The French Laundry Cookbook

Thomas Keller, chef/propietor of the French Laundry--"the most exciting place to eat in the United States," writes Ruth Reichl in The New York Times--is a wizard, a purist, a man obsessed with getting it right. His flavors have clarity and intensity. His methods dazzle. Every mouthful is an explosion of taste. This cookbook, Keller's first, is as satisfying as a French Laundry meal, a series of small, highly refined, intensely focused courses. One hundred fifty recipes and more than two hundred photographs capture the impact of this extraordinary food. Keller's wit and whimsy find expression in unique recipes (and titles) such as lobster-filled crOpes with a carrot emulsion sauce, topped with a pea shoot salad dressed lightly with lemon-infused oil ("Peas and Carrots"), or sautTed monkfish tail with braised oxtails, salsify, and cOpes ("Surf and Turf"). This is a book to cook from, to learn from, to savor.