Chef Thomas Keller Shares Home Cooking Tips

Thomas Keller's latest book focuses on family-style dishes.

If there’s one man who knows how to make people feel at home at a party it’s Thomas Keller, the superstar chef of French Laundry fame. At the recent opening night party for Bouchon, his long-anticipated bistro outpost in Beverly Hills, the crowd — a mix of press, friends and celebs, including Jay Leno and Julia Louis-Dreyfus — were purring like kittens at a fish market.

For starters, the moment they walked into the gleaming dining space, everyone was greeted with a glass of champagne, which they sipped while nibbling on charcuterie and tastes from the raw bar. And, much like a convivial house party, the action then moved into the kitchen, where we munched on mini BLTs, tiny cups of squash soup, cod fritters, paper cones filled with beautifully crisped french fries and, for dessert, towers of macaroons and the restaurant’s signature chocolate bouchons. The parting seduction: We were invited to help shape baguettes and given a freshly baked bread to take home.

So it’s fitting that Keller’s new cookbook, Ad Hoc at Home (Artisan, 2009), focuses on family-style recipes. The book is gorgeous enough to keep on your coffee table but so useful you won’t want it to leave the kitchen. Here, just in time for all of you who will be preparing Thanksgiving feasts, are a few of our favorite tips from the book:

• Take advantage of pan-roasting. This is a combination of sautéing and roasting, and requires the use of a frying pan with an ovenproof handle. Sautéing sears the exterior of your favorite veggies while the ambient heat of the oven cooks the food uniformly. Plus, finishing in the oven frees up the stovetop for other dishes.
• Season from on high. When you hold your saltshaker right over the food, the seasoning winds up concentrated in a smaller area. Holding the shaker a few feet above ensures more even distribution.
• Temper your meat. If you transfer meat straight from the refrigerator to a hot oven, there’s no way it will cook evenly. A whole turkey, for example, should sit at room temperature for at least one hour before cooking. When you take it out of the oven, allow it to rest for 20 minutes to allow for carryover cooking and redistribution of juices.
• Layer salads. Serve salads that feature several components in a shallow platter, so guests can easily sample all of the ingredients. Think about weight as you assemble the salad, saving lighter items, such as pine nuts, for the top.
• Make your own pie crust. This will allow you to choose the type of fat you want to use as your shortening, whether it’s butter for a dessert pie or lard for a savory dish. Mix by hand to avoid overworking the dough — this is the secret to a crispy, flaky crust.

One lucky VIV Says reader will win a copy of Ad Hoc at Home (a $50 value!). For your chance to win, click here. And tell us: What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?

Tags: Ad hoc, Beverly Hills, Bouchon, Chef, Food and drink, Home, Hospitality/Recreation, Human Interest, Jay Leno, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Macaroon, Thanksgiving, Thomas Keller, USD