Attempting to Learn from a Culinary Giant
That the New York Times would have a feature article on Thomas Keller is no surprise. He is widely considered to be the best chef in the United States, and his flagship restaurant, the French Laundry shares that same lofty regard. When I first learned of that eatery’s eponymous cookbook, part of me wanted to give it a shot. It’s a good thing I waited; that could have been my kitchen waterloo. Trying to recreate items like the one pictured would surely have sent me back to Hamburger Helper. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)
As someone still new to cooking, I’m susceptible to false promises. Occasionally, I see a cookbook that looks like it might be the Holy Grail: detailed instructions, fancy but not too fancy, and as comprehensive as possible. When I saw Ad Hoc at Home, I thought I had nailed it. We’ve got Keller on the one hand, and “down home cooking” on the other. What could be better?
The book is now in my hands, and my initial review is mixed. I was lured in by promises of Chicken Pot Pie and Pineapple Upside Down Cake but shouldn’t have been surprised to see Braised Oxtail & Mushroom Tartine and Fig-Stuffed Roast Pork Loin. Heck, the word “verjus” comes into play three pages in. I have no idea what that is!
To get started, I’ve made an initial list of about a dozen things I’m going to try from this cookbook. I’ll need to be persistent if I’m going to make any headway. If that Chicken Pot Pie is as good as I think it’s going to be, that’s shouldn’t be a problem.
