Thomas Keller's "Bouchon" Cookbook

[savvysearch]

The macaroni gratin was so-so. My sister liked it, but it seemed very clumpy. I think maybe I thickened the sauce too much. This was my first dish Ive ever made so I had to do a lot of shopping. It was a $70 macaroni and cheese. That almost put me off from trying other things in the book. The great things is that the other recipes most of the same ingredients.

You certainly have to try this again. It is one of my favorite dishes and if you made it right it should not be "clumpy" at all. Rich, creamy and delicious, not clumpy. Also, why on earth would it cost you $70?! Is it just a figure of speach? The ingredients are pretty much standard for a mac and cheese dish (macaroni, milk, flour, Gruyere, thyme, bread crumbs... am I missing anything?)

Elie

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I don't know how it came out to 70 dollars, but everytime I go to the grocery store, I'm always shocked. It wasn't just the ingredients though, I had to buy measuring cups, the gratin pan. OF course I also needed nutmeg, salt, etc.. The spices to me seemed really expensive.

A lot of the recipes require some new equipment which I dont have. I want to try some of the desserts, but then I have to buy little custard cups, a diffuser (whatever that is).

Edited April 15, 2005 by savvysearch (log)

[edsel]

...The macaroni gratin was so-so. My sister liked it, but it seemed very clumpy. I think maybe I thickened the sauce too much. This was my first dish Ive ever made so I had to do a lot of shopping. It was a $70 macaroni and cheese. That almost put me off from trying other things in the book. The great things is that the other recipes most of the same ingredients.

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You certainly have to try this again. It is one of my favorite dishes and if you made it right it should not be "clumpy" at all. Rich, creamy and delicious, not clumpy. Also, why on earth would it cost you $70?! Is it just a figure of speach? The ingredients are pretty much standard for a mac and cheese dish (macaroni, milk, flour, Gruyere, thyme, bread crumbs... am I missing anything?)

Elie ←

I don't know how it came out to 70 dollars, but everytime I go to the grocery store, I'm always shocked. It wasn't just the ingredients though, I had to buy measuring cups, the gratin pan. OF course I also needed nutmeg, salt, etc.. The spices to me seemed really expensive.

A lot of the recipes require some new equipment which I dont have. I want to try some of the desserts, but then I have to buy little custard cups, a diffuser (whatever that is).

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Ah, by "first dish ever", you didn't mean just from this cook book. Cool!

The good news is that you'll quickly build up an arsenal of tools that will serve you well over the years. After all, you don't have to buy a new gratin pan every time you make the Mac and Cheese recipe. As for the spices, I don't know where in O.C. you are, but I bet you're not too far from some Asian and other "ethnic" markets. I usually buy nutmeg at my local Indian grocery - way cheaper than the "specialty" markets, and their turnover ensures that the spices are nice and fresh.

Elie's right about the gratin - it should have a gorgeous velvety texture. Was the Mornay too thick? Try it again - it sounds like you're on the right track.

[little ms foodie]

This week (Fri thru Fri) we are cooking from Bouchon! So excited!!

Tonight's menu:Salmon tartare, 'My favorite simple roast chicken' & glazed root vegtables. We had so much fun making these and surprisingly it didn't take us that long.

(no clue what the gold smear is in the photo, it wasn't on the plate???)

slathered the chicken with butter and dijon and holy hell it was fantastic!

Up next...... quiche lorraine with butter lettuce salad......skirt steak with shallots.....

Edited April 16, 2005 by little ms foodie (log)

[DRColby]

We've got the roasted chicken and gratin of cauliflower going tonight.

I couldn't understand when Keller for in town promoting his book at Union why it would take one of the top chefs in Seattle a day to prepare for the event: after all, Bistro food is simple, isn't it?

Well, there's been plenty of snacks this afternoon while the chicken brines for 6 hours. I might add this is one of most elaborate brines I've put together. Fortunately it's Spring and we have all the herbs in the garden.

I was an hour into getting the gratin ready for the oven.

From all the foregoing it should be fantastic.

Dave

[bilrus]

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Nice bird.

[hjshorter]

I hadn't been following this thread, but I picked this book up yesterday along with the French Laundry book. The FLC is gorgeous, but I have wanted to cook every single recipe I've looked at from Bouchon. The rabbit and prune rillettes especially.

[little ms foodie]

Tonight's Bouchon menu!

fois gras on baguette with fluer de sel and kir (not from Bouchon but dinner was taking a while and we were hungry, the foie came back in my luggage last year from Pays du Basque)

Butter lettuce salad

Quiche lorraine

We tried using our springform pan but it was too big so our quiche isn't the big 2" pie that is in the book. We went out and bought a new pan for next time though so we are ready for next time!

The pastry was fantastic, as was the flavor of the quiche! We will take it out about 5 mins earlier next time.

The salad was great but it toppled over at the table!!

We had such a good time againl, and really enjoyed talking about what we learned, liked etc.

more tomorrow!

(ps sorry about the random photo sizes, I haven't entirely learned the iPhoto on my new mac)

[little ms foodie]

Bouchon dinner tonight made mostly by my husband- skirt steak with shallots and watercress salad.

Wow the flavor was soooooo fantastic. We had to cheat and buy veal stock from the culinary school I go to sometime as we didn't have time on Sunday to make stock. The whole meal was fantstic!

[percyn]

Bouchon dinner tonight made mostly by my husband- skirt steak with shallots and watercress salad.

Wow the flavor was soooooo fantastic. We had to cheat and buy veal stock from the culinary school I go to sometime as we didn't have time on Sunday to make stock. The whole meal was fantstic!

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Wendy, do you mind describing the cooking method (I dont have the bouchon book yet). I often make skirt steak, but usually sear it over high heat.

[FoodMan]

Bouchon dinner tonight made mostly by my husband- skirt steak with shallots and watercress salad.

Wow the flavor was soooooo fantastic. We had to cheat and buy veal stock from the culinary school I go to sometime as we didn't have time on Sunday to make stock. The whole meal was fantstic!

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Wendy, do you mind describing the cooking method (I dont have the bouchon book yet). I often make skirt steak, but usually sear it over high heat.

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Working form memeory here, since I made this a week or so ago as well:

1- Season and sear the steak in a combination of oil and butter for about 3 minutes per side.

2- Remove the steaks to a plate

3- Cook the shallots in the steak pan with butter

4- put the steaks in a baking pan, top with the shallots and bake in a 375F oven for a few minutes or until desired donness.

Hope this helps,

Elie

[little ms foodie]

That is it exactly. He uses the outside cut but our butcher only had the inside cut so we only had it back in the oven for maybe 3 mins. It was really delish! Searing them in good Plugra butter probably didn't hurt!

[Chufi]

Working form memeory here, since I made this a week or so ago as well:

1- Season and sear the steak in a combination of oil and butter for about 3 minutes per side.

2- Remove the steaks to a plate

3- Cook the shallots in the steak pan with butter

4- put the steaks in a baking pan, top with the shallots and bake in a 375F oven for a few minutes or until desired donness.

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so where does the veal stock that Wendy mentions come into this?

[FoodMan]

Working form memeory here, since I made this a week or so ago as well:

1- Season and sear the steak in a combination of oil and butter for about 3 minutes per side.

2- Remove the steaks to a plate

3- Cook the shallots in the steak pan with butter

4- put the steaks in a baking pan, top with the shallots and bake in a 375F oven for a few minutes or until desired donness.

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so where does the veal stock that Wendy mentions come into this?

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It is used to make the red wine jus that is served with it. Basically reduce red wine with the stock and some aromatics and use as a thin sauce.

Elie

[little ms foodie]

Tonight's Bouchon installment

Raclette potatoes with Bayonne ham

Saffron and mustard mussels

These are exactly like the potatoes I get at my favorite french bistro!!! And we thought the mussels very good!

[little ms foodie]

Last day of Bouchon cooking for a while. We had the Pork tartine with celeric roumelade for lunch. This was such a great balance of flavors. Making the aioli was great and luckily we had garlic confit on hand!

[Random Alias]

Saffron and mustard mussels

These are exactly like the potatoes I get at my favorite french bistro!!! And we thought the mussels very good!

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Made this last night - very good, very easy.

The recipe is here:

http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recip...onmussels.shtml

[FoodMan]

Wendy, everything looks good. I have to try that tartine with the remoulade.

This weekend I cooked form Bouchon both Saturday and Sunday as well.

I made the pork trotters with gribiche sauce early last week and served them on Saturday. These truly do justice to the pigs foot. They are amazingly crispy, rich and soft at the same time and the taste is full of flavor. Here are a couple of pics, the first is a cross section and the second is the plated dish.

I also made a simple roasted chicken and served it with a salad and this cauliflower gratin. Truly, one of the best cauliflower dishes ever.

One other thing I made but was not too impressed with was the Prune ice cream with Armagnac. The taste was ok, but the texture was a little on the "powdery" side if you know what I mean. It was not nice and creamy. Anyone else tried this?

Elie

[little ms foodie]

Elie,

Tell me about pig trotters, what is the taste/texture like. It's probably one of only a very few things that I don't feel inclined to try. I'm confused by them!

What kind of icecream maker do you have. We are thinking of getting one.

The tartine was excellent and we both really liked the roumelade. I'll have some as a side salad tonight and am looking for a way to turn some of the garlic aioli into tarter sauce!

[FoodMan]

Elie,

Tell me about pig trotters, what is the taste/texture like. It's probably one of only a very few things that I don't feel inclined to try. I'm confused by them!

What kind of icecream maker do you have. We are thinking of getting one.

The tartine was excellent and we both really liked the roumelade. I'll have some as a side salad tonight and am looking for a way to turn some of the garlic aioli into tarter sauce! 

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I am not sure if you read through the trotters' recipe or not but basically when all is said and done and before pan frying, you should have a thick sausage of pork hock meat and skin, no bones. Then it is sliced coated with dijon and bread crumbs and pan fried and roasted. What you end up with is a very refined pork's foot. the crust is crunchy and the gelatin holding the meat together softens, so the inside tastes very porky and metlingly tender (no chewy or rubbery skin at all). If you did not know, it really would be hard to guess that this dish is made from the humble hock. You should try it at least once. I have some left, and you can guess what will be tonight's dinner.

I have a simple Krups ice cream maker like the one Alton Brown uses on Good Eats. It's very affordable (< $60 I think) and has never failed me in the three years that I owned it. I just keep the ice cream bowl in the freezer all the time, so I have it when I need it.

Elie

[little ms foodie]

Thanks Elie, I have read thru the recipe....I'll definately think of giving this a try.

[little ms foodie]

It's spring!! Morels and Peas.

This is excellent, I cooked the morels a bit too much but the flavor is still fantastic. Next time I will saute them for a shorter amount of time.

[percyn]

Here is my shot at the salmon tartar (since this was an impromptu rendition, I did not have usable capers, crème fraiche or sufficient chives)

[windydaze]

Okay, you guys have inspired me!

I received the Bouchon cookbook for Christmas, at my request, and for six months I have been looking at the pictures and feeling intimidated by the recipes. No longer!

This weekend I made the Pork Trotters with Mache and Sauce Gribiche, the Trout with Haricort Verts and Almonds, and the Strawberry Sorbet. Whew!

[little ms foodie]

windydaze that looks great!! I must try the trout soon!

[Mallet]

The trout caught my eye as well (the picture in the book is just so purdy ). Did you have any trouble completely boning it? It's what put me off initially...

I have made the pork trotters as well (inspired by this thread). These are definitely good and easy enough to be regulars on the dinner table! I imagine the log freezes well also.