Bouchon
by Thomas Keller
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Book Reviews of Bouchon
Book Review: French Home Cooking
Summary: 5 Stars
"Bouchon" is Thomas Keller's everyday home cooking equivalent to his fancy "French Laundry." While the French Laundry cookbook has elaborate equivalents to everyday dishes, Bouchon goes back to the basics of French cooking. Keller teaches the basics of quiches, using the egg, and onion soup. He even describes what makes a bistro a bistro. One could be dismissive like the fictional critic Anton Ego in "Ratatouille" when he calls it a "simple peasant dish"--but with Keller,even ordinary cooking is extraordinary.
"Bouchon" is named for Keller's bistro of the same name in Yountville. It's also the name of his bakery/pastry shop that's right next door. The Bouchon bakery supplies many coffee shops in the Napa Valley, and its version of the Oreo cookie is positively divine!
"Bouchon" is sophisticated everyday French cooking. Since this is a Thomas Keller work,it's not a "30 minute meal." Its recipes are more within reach of the ordinary cook... though he does say onions need to caramelize for 5 hours to make the soup just right. Still,it's a fun,fascinating coffee table book. Bon appetit!
Book Review: Excellent book!
Summary: 4 Stars
Ah, if only I had 5 hours on my hands to caramelize onions for the onion soup (p.47-50)...
The recipes are very well written. The instructions are written in sort of a conversational manner that make it seem more like someone is standing there telling you how to do what you're doing, and less like you're reading a cookbook. I don't know that I'd have time to make many of the dishes in the book (see above re: the onion soup), but they're certainly things I'd want to try doing given the time. And, since it's written conversationally, some of the more time-consuming recipes seem more like a fun project than a daunting task.
Even if you don't use it in the kitchen, it's a beautiful book. The photos are excellent. The text is well-written and informative. My only gripe is that the publisher left out part of a recipe and stuck in a "paste this here" card. It's not a big deal, but it sort of detracts from how lovely the book is. On the other hand, nobody would get anywhere with quiche without the quiche recipe. In any case, this was one of my favorite Christmas presents this year!
Book Review: Very Amateur Cook - Very Easy Brioche Recipe
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this book for my wife at Christmas, along with its companion French Laundry. Since then I have enjoyed Keller's elegant and classic recipes, especially his Quiche Lorraine. My wife is an excellent cook having grown up around the restaurant business, but as a (very) amateur cook myself I was probably most impressed by Keller's recipe for brioche. Normally this light table bread is considered something of a challenge to make, but Keller guides you right through the process. And, in both French Laundry and Bouchon he provides you with guides to where one can find the more difficult to locate cooking tools and foods (quail eggs, duck confit, rendered duck fat, whole rabbit, and pig's trotters).
Though I did not get this book for myself, I like to think that I have been the primary beneficiary of Keller's extremely well written and beautifully illustrated cookbook - in fact, you'll find it would function equally as well as a coffee table book.
Book Review: Of course it's beautiful, but I can actually make this stuff!
Summary: 5 Stars
I expected 'Bouchon' to be inspiring and beautiful, which it is. I didn't expect it to be as useful as it's turned out to be. Keller says in the introduction, "Bouchon is about maintaining classic traditions, renewing our respect for those great dishes, holding them up to the light to understand them, in order to perfect them." I'm a bit of a foodie, though French food isn't really a specialty of mine so many of the recipes are completely new to me. The ingredient combinations are often fresh and creative, but the preparation is not overly fussy.
I'd also recommend The New Best Recipe: All-New Edition to anyone interested in classic (in this case, American) recipes perfected. If Keller's book is art, this one is science.
Book Review: WOW
Summary: 5 Stars
The first thing one notices upon taking this book out of its Amazon box is the good taste and care that were put into the production. The thoughtfulness of the layouts, quality of the printing, and abundance of photo-illustrated explanations speak volumes about the quality of the content you'll find inside.
I've made two recipes from the book so far... I've been making Keller's 'simple roast chicken' for years, and made the Trout with Capers and Lemon out of the book last night. Both were resounding successes. I can't wait to try the rest.
I've generally used cookbooks in the manner of dictionaries... as spot references. This is one of the first that I actually want to read from cover to cover.
An excellent tome by Chef Keller. 5 well deserved stars.
-Vadim