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Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller

    Notes about this Book

    • ericam on February 13, 2011

      I agree with slowfoodie, I made the wedge salad one night and found that I for this recipe alone, I had to make oven-dried tomatoes, make the croutons, crisp the bacon and make the dressing, so about an hour for a salad. This happens with a lot of recipes I've encountered though, not just in this book. I'd recommend if you need one of pre-made recipes, check for other recipes in the book using those items, make the make-ahead items on your day off and use them throughout the week. But this book is pretty great for comfort food and is 10x easier than the French Laundry cookbook.

    • slowfoodie on August 21, 2010

      Excellent recipes. The only drawbacks with this book are that many of the recipes call for pre-made condiments (recipes given), specialty ingredients and/or things to do a day ahead. If you have the time to deal with those requirements this is a top-notch book and the results are worth the effort.

    • memagee on January 14, 2010

      As usual Thomas is very thorough.

    Notes about Recipes in this Book

    • Sautéed shrimp with garlic

      • hbroad on June 11, 2010

        Delicious, fast and easy.

    • Curried cauliflower-chickpea salad

      • nickdavis on June 23, 2010

        I had to substitute romaine for the endive, as I needed to scale the recipe for 80 and could not find a good local source. Very good recipe.

    • Buttermilk fried chicken

      • slowfoodie on August 23, 2010

        Brine makes the chicken salty. It's seasoned perfectly, but has a little too much salt when trying to restrict salt intake. Try slightly less salt in the brine.

      • mceuen on February 11, 2012

        I made this for friends and we all thought it was delicious. I made the brine ahead of time and let it sit in the fridge for a day before I added the chicken. I strained out most of the solids before adding the brine to the chicken, and it only sat in the brine for 8 hours instead of the recommended 12. The quality of the final result didn't seem to suffer because of this.

    • Garlic confit and oil

      • okcook on August 31, 2010

        Oh my goodness, are these ever good. I have a jar in the fridge and use them all the time. Used them for a garlic mayonnaise to go on our hamburger, yummy.

    • Blue cheese dressing

      • okcook on August 31, 2010

        This dressing has a very nice balance of flavours. I made it with my homemade mayonnaise.

    • Duck confit

      • okcook on August 31, 2010

        Very easy to make and the herbs add a nice touch. To clarify the duck fat after use, heat to 250 and let it bubble until you hear no more sizzling. This means you have driven off all the moisture. Strain and save the drippings in the bottom the pot.

    • Porterhouse steak with herb and shallot butter

      • okcook on August 31, 2010

        The herb and shallot butter is very good. Keep it in the freezer for your next steak.

    • Chocolate chip cookies

      • okcook on August 31, 2010

        The different types of chocolate is interesting

    • Sautéed red and green cabbage

      • okcook on August 31, 2010

        It tasted good but the presentation was not very appealing.

    • Sun gold tomato gazpacho

      • bgood on September 02, 2010

        Very bright, alive flavours

    • Summer vegetable gratin

      • Cheri on September 05, 2010

        Skipped the eggplant. Made in oval cassarole dish. 1st sauted onions and garlic, then layer of squash (green and yellow), then layer of tomatoes (romas) then one more layer of squash, finish with bread crumbs. Guests LOVED it. Nice flavor balance. Does take 1.5 hours to bake.

    • Buttermilk biscuits

      • britt on September 24, 2010

        These are good and, this may be blasphemy, remind me of Popeyes' biscuits. They didn't keep past the first day.

    • Tomato and handmade mozzarella salad

      • cafrin629 on October 09, 2010

        I'll admit I didn't make the mozzarella, bought burrata, but this was a wonderful salad to make at the peak of tomato season.

    • Buttered farro

      • bgood on November 08, 2010

        Depending on farro you'll probably need to cook it longer than the recipe

    • Split pea soup with ham hock, fresh peas, and mint

      • Cheri on December 18, 2010

        this was good. Took much longer to cook - 2+ hours after split peas were added. Used frozen green peas. Mint is very nice touch. Richard was not crazy about this one

    • Pan-roasted halibut

      • owaint on May 20, 2011

        With good quality fish this is truly delicious. A very simple recipe but the timings used give a beautiful golden crust with perfectly cooked inner meat. It works just as well with skin-on fillets as it does with the skinless ones shown in the book. In fact, using the skin side for most of the cooking gives a great textural/flavour boost. For nice thick pieces of fish, plenty of salt before cooking is a good idea. The recipe doesn't mention it but DON'T use a non-stick pan, plain steel is perfect and will give a much better crust. Just be patient and, when it's time to turn the fish, gently loosen it first by shaking the pan while supporting the fish - it will come away nicely and have deep golden crust that you'd never get in a Teflon pan. The Mushroom and peashoot side is perfect with it (though both benefit from a little acid - lemon for the fish and a good vinegar for the mushrooms - to pep them up).

      • Eydie on July 05, 2011

        Thomas Keller is a great teacher, and the technique he uses to cook the halibut is genius. I've used the exact same technique on many types of fish, just decreasing the amount of searing depending on the thickness of the fish. I loved the Chanterelles and pea shoots as a side, as well as the asparagus with tomato bacon stew.

    • Fig and balsamic jam

      • vinochic on August 23, 2011

        Easy to make and delicious. Great with cheese!

    • Brownies

      • usingSpoons on September 04, 2011

        This recipe calls for 61 to 64% dark chocolate, not milk couverture chocolate as it says in the tags to this entry. This is cut up for chips, and cocoa is used for the brownie batter.

    • Beef stroganoff

      • Breadcrumbs on September 10, 2011

        p. 42 - While I'd never turn down an opportunity to dine as any of TK's restaurants, I've come to the conclusion I'm not a huge fan of his cookbooks. Every time an enticing recipe appears in an EYB search, inevitably I pull the book from the shelf only to read the recipe and get totally frustrated by overly-complex process to make it. This recipe is no exception. While the ingredient list was relatively short and, seemed promising, I pulled the book only to find that before you can even make this dish, you first must prepare TK's Braised Beef Short Ribs recipe that spans pgs 41 and 42. Thanks but no thanks TK. While we do love beef stroganoff, we'll be living vicariously through others experiences in making this version!!

      • Trackypup on December 03, 2011

        Unbelievably good. Definitely a day off or weekend meal as it does take time but I can't imagine a better Beef Stroganoff recipe. I braised a bunch of beef so the rest will be used for meat pies in the week with the braising liquid. Highly recommend.

    • Buttermilk dressing

      • bgood on November 26, 2011

        The aioli base is fantastic Converts to a blue cheese dressing just great for his Waldorf variation

    • Farro and black rice with roasted autumn squash

      • Jane on December 06, 2011

        This discovery was one of those times "I have these ingredients for Sunday night supper and what recipe can I find". Although I didn't have everything in Keller's ingredient list - only one type of squash (delicata), no dandelion greens and pancetta rather than applewood smoked bacon - it worked really well. It looked pretty with the brown farro, black rice and orange squash. The mix of texture and flavors was good, the mustard dressing gave it some zing.

    • Sautéed chicken breasts with tarragon

      • Trackypup on December 19, 2011

        Very good. You wouldn't in a million years think the chicken had been marinated in curry. I mixed the breasts in the curry/paprika mix in the am for dinner that night. Nice quick, easy meal.

    • Creamed baby spinach

      • DJM on January 13, 2012

        Unlike any other creamed spinach. Onions, shallots, Comte cheese. Exceptional recipe.

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    Reviews about this Book

    • Kate Cooks the Books

      Almost every recipe in this book called out to me to be made, and that is why I will buy the book and why I’m recommending it. A cookbook that leaves you wanting more is a keeper.

      Full review

    Reviews about Recipes in this Book

    • ISBN 10 1579653774
    • ISBN 13 9781579653774
    • Linked ISBNs
    • Published Oct 07 2009
    • Format Hardcover
    • Language English
    • Countries United States
    • Publisher Artisan
    • Imprint Artisan Division of Workman Publishing

    Publishers Text

    Keller showcases dishes that can be made every day (and not just for special occasions). Invaluable lessons, secrets, tips and tricks - as well as charming personal anecdotes - accompany recipes for such classics as the best fried chicken, beef Stroganoff, roasted spring leg of lamb, hamburger, the crispiest fried fish, chicken soup with dumplings, potato hash with bacon and melted onions, and superlative grilled cheese sandwiches, apple fritters, buttermilk biscuits, relishes and pickles, cherry pie - 200 recipes in all.

    Thomas Keller received yet another James Beard Award in 2006 (this time for Outstanding Restaurateur), and is the only American-born chef to have two three-starred Michelin restaurants. His restaurants are The French Laundry, Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery, and Ad Hoc, all in Yountville, California, as well as Bouchon in Las Vegas, and per se in Manhattan.

    Other cookbooks by this author

    Ad Hoc at Home

    Member Rating

    Average rating of 5 by 17 people

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