James Beard Award Winner
IACP Award Winner
Thomas Keller, chef/proprieter of Napa Valley's French Laundry, is
passionate about bistro cooking. He believes fervently that the real art
of cooking lies in elevating to excellence the simplest ingredients;
that bistro cooking embodies at once a culinary ethos of generosity,
economy, and simplicity; that the techniques at its foundation are
profound, and the recipes at its heart have a powerful ability to
nourish and please.
So enamored is he of this older, more casual type of cooking that he
opened the restaurant Bouchon, right next door to the French Laundry, so
he could satisfy a craving for a perfectly made quiche, or a gratinéed
onion soup, or a simple but irresistible roasted chicken. Now Bouchon,
the cookbook, embodies this cuisine in all its sublime simplicity.
But let's begin at the real beginning. For Keller, great cooking is all
about the virtue of process and attention to detail. Even in the
humblest dish, the extra thought is evident, which is why this food
tastes so amazing: The onions for the onion soup are caramelized for
five hours; lamb cheeks are used for the navarin; basic but essential
refinements every step of the way make for the cleanest flavors, the
brightest vegetables, the perfect balance--whether of fat to acid for a
vinaigrette, of egg to liquid for a custard, of salt to meat for a duck
confit.
Because versatility as a cook is achieved through learning foundations,
Keller and Bouchon executive chef Jeff Cerciello illuminate all the key
points of technique along the way: how a two-inch ring makes for a
perfect quiche; how to recognize the right hazelnut brown for a brown
butter sauce; how far to caramelize sugar for different uses.
But learning and refinement aside--oh those recipes! Steamed mussels
with saffron, bourride, trout grenobloise with its parsley, lemon, and
croutons; steak frites, beef bourguignon, chicken in the pot--all
exquisitely crafted. And those immortal desserts: the tarte Tatin, the
chocolate mousse, the lemon tart, the profiteroles with chocolate sauce.
In Bouchon, you get to experience them in impeccably realized form.
This is a book to cherish, with its alluring mix of recipes and the
author's knowledge, warmth, and wit: "I find this a hopeful time for the
pig," says Keller about our yearning for the flavor that has been bred
out of pork. So let your imagination transport you back to the burnished
warmth of an old-fashioned French bistro, pull up a stool to the zinc
bar or slide into a banquette, and treat yourself to truly great
preparations that have not just withstood the vagaries of fashion, but
have improved with time. Welcome to Bouchon.
