-poached fig sauce (p.133) which he serves with lobster seems unusual and can work really well with fish too. The Black Sea Bass with sweet parsnips, spinach and saffron-vanilla (p.166) is less time intensive than other dishes and yet still great, as is the Spotted Skate Wing with braised red cabbage and mustard sauce (p.161) (though the sauce can overpower a bit). His Île Flottante (p.290) is a superb reinterpretation of the classic and one of the most fun and interesting dishes I've done from the book. BTW, one thing about the butter poached lobster: make sure you use a butter you're sure you like the taste of! (Speaking from experience )

It's butter poached lobster and at least I can state that it tastes fabulous when done in a home kitchen.

This recipe intrigued me because I would like to be able to produce a non-chewy lobster tail. Does this recipe do the trick?

Hi Greg -- I let your question wait hoping someone else would answer. It has been a while since I have had this dish and perhaps someone will correct me. Lobster tails get very tough when they are even slightly overcooked. It is a good thing to err on the side of sushi if you like tender lobster. But even then -- the claw meat seems to be predictably a lot more tender than the tail. The tail is a very large and often used muscle.

What I am dancing around is this -- I don't necessarily think that butter poaching is a panacea for tough lobster tail. As I try to remember the dish, I am not positive that the tail didn't require some chewing.

I think other people have done this more recently. What do you think? Is butter poaching the best way to have a tender lobster, or how do you produce the silkiest sweetest tail meat?

F

It's butter poached lobster and at least I can state that it tastes fabulous when done in a home kitchen.

This recipe intrigued me because I would like to be able to produce a non-chewy lobster tail. Does this recipe do the trick?

Hi Greg -- I let your question wait hoping someone else would answer. It has been a while since I have had this dish and perhaps someone will correct me. Lobster tails get very tough when they are even slightly overcooked. It is a good thing to err on the side of sushi if you like tender lobster. But even then -- the claw meat seems to be predictably a lot more tender than the tail. The tail is a very large and often used muscle.

What I am dancing around is this -- I don't necessarily think that butter poaching is a panacea for tough lobster tail. As I try to remember the dish, I am not positive that the tail didn't require some chewing.

I think other people have done this more recently. What do you think? Is butter poaching the best way to have a tender lobster, or how do you produce the silkiest sweetest tail meat?

F

Thanks, Frank. Hopefully someone else will be able to weigh in. One advantage of the butter poaching as outlined the FL is that you can control the cook time for the tails and claws separately.

okay, but going back to the original post and Carole Cooks Keller? I almost laughed til I cried at the peeps in the jello.

I was going to do a dinner party once from the French Laundry cookbook. I even had invited people--Robin and Mary were among the invitees. Then I read the book...and took a look at my kitchen, with its ...well, with its not always working stove. I had to uninvite people.

And we never mentioned it again.

b