"The French Laundry Cookbook" by Thomas Keller

[cjsadler]

Thanks - you must have worked your way through a good portion of the book if you've tried two of my randomly chosen recipes, not that I ever doubted.

See - I did try to start with recipes that don't have a full page of ingredients.  And only one of those ingredients (quick duck sauce) refers me to another recipe.

←

Bill,

You chose a fairly doable menu of recipes from the book (especially the sabayon tart, which is quite easy (the dough is pressed, not rolled) and very, very good). However, the beet recipe highlights a problem you'll run into. A roasted beet salad is simple, but for this one you need to source beet juice as well as make a beet powder (I eventually got this to work, but it took *alot* of microwaving). 'Fairy dust' (as Busboy put it) and other multiple steps in the recipes are what you have to watch out for-- they'll kill you. I skip alot of them and still get incredible results from this book.

[zeitoun]

Appetizer: Dungeness Crab Salad with Cucumber Jelly, Grainy Mustard Vinaigrette, and Frisee Lettuce, page 92

Entree: Roulade of Pekin Duck Breast with Creamed Sweet White Corn and Morel Mushroom Sauce, page 172-173

Cheese: Ashed Chevreaux with Slow Roasted Yellow and Red Beets and Red Beet Vinaigrette, page 239

Anyone made any of these or have any suggestions?  Any help would, well, help.

←

Just a few observations on the above recipes:

The crab salad is extremely easy to make, one thing I would suggest is not to be tempted to season the cucumber juice before letting it set in the fridge. There is nothing better than pure chilled cucumber gelee, it is absolutely refreshing.

The duck breast was one of those really fun dishes, but it is really time consuming. One suggestion on this dish is to try to slice the duck breasts as thin as possible, then pound them a little to tenderize them, it'll help tremendously after they are poached. In making the roulade, roll them first in a piece of cheese cloth, then in wrapping paper (the thick kind otherwise it'll melt in the boiling water!!), it'll keep your roulade nice and tight while it is poaching and make it easier to cut in cylinders later on.

For the beets, I did not have a juicer but still managed to get beet juice from fresh beets. I just processed them raw in a food processor with a little water until they were reduced to a thick puree. I placed the whole thing in a cheese cloth and squeezed the juice out. You can of course buy regular beet juice but for some reason I like to make things more complicated!

Enjoy and please report back!!

[bilrus]

I was out of town for a few days and somehow missed all the most recent posts. Thanks for the feedback on all of this.

I thought rather than hijacking this thread about the cookbook itself, I'd start a New Thread and start posting the rest of my "adventure" there.

[silverbrow]

I've been looking at making the touchon of foie gras but have one slight problem. Keller's recipe calls for the foie gras to be soaked in milk to draw out the blood. I can't use milk, so is there any other way of drawing out the blood, but not by using milk?

[little ms foodie]

my husband made the valoute of bittersweet chocolate with cinnamon stick ice cream the other night......

[Abra]

Gorgeous, lmf, and kudos to him! Did it taste as good as it looks?

[little ms foodie]

it is divine! Dayne said it is the only thing he has made in quite a while that he would pay $12 for in a restaurant! haha, I agree

[dockhl]

Revisiting this thread, as I have a birthday coming up in a few weeks.........

IF I had to choose between TFL and Bouchon cookbooks, which to get first?

My impression is that TFL lays the groundwork of all that follows. Am I correct?

(That having been said, I want both ! )

Kathy

[chefboy24]

Revisiting this thread, as I have a birthday coming up in a few weeks.........

IF I had to choose between TFL and Bouchon cookbooks, which to get first?

My impression is that TFL lays the groundwork of all that follows. Am I correct?

(That having been said, I want both !    )

Kathy

←

your assumption is not really correct.

bouchon is about simple french country/bistro/brasserie food.

french onion soup. roast chicken. steak frites. frisee aux lardons. mixed greens with a shallot/sherry vinaigrette. skate wing a la meuniere. yada yada.

french laundry cookbook is about very high cuisine, more expensive and obscure ingredients, and elaborate preparation and presentation.

depends what you like to cook.....bouchon is more every day cooking, but its still a fussy cookbook.

Edited September 28, 2005 by chefboy24 (log)

[M.X.Hassett]

I've been looking at making the touchon of foie gras but have one slight problem.  Keller's recipe calls for the foie gras to be soaked in milk to draw out the blood.  I can't use milk, so is there any other way of drawing out the blood, but not by using milk?

←

A little late in posting but I would think that you could use water, the same way you would to draw out the blood in marrow bones.

Edit: I believe this is the method Keller uses for marrow

Edited September 28, 2005 by M.X.Hassett (log)

[dockhl]

your assumption is not really correct.

bouchon is about simple french country/bistro/brasserie food.

french onion soup. roast chicken. steak frites. frisee aux lardons.  mixed greens with a shallot/sherry vinaigrette.  skate wing a la meuniere.  yada yada.

french laundry cookbook is about very high cuisine, more expensive and obscure ingredients, and elaborate preparation and presentation.

depends what you like to cook.....bouchon is more every day cooking, but its still a fussy cookbook.

←

Thank you

Thank you

Thank you

THIS is exactly what I want to know.........

"bouchon is about simple french country/bistro/brasserie food"

Does TFL Cookbook set the STAGE for that? Or can I go directly INTO Bouchon?

I know that much will depend on my previous experience (not professional --educated amateur --but much elaborate cooking for self/family/friends that has been well receieved (whatever THAT means))........ but I want to know if, without going through the boot camp of all the elaborate preparations from TFL cookbook, can I still do well with Bouchon? Or are there lessons to be learned from TFL? (Of course there are, stupid question......)

I was just reading bilrus's excellent 5 Items from TFL Cookbook menu. I'd love to know about a similar thread from Bouchon.

Reaching out here to all of you knowlegeable souls.........I want something that isn't just once a year............

[M.X.Hassett]

your assumption is not really correct.

bouchon is about simple french country/bistro/brasserie food.

french onion soup. roast chicken. steak frites. frisee aux lardons.  mixed greens with a shallot/sherry vinaigrette.  skate wing a la meuniere.  yada yada.

french laundry cookbook is about very high cuisine, more expensive and obscure ingredients, and elaborate preparation and presentation.

depends what you like to cook.....bouchon is more every day cooking, but its still a fussy cookbook.

←

Thank you

Thank you

Thank you

THIS is exactly what I want to know.........

"bouchon is about simple french country/bistro/brasserie food"

Does TFL Cookbook set the STAGE for that? Or can I go directly INTO Bouchon?

I know that much will depend on my previous experience (not professional --educated amateur --but much elaborate cooking for self/family/friends that has been well receieved (whatever THAT means))........ but I want to know if, without going through the boot camp of all the elaborate preparations from TFL cookbook, can I still do well with Bouchon? Or are there lessons to be learned from TFL? (Of course there are, stupid question......)

I was just reading bilrus's excellent 5 Items from TFL Cookbook menu. I'd love to know about a similar thread from Bouchon.

Reaching out here to all of you knowlegeable souls.........I want something that isn't just once a year............

←

I have both and do not think there is anything in TFL that you would need to know to cook out of the Bouchon book. They both have thorough(spl) appendixes on stocks etc.. I think it comes down to formal(TFL) or informal(Bouchon) cuisine. They can both exist as seperate entities.

[dockhl]

Do you LIKE on more than the other? Or USE one more?

Or are they both 'eyecandy' ?

Best~

Kathy

[M.X.Hassett]

I think I have used TFL book more only because I have had it longer, I have cooked out of both and found both to be accesible to a modestly skilled cook. They are both great eye-candy for some amazing eye candy check out Adria's El Bulli cookbooks .

Edit: TFL book has some obscure ingredients but they can easily be subbed.

Edited September 28, 2005 by M.X.Hassett (log)

[dockhl]

for some amazing eye candy check out Adria's El Bulli cookbooks .

←

At the price, I ony can afford to collect those which I MIGHT cook from (being an unapologetic cookbook reader!) and not just drool on LOL !

I am currently living alone (unless you count two 90 lb dogs who would LOVE to share ) in a new (to me) community......so I don't really have anyone to cook for (more than 1-2) until Thanksgiving. I miss it SO very much. Hardly seems worth doing for me alone. Still, it might be a GREAT opportunity to make mistakes and LEARN a whole lot ! (And, I LOVE to eat )

Thanks for your input. It is very valuable.

Best~

Kathy

[M.X.Hassett]

[silverbrow]

Do you LIKE on more than the other? Or USE one more?

Or are they both 'eyecandy' ?

Best~

Kathy

←

They are both eyecandy but don't let that stop you and they are much more besides. In both books there is a lot of detail about how to do things, who and why Keller uses particular suppliers, the right utensils for the right jobs etc. In fact, I've found some of these non-recipe pages in the book, the best. I think we can thank Michael Ruhlman for making it such a readable, but useful book. I've never been to any of Keller's restaurants but I get the impression that the books really convey what Keller's trying to do and how's he doing it.

Back to which is better - really tough, but for everyday use I'd say Bouchon. They're both fantastic but frankly I think you're more likely to regularly use Bouchon recipes than TFL, if only because they're so involved. That's not to say the Bouchon ones are that straightforward.

Either way, you'll love both books, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[Fengyi]

I don't have the Bouchon but do have the FL, which has become a standard source for me when cooking 'for guests'. I've never whipped up something from the FL for an everyday dinner, but for those occasions when you want to do something exciting, I've always found it works.

One of the most valuable techniques I've learnt from the FL book (which I don't think anyone's discussed yet) is the way to 1/2 cook risotto the day before so that you can produce a risotto on the day itself without keeping everyone waiting for 30 minutes. That's been invaluable (even though I find the actually recipe a bit too rich and do cut down on the amount of butter and cream added at the end). Since it's a basic risotto recipe, it's a great blank canvas for adding to.

I also like TFL for inspiration - like using the cucumber-jelly with other seafood and things like smoked salmon. It's a great source for bits and bobs of information to 'lift' one's cooking.

[silverbrow]

edited to say I meant to post on Bouchon rather than TFL

Edited September 28, 2005 by silverbrow (log)

[russ parsons]

one way to think about choosing between the two is how you serve: if you plate all your guests' food at dinner parties, you may want TFL. if, like me, you serve on platters, you're probably bouchon. it's formality vs. informality, rather than "better than."

i've had great luck with recipes from both, credit for which goes to susie heller.

[Busboy]

Here's the eG Bouchon thread.

For what it's worth, if I was cooking mostly for myself I'd choose Bouchon over TFL, as the recipe's are generally at least somewhat simpler and homier, and they tend more towards things that can be eaten as leftovers. It's blue-jean cooking, while TFL tends more to formal wear.

[dockhl]

All of this input really helps me a lot. I've decided that I need BOTH LOL !

I really can imagine using Bouchon more but, after having spent 1/2 looking through TFL (B&N had an open copy---unfortunately not one of Bouchon), I can imagine not making much from it but , O! , the delight with what I DO make !

[russ parsons]

I really can imagine using Bouchon more but, after having spent 1/2 looking through TFL (B&N had an open copy---unfortunately not one of Bouchon), I can imagine not making much from it but , O!  , the delight with what I DO make !

←

i don't think i've ever cooked a complete dish from TFL, but i have used many of the elements and i find they frequently wind up becoming part of my standard repertoire (hello., sauce gribiche!).

[Busboy]

All of this input really helps me a lot. I've decided that I need BOTH    LOL !

I really can imagine using Bouchon more but, after having spent 1/2 looking through TFL (B&N had an open copy---unfortunately not one of Bouchon), I can imagine not making much from it but , O!  , the delight with what I DO make !

←

Another food porn addict snared!

[francois]

There are 2 recipes I would like to try over the weekend: Cauliflower Panna Cotta with caviar (p.22) and the salmon with a confit of oranges (p.140).

Has anyone tried any of them? How did they turn out?