The French Laundry Cookbook (SIGNED)

I cooked some of his recipes and they tasted amazing! I am not a good cook so it didn't look good as pictured in the book but I was surprised how it came out so well like a Michelin star restaurant quality! It takes time to prepare and cook like a whole weekend project but each step is simple and well described. I now understand why the restaurant is so expensive and will appreciate more when I have a chance to eat there (if I happen to be able to make a reservation). Here are the menus I have tried and came out really good:Canapés:* Sabayon of Perl Tapioca with Malpeque Oysters and Ostra Caviar I used different kind of oyster and didn't use caviar but still good!* "Linguine with White Clam Sauce I bought fresh pasta instead of making by myself. Garlic sauce was amazing!* Creamy Maine Lobster Broth The best way to utilize lobster body!* Blini with Roasted Sweet Peppers and Eggplant Caviar I never liked peppers and eggplant so much!Fish:* Sautéed Cod with Cod Cakes and Parsley Oil I especially liked the cod cakes.* Red Mullet with Palette d'Ail Doux and Garlic Chips I couldn't get red mullet so used different white fish instead. The garlic & egg palette was amazing!Meat:* Braised Prime Beef Short Ribs with Root Vegetables and Sautéed Bone Marrow Braised prime beef only can be a really good meal!Dessert:* Cream of Walnut Soup This was quick to make and tasted amazing!* Lemon Sabayon I used almond instead but still good.

I purchased this cookbook for my husband as a birthday gift. He loves to cook--especially when it comes to trying new techniques and dishes. He mentioned that he wanted this book, but in the regular bookstore it was $50+. Once I saw that Amazon had it discounted, I decided it would be a good idea to purchase it for his birthday that was coming in a few weeks. He has already enjoyed using it and learning about the techniques of French cooking. I've benefited from it, too, because I get to try the yummy stuff he's making! Overall, great purchase for someone who really enjoys cooking and learning some of the science behind it, too.

Got this for a friend for her bday and we both loved it. Great recipes and can also be used as a nice coffee table book because the pictures are beautiful and lots to read about. Great gift for the cost. Highly recommend for a chef or just for a normal cook that would love to visit The French Laundry one day!

I have never met Mr. Keller but after visiting a few of his restaurants I have a feeling I did. There is that much personality infused in everything you are served. I gave this book to two of my friends - a restaurant owner and a chef - and they literally worn their copies out.

I agree with other reviewers that the recipes are complicated and time-consuming, but you can apply Chef Keller's concept - small, delicious bites, served in eye-appealing layers - using your own recipes, or you can adapt his to make them simpler. I'm making his lobster broth using my own homegrown crawdads (cheaper by far) and am now serving homemade ice cream on a homemade shortbread cookie, in two complimentary layers, with a scoop of vanilla cradling a spoonful of black sesame/vanilla, topped with black sesame seeds and a mint leaf. My future cooking is going taste and look extra exciting because of The French Laundry Cookbook. Thanks Chef Keller!!! Lynne Farr, author of Off The Grid: What's Cookin'?

Lovely book with recipes that you can actually make that tastes good. A worth while add to your cook book collection for those of you looking for something to cook from instead of just being a coffee table dust collector.

This book is just a pleasure to read--lovely photographs and beautifully written about Thomas Keller's journey to becoming a chef. It's filled with the tips and wisdom that come from experience about how to get the most out of your food preparation/cooking.

The easiest way to put this book into it's unique perspective is with an amusing metaphor. This is the sort of book that hardcore foodies and regular line chefs alike read in the same way that a horny teenage boy will oogle a drop-dead gorgeous penthouse centerfold ... the essential experience is one of vicarious (but maddeningly indirect) communion with utterly impractical & unnattainable perfection.The recipes that Thomas Keller creates & serves at The French Laundry in Napa Valley California (which is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest restaurant experiences in America) simply cannot be made at home, or even in 95% of most restaurants, without the aid of a top-flight fully staffed "brigade system" of supporting chefs, along with a commitment to using nothing but the absolute best and freshest high-end ingredients available, without regard to labor or cost.The average chef, hardcore or not, simply doesnt keep (for example) a speed rack of 12 varieties of freshly made herb oils, 12-15 varieties of freshly made and perfectly clarified and reduced demi-glaces of assorted wild game, veal, beef, and lobster on hand ... and that's just for sauce bases and garnishes. Even the simpler recipes with relatively few ingredients are all difficult, if not impossible to make, without 'brigade' support, because the ingredients required aren't commonly available (or are of insufficient quality/freshness), and require skills and/or time commitments that are beyond one's ability, impractical, or both. And even if you DO succeed in making a given dish, the essence of 'amuse bouche' is to enjoy only a tiny portion (a mere 1-2 bites) before palate fatigue can mute the expience.Like I said ... most home chefs arent going to expend copious manhours making a dish that you're only supposed to have 1-2 worshipful tastes of.So, this is a book that you read because you want to commune, in some small way, with the mindset and spirit of the man who authored it ... and Thomas Keller is all about the quest for brief moments of sublime perfection. He will stop at nothing to attain the perfect taste experience. That's what "amuse bouche" (small 1 bite appetizers) are all about.It's a humbling experience to buy and avariciously savor, from cover to cover, an entire cookbook, and STILL know that it's unlikey that you'd ever be able to do justice to even a tiny handful of the recipes described within.Very highly recommended ... but also wildly impractical for most home cooks.