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| Bouchon | 
 enlarge | Author: Thomas Keller
Publisher: Artisan
Category: Book
List Price: $50.00
Buy New: $29.00
You Save: $21.00 (42%)
New (34) Used (15) Collectible (3) from $27.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 5085
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 360
Shipping Weight (lbs): 6.1
Dimensions (in): 11.4 x 11.3 x 1.5
ISBN: 1579652395
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.5944
EAN: 9781579652395
ASIN: 1579652395
Publication Date: November 15, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 38 | | ... 8 NEXT » |
 French Home Cooking November 27, 2008
"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!
Great Gift September 19, 2008
This is a great book. It is so much more than a cookbook. I have quite a collection of cookbooks and love to read them. This one is very interesting and visually pleasing. If you are looking for a great gift for someone who enjoys food (cooking and/or eating) this is it! The French Laundry Cookbook makes a great companion to this book. Thomas Keller is a culinary genius.
Beautiful book May 20, 2008
Beautiful book with a special atmosphere and story. The format, pictures, text are really interesting and worth to see and read.
 nice watch - shame about the book design January 27, 2008
6 out of 24 found this review helpful
My immediate reaction on unpacking this was 'yuck'. This is the book equivalent of a roast chicken with little paper toques on the legs - the target audience looks to be the sort of people who enjoy reading in-flight magazines, and who store the major part of their libraries under the coffee table. This first reaction was immediately reinforced by sentences that told me things like that 'a good quiche is like sex' (or maybe 'a quiche is like good sex' - I'm not sure, I quote from memory), and a general impression that Keller is to Bistro food what Marie-Antoinette was to cheese making.
Nevertheless, if you can muscle your way past the gag reflex, there are a healthy number of good ideas and recipes here within a coherent (if somewhat Baroque) framing perspective.
In summary, technical content is actually very good, but I won't be filing it beside Elizabeth David, where people can see it.
One other thing - does Keller have a watch endorsement deal? A large chunk of expensive looking (but not actually identifiable) steel is on display on his wrist in many of the pictures - I don't think I have ever seen a watch on a chef's wrist before in technique photos, never mind displayed so prominently).
Note added (31.05.08) W.r.t. watches, it appears Keller is just ahead of the curve: I just got Heston Blumenthal's two 'Perfection' books in the mail, and he also sports a large chunk of mechanical timepiece. Blumenthal's books are infinitely more attractive than Keller's - if nothing else, Blumenthal has a well-developed sense of irony, something Keller appears completely to lack.
Excellent gift January 7, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This was bought as a gift. Rarely do you get a chance to give a gift that keeps on giving. In addition, it shows careful thought. The recipes outlined in the book can be accomplished and make the "chef" who cooks them a star. So the giver is one too!!!
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