Thomas Keller Dinner

OK, yesterday was my birthday, and with my neighbors we put together a "Keller Meal." Nearly every dish was from the French Laundry Cookbook, the dessert came from the Bouchon Cookbook. THAT was not a bad idea at all. It was tons of work but a spectacular occasion, and I enjoy providing the exact wines needed from my cellar. Twelve people.

Gravlax (Peter)

Cheeses (Lily et al.)

Bacon and Eggs (Frank)

Oysters and Pearls (Susan)

Chestnut Agnolotti (Susan)

Whipped Brie (Frank)

Fish and Chips (Susan)

Pot au Feu (Frank)

Bibb Lettuce (Ginny)

Vanilla Macarons (Louise)

For the "Bacon and Eggs" -- I don't have a mandoline (I have tried them and don't much like them) so I had to produce a beautiful Brunoise the old fashioned way, with a knife, a cutting board, a carrot, a turnip, and a leek. If you don't know what Brunoise is, basically it's like tiny confetti, except, like salt, when you look at it closely, it is composed of 10,000 little perfect cubes. It's demanding and it probably took me more than an hour to produce enough Brunoise. I put the raw cubes into a mesh tea strainer and lowered it into boiling water for a couple of minutes to cook it.

The pack I got from the Chinese grocery contained 18 quail eggs, so I prepared 14 of them, meaning I had 2 left over this morning, resting in the butter and brunoise. I decided, "WHY don't I just put this into a dish and cook it in the microwave??" Can anyone predict the result?

NOT ONLY did both eggs explode with loud pops in a matter of seconds, BUT ALSO the interior of my microwave was suddenly very thoroughly decorated with Brunoise confetti, adhering to the ceiling, back, and walls thanks to the melted butter. And what was left of all that hard work making the Brunoise had suddenly been turned simply into a mess that had to be cleaned up. I felt really dumb.

F

In a much earlier post, I recalled how I tried "hard-boiling" a number of eggs in a microwave. It was like hand grenades going off, showering shrapnel everywhere. My advice: don't do that.

Actually, I cook eggs in the microwave two different ways.
Scrambled: whisk the eggs (I've done as many as 18 at a time) in a pyrex bowl with milk, salt and pepper. Cook on high until the outsides start to solidify. Remove from the microwave, whisk again and microwave on high again until the outsides start to solidify. Repeat as necessary until there is only a bit of liquid in the middle. Whisk and serve.
Poached: I have a device specifically designed for this, but I'm sure microwave safe cups and saucers could work (Corelle?). Place a small pat of butter in each of 2 cups. Microwave for 15 seconds to melt the butter. Add 1 egg to each cup, and using the shell, poke a hole in the yolk. Cover each cup with a saucer and microwave both cups for 45 seconds. Allow to sit for about 1 minute and serve over buttered toast.

Howie:

The intact yolk appears to be the root of the problem.

Good to know that there are other ways to use the m-wave effectively!

Larry:

I have to be better about reading all the topics here, obviously!

F

Howie:

The intact yolk appears to be the root of the problem.

Actually, I made the poached yesterday using the microwave egg poacher I got from my mother. It's like this: http://www.epinions.com/reviews/NORDIC_WARE_2_Cup_Microwave_Egg_Poacher. Some of the reviews on that page are negative, but I think it's because they are cooking them too long.

[Jenise]

What a gorgeous menu, Frank. I was thinking about your pot-au-feu-to-be last weekend when I prepared a dish that presumes one has leftover beef ala pot-au-feu at the ready, which I didn't, I just prepped the beef especially for it. Next time, I should take a page from your book and go the whole Keller enchilada. Happy Birthday, by the way.

I have made a website with all my pictures of the "Pot au Feu" prep, and my pictures of most of the dishes.

For "chickens" who are scared to attempt Keller recipes, the Bibb Lettuce salad is not hard if you can find the ingredients. Chervil is a little rough in some areas, but not a required ingredient. And you may have to use Boston lettuce instead of the true Bibb. But the dish will still work. If you can find quail eggs (look in Asian markets) the "Bacon and Eggs" recipe is pretty simple.

http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~deis/kell.html

Frank

This sounds like a blast, but I'm not sure I can find a group of friends willing to take on the Keller recipes. Must be a fun group there, Frank!

Well, Mike, my point was that it's good to try one of these recipes and then another.

If people experiment and get a little experience, it makes an elaborate dinner like this possible.

In fact having one or two Keller dishes is lots of fun, having a whole dinner is a little overwhelming.

Well, it was also great fun.

F