Thomas Keller is a huge fan of spontaneous salads and invariably tops them with this creamy vinaigrette. It's inspired by his time at La Rive Restaurant in Catskill, New York; he's been making some version of it for more than 30 years. The salad itself changes constantly, based on what's in the French Laundry garden or at the market; make it with the best fresh vegetables you can get. If you don't want to eat raw egg, the dressing is easily made without the yolk. Slideshow: More Summer Salads
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Keller’s trick for yielding extra-flavorful meat is seasoning the roast a day in advance: The lamb takes on the aroma of garlic and thyme as well as a subtle heat from piment d’Espelette, a smoky, mildly spicy ground pepper. Slideshow: More Lamb Recipes Recipe from Food & Wine Best New Chefs All-Star Cookbook
At the French Laundry, we use an awful lot of butter without serving a lot of butter because of a method and substance called beurre monté—a way of infusing meats and fish with the flavor of butter. We cook in it, rest meats in it, make sauces with it. It's an extraordinary vehicle for both heat and flavor. Here's what beurre monté is: a few drops of water and chunks of butter whisked over a moderate heat to melt the butter and keep it emulsified, in one piece and creamy. Solid butter is an emulsification of butter fat, water, and milk solids; beurre monté is a way to manipulate the emulsification into liquid form. Thomas Keller: Salt and Seasoning Delicious, Quick Side Dishes
"I don't care if you're sophisticated, with a boatload of money," says Thomas Keller, "roasted chicken makes you feel wonderful." Cooking a whole chicken on the grill can be tricky, but Keller has perfected a method that uses indirect heat; he adds rosemary sprigs to the coals to infuse the smoke and flavor the chicken. Amazing Chicken Recipes
These potatoes from Ad Hoc have a wonderfully fluffy texture because they're passed through a ricer or food mill to make them especially airy. But they're also nicely rich, thanks to generous amounts of butter and heavy cream. More Mashed Potato Recipes
Chef Way Thomas Keller's salmon cornets (tuiles shaped into tiny cones and topped with crème fraîche and fresh salmon) are a famous kickoff to his luxe and whimsical meals. The original recipe appears in The French Laundry Cookbook (Artisan).Easy Way Shaping the tuiles into cones is tricky and involves working very quickly with a cornet mold. Instead, leave the tuiles flat, like crackers. Top them with store-bought smoked salmon and crème fraîche. More Salmon Recipes
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This super-autumnal dish offers the unusual combination of brussels sprouts and butternut squash, which generally stand on their own as side dishes. The brussels sprout leaves are savory, the chunks of squash are tender and sweet, and the fried sage garnish is pungent and crunchy. More Quick Side Dishes
Thomas Keller cooks whole fish in a salt crust to keep it moist, then serves it with a chunky zucchini-basil pistou—Provence’s version of pesto—and lemony cherry tomatoes. Slideshow: Whole Fish Recipes