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Ad Hoc at Home
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Description
Thomas Keller shares family-style recipes this you can do any or each day.

In the book each home cook has been waiting for, the revered Thomas Keller turns his imagination to the American luxury foods closest to his heart—flaky biscuits, chicken pot pies, New England clam bakes, and cherry pies so delicious and redolent of childhood this they provide Proust's madeleines a run for their money. Keller, whose restaurants The French Laundry in Yountville, California, and Per Se in New York have revolutionized American haute cuisine, is equally adept at turning out simpler fare.

In Ad Hoc at Home—a cookbook inspired by the menu of his casual restaurant Ad Hoc in Yountville—he showcases extra than 200 recipes for family-style meals. This is Keller at his much playful, providing up such truck-stop classics as Potato Hash together with Bacon and Melted Onions and grilled-cheese sandwiches, and heartier fare counting beef Stroganoff and roasted spring leg of lamb. In fun, full-color photographs, the excellent chef provides step-by-step lessons in kitchen basics— here is Keller teaching how to completely form a basic hamburger, truss a chicken, or dress a salad. Excellent of all, where Keller’s previous excellent-selling cookbooks were for the ambitious complex cook, Ad Hoc at Home is filled together with quicker and easier recipes this will be embraced by together kitchen novices and extra experienced cooks who would like the ultimate recipes for American luxury-food classics.
Amazon Excellent Books of the Month, November 2009: You don't often see the name Thomas Keller mixed together with words like "accessible" or "home cook," but together with Ad Hoc at Home, the prize-winning chef presents a collection of recipes destined for the center of the table at casual family gatherings. Don't throw away your whole notion of "fast and simple," though, as this is still a casual cookbook filtered throughout the genius intellect of the man behind The French Laundry Cookbook, but the sense of whimsy and the pure joy of Keller doing his version of luxury food proves irresistible. The inspiration for his restaurant Ad Hoc was the neat family meals created and served by the staff at his restaurants. As he says in the introduction, "here is food meant to be served from big bowls and platters passed hand to hand at the table." And together with dishes like Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, who's going to argue together with this? --Brad Thomas Parsons


From Ad Hoc at Home: Buttermilk Fried Chicken

If there's a better fried chicken, I haven't tasted it. First, and critically, the chicken is brined for 12 hours in a herb-lemon brine, which seasons the meat and helps it stay juicy. The flour is seasoned together with garlic and onion powders, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper. The chicken is dredged in the seasoned flour, dipped in buttermilk, and then dredged again in the flour. The crust becomes nearly feathered and is very crisp. Fried chicken is a excellent American tradition this’s fallen out of favor. A taste of this, and you will would like it back in your weekly routine. --Thomas Keller

Ingredients
(Serves 4-6)

  • Two 2 1/2- to 3-pound chickens (see Note on Chicken Size)
  • Chicken Brine (recipe follows), cold


    • For Dredging and Frying
  • Peanut or canola oil for deep-frying
  • 1 quart buttermilk
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


    • Coating
  • 6 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup garlic powder
  • 1/4 cup onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon in addition 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon in addition 1 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 tablespoon in addition 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Ground fleur de sel or fine sea salt
  • Rosemary and thyme sprigs for garnish

Directions

Cut every chicken into 10 pieces: 2 legs, 2 thighs, 4 breast quarters, and 2 wings. Pour the brine into a container large enough to hold the chicken pieces, add in the chicken, and refrigerate for 12 hours (no longer, or the chicken may become too salty).

Shunt the chicken from the brine (discard the brine) and rinse under cold water, removing any herbs or spices sticking to the skin. Pat dry together with paper towels, or let air-dry. Let rest at room temperature for 1-1/2 hours, or until it comes to room temperature.

If you have two large pots (concerning 6 inches deep) and a lot of oil, you can cook the dark and white meat at the same time; if not, cook the dark meat first, then turn up the heat and cook the white meat. No matter what size pot you have, the oil should not come extra than one-third of the way up the sides of the pot. Fill up the pot together with at least 2 inches of peanut oil and heat to 320°F. Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet. Line a second baking sheet together with parchment paper.

Meanwhile, combine all the coating ingredients in a large bowl. Transport half the coating to a second large bowl. Pour the buttermilk into a third bowl and season together with salt and pepper. Set up a dipping station: the chicken pieces, one bowl of coating, the bowl of buttermilk, the second bowl of coating, and the parchment-lined baking sheet.

Just before frying, dip the chicken thighs into the first bowl of coating, turning to coat and patting off the excess; dip them into the buttermilk, allowing the excess to run back into the bowl; then dip them into the second bowl of coating. Transport to the parchment-lined pan.

Carefully lower the thighs into the hot oil. Change the heat as essential to return the oil to the proper temperature. Fry for 2 minutes, then carefully move the chicken pieces all-around in the oil and continue to fry, monitoring the oil temperature and turning the pieces as essential for even cooking, for 11 to 12 minutes, until the chicken is a deep golden brown, cooked throughout, and very crisp. Meanwhile, coat the chicken drumsticks and transport to the parchment-lined baking sheet.

Transport the cooked thighs to the cooling rack skin-side-up and let rest while you fry the remaining chicken. (Putting the pieces skin-side-up will agree to excess fat to drain, whereas leaving them skin-side-down could trap some of the fat.) Do sure this the oil is at the correct temperature, and cook the chicken drumsticks. When the drumsticks are done, lean them meat-side-up against the thighs to drain, then sprinkle the chicken together with fine sea salt.

Turn up the heat and heat the oil to 340°F. Meanwhile, coat the chicken breasts and wings. Carefully lower the chicken breasts into the hot oil and fry for 7 minutes, or until golden brown, cooked throughout, and crisp. Transport to the rack, sprinkle together with salt, and turn skin side up. Cook the wings for 6 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked throughout. Transport the wings to the rack and turn off the heat. Arrange the chicken on a providing platter. Add the herb sprigs to the oil (which will still be hot) and let them cook and crisp for a few seconds, then arrange them over the chicken.

Note on Chicken Size: You may want to go to a farmers' market to get these small chickens. Grocery store chickens often run 3 to 4 pounds. They can, of course, be used in this recipe but if chickens in the 2-1/2- to 3-pound range are available to you, they're worth seeking out. They’re a little easier to cook properly at the temperatures we recommend here and, much important, pieces this size outcome in the best meat-to-crust proportion, which is such an important part of the pleasure of fried chicken.

Note: We let the chicken rest for 7 to 10 minutes afterwards it comes out of the fryer so this it has a chance to cool down. If the chicken has rested for longer than 10 minutes, put the tray of chicken in a 400°F oven for a minute or two to ensure this the crust is crisp and the chicken is hot.

Chicken Brine
Makes 2 gallons
  • 5 lemons, halved
  • 24 bay leaves
  • 1 bunch (4 ounces) flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 bunch (1 ounce) thyme
  • 1/2 cup clover honey
  • 1 head garlic, halved throughout the equator
  • 3/4 cup black peppercorns
  • 2 cups (10 ounces) kosher salt, preferably Diamond Crystal
  • 2 gallons water

The key ingredient here is the lemon, which goes wonderfully together with chicken, as do the herbs: bay leaf, parsley, and thyme. This amount of brine will be enough for 10 pounds.

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, cover, and get to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the salt. Shunt from the heat and cool fully, then chill before utilizing. The brine can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Customer Reviews
Customer rating is 5 of 5  Delicious, accessible food   2010-03-16
By Ashley Grosvenor (Menlo Park, CA)
I bought this book just because of Mr. Keller's reputation. I have two of his other books (The French Laundry Cookbook and Bouchon, which while full of delicious recipes, are hard to use on a regular night. My husband and I have enjoyed several recipes, notably the buttermilk fried chicken, which has become a regular at our house. Tonight we are having the pork ribs. The best thing about this book is that the meals can be made any night with relatively easy to find ingredients. They make our evenings special. Also, for non-uber foodies, like my mother and many of my friends, the food is not too far a reach for their palates. Excellent.
Customer rating is 5 of 5  One of the best!   2010-03-15
By C. Vincent (Rochester, NY)
Ad Hoc is easily one of the best cookbooks I have read. It does what so many other books have tried to do before it, but much better. What am I referring to? Well, it makes cooking fun! The recipes it provides are absolutely delicious AND easy. It is one of the first cookbooks I have found that takes the type of cooking you would find in a 3 Michelin star restaurant, applies it to the type of food you might have eaten in your childhood, and makes it easy for anyone to make.

Thomas Keller explains in the book that his idea for the restaurant started out as wanting just a temporary restaurant that would focus on a sort of "homecooking" like they usually served for their staff meals. His restaurant turned out to be an overwhelming success, and so it became a permanent fixture in his line of restaurants. Little did I know that it's also the type of cookbook I wanted. It helps you to become a better cook and teaches you about the meals you actually feel like cooking every day.

I own several other excellent cookbooks, and most are either beautiful to look at, but extremely difficult for the amateur chef to replicate (The French Laundry cookbook, Alinea), or are easy to replicate, but not overly exciting to the point where you actually want to make the food. This one actually accomplishes both.

In addition to the recipes you find in the book, it also discusses good equipment to have, techniques that might be beneficial, places to buy quality ingeredients, great pictures, and further recipes for staple sauces and condiments.

The book is extremely thorough, well laid-out, and keeps your interest even if you want to read through it instead of just taking advantage of the recipes. The one negative aspect of the book in my mind is that the pictures, although beautiful and plentiful, don't show everything you might want to see. I love seeing the finished products before diving into a new recipe. The provided pictures in this book cover maybe cover 1/3 of the recipes. The book is already long and I can see why they would exclude many of the pictures, but on the other hand, there are several pictures that seem to have no point at all. These could have easily been replaced with more useful pictures of the food.

Overall though, this is without a doubt a must-have. Whether you want something just to read through and admire, or something to guide you and help you create some excellent meals, Ad hoc will satisfy.
Customer rating is 5 of 5  great cookbook   2010-03-06
By cindy (pa)
I have absolutely enjoyed cooking from this book. Its detailed instructions are what work for me. Its creates successful dishes that are making cooking a fun experience.
Customer rating is 3 of 5  "Staff meals" do not make a great cookbook   2010-03-01
By Otis Maxwell (Saratoga Springs, NY)
I've worked in restaurants and understand the concept of preparing a "staff meal" in which great ingredients plus last night's leftovers are used imaginatively to make a meal for the employees. Keller explains at one point that is the inspiration for Ad Hoc and for this cookbook, and therein lies the problem.

If you have never baked or fried a chicken or brined a cut of pork, you'll find directions here. But you can find equally good and less fussy recipes in the Joy of Cooking or another more encyclopedic/basic source. Some of what's here is solid home-cooking advice, but other dishes are astonishingly high in fats. If I'm going to clog my arteries I'd rather find a more creative way to do it.

Also, hidden in the recipes are a number of specialty ingredients that make it difficult to reproduce Keller's methods without a lot of advance mail-order shopping. And while some dishes can be made "ad hoc" or on the spur of the moment, others depend on advance preparation of enhancements such as pickled vegetables or spice mixes. Actually I love Keller's pickling section and that, plus the pictures, comes close to justifying the purchase of the book. But understand what you are getting, and not.
Customer rating is 2 of 5  No Comfort Food Here   2010-02-26
By Dennis Holder (Central VA USA)

Even in Georgia, where folks know a thing or two about fried chicken, my mother's version of this Southern classic was considered exceptional. So when I taste someone else's recipe, I ask myself, "What would my mother have said about this?" I can almost hear her comment about the fried chicken in Thomas Keller's latest cookbook, ad hoc at home.

"This is very good," she would have agreed. "But it doesn't taste like fried chicken."

There in a nutshell is the problem with this cookbook and with many others from high-end restaurant masters who tackle everyday food. Their concoctions look great and taste fine, but the chefs try so hard to take each dish to a new level of sophistication that they lose essential hominess.

Take Keller's fried chicken recipe. It sparkles in a beautiful crust with good crunch and plenty of flavor. But the meat itself doesn't taste quite right. The problem is that, before cooking, Keller recommends brining chicken pieces for 12 hours in a mixture of salt, herbs, honey and a whole lot of lemon juice. Sure, the chicken turns out good and juicy, but it also acquires an odd lemony flavor that would be more at home at a Chinese take-out than in a Georgia kitchen.

Keller talks about meals from his own childhood as he introduces some of the almost-classics included here. In touting his version of chicken potpie, for example, Keller claims that he grew up eating Swanson's frozen potpies. Maybe, but he missed an important point. A potpie, whether it arrives in a Swanson's box or reaches the table fresh from a home cook's oven, needs big, meaty chunks of chicken. Shredding the chicken, as Keller suggests, simply does not work.

Another case in point: beef stroganoff. Keller claims nostalgia for an all-American version of stroganoff made with Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. I've never tried that dish and eating it ranks with seeing a purple cow among things I hope never to do. If that's what you think of as beef stroganoff, though, you'll be disappointed in Keller's dish. With lots of crimini mushrooms, scads of heavy cream and crème fraiche and homemade pappardelle as the supporting cast for blocks of braised beef short rib meat in the starring role, the chef's version of this iconic dish is exceptional. But it isn't comfort food.

I hasten to add that there is a lot to like in ad hoc at home. Instructions are clear and easy to follow. Nearly all ingredients can be found at local markets in season. Everything I tried from the book was, in its own way, delicious. The book brims with gorgeous graphics and lip-licking photos that plainly show what a finished dish should look like.

Keller also suggests techniques and tools essential to a competent cook. Learn to braise, he urges. Learn to use salt properly. Learn to make one really good soup and learn all the different ways to cook eggs. To dress a salad uniformly, oil the bowl, not the greens. Tear croutons very slowly. Don't cut them.
Over the last 20 years, a few celebrity chefs have written cookbooks that serve as excellent guides for home cooks seeking to produce the very best of old favorites. Larry Forgione did a fine job in the 1996 cookbook named for his New York City restaurant, An American Place. Food Network star Bobby Flay successfully freshened up American favorites in his work, Bobby Flay Cooks American.

Thomas Keller is, arguably, one of the finest chefs in the United States. At his original West Coast restaurant, The French Laundry, the reservation list is so jammed that it is amazing anyone ever goes there. Per Se in New York City is equally challenging. And his three previous cookbooks, especially The French Laundry Cookbook, are well worth owning. Still, I think Keller ought to leave home cooking to others.

I give ad hoc at home two stars of a possible five.


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