Keller - Ad Hoc at Home

Also by Thomas Keller

The French Laundry Cookbook

With Susie Heller and Michael Ruhlman

Bouchon

With Jeffrey Cerciello, along with Susie Heller and Michael Ruhlman

Under Pressure

With Jonathan Benno, Corey Lee, and Sebastien Rouxel,
along with Susie Heller, Michael Ruhlman, and Amy Vogler

Bouchon Bakery

With Susie Heller, Matthew McDonal, Michael Ruhlman and Amy Vogler

ad hoc at home

Thomas Keller with Dave Cruz

Along with Susie Heller, Michael Ruhlman, and Amy Vogler

Photographs by Deborah Jones

To my brother Joseph, who in the beginning patiently taught, influenced, and helped shape my career. I am forever grateful for his guidance and love.

Thomas Keller

To Sarah, Hendrix, and Jaxon for their unending support, to Mom for her strength, to the cooks and staff of Ad Hoc, whose belief in this work makes our restaurant truly special. and in memory of my father, whom Ill miss greatly.

Dave Cruz

To my mother and her mother for teaching me the joys of cooking and sharing, to my close friends and mentors Julia, Jacques, and Thomas for the love and support that developed my passion into my profession, and to Tom, Adam, and Lauren for all the love and encouragement I could ever dream of.

Susie Heller

To my mom, Carole, who taught me fearless improvisation in the kitchen, and to my love, Donna, who keeps me cooking.

Michael Ruhlman

It delights me to offer here a big collection of family meals and everyday staples, delicious approachable food, recipes that are doable at home. No immersion circulator required. No complicated garnishes. I promise!

Here is food meant to be served from big bowls and platters passed hand to hand at the tablehearty soups and vegetable salads, potato hash with bacon and onions, braised short ribs, chicken potpie, peaches and cream, and pineapple upside-down cake. This is the food I love to sit down to with my family and friends. Its food that makes you feel good.

The pace of life today is so quick, and we often feel so rushed and disconnected from one another, as well as from the sources of our food, that its easy to forget how powerful the ritual of eating together can be. To be able to sit around the table, passing food, sharing stories of the day, with the sense that for an hour or so, the outside world can be set aside, is a gift to embrace. Some days life is sweet, other days life can be hard, but the one thing we can always strive to do, is to partake of the comfort and pleasure of sharing a meal with those we hold dear.

Shortly after we set out to write this book, my father died. I was very lucky to have had him just next door to me during the last years of his life and to be able to cook for him. I cooked his last meal, and we shared it together. I remember it happily: his favorite, barbecued chicken with mashed potatoes and braised collard greens. I remember the collard greens especially because I hadnt originally intended to serve them. But when I saw them in the grocery store, they were so big and vivid, I felt compelled to choose them. It was spring, and the first strawberries were in season, so I made strawberry shortcake. It was a good dinner. And now I am unspeakably grateful to have made itthat dinner remains important to me. And so does the food wefriends and familywould have in the following days, brought together in grief, comforted by food.

When we eat together, when we set out to do so deliberately, life is better, no matter your circumstances. Whether its a sad or difficult time, whether its an ordinary-seeming day, or whether its a time of celebration, our lives are enriched when we share meals together.

And thats what the food in this book is all about.

barbecued chicken with mashed potatoes and collard greens, followed by strawberry shortcake

Bacon (about 4 ounces slab bacon, or lardons, or strips)

About 2 pounds collard greens

Unsalted butter (youll need at least a stick), at room temperature

Kosher salt

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes

1 pound strawberries

Sugar

1 to 2 teaspoons Grand Marnier (optional)

One 3- to 4-pound chicken

cup half-and-half

1 cup heavy cream

teaspoon vanilla extract

cup barbecue sauce (try to find a sauce with some integrity, preferably from a small producer)

4 shortcake rounds

An hour before you want to eat, preheat the oven to 325F. If youre grilling over coals, start the fire then too; if youre grilling over propane, know that youll begin the chicken about a half hour after you start cooking, and preheat the grill () so it is hot when youre ready to put your chicken on.

Put the bacon in a heavy Dutch oven and set it over medium heat to begin rendering the fat. If you want to serve the bacon with the greens, cut it into lardons; I just wanted the bacon flavor, so I left it whole.

Remove the stems from the collards and discard them. Tear the leaves into large pieces. Wash them in cold water and dry them (use a salad spinner).

Add a couple of tablespoons of butter to the Dutch oven. Add the greens and turn them over in the fat to wilt them. (You may need to do this in batches if they dont all fit in at once, and you might want to turn the heat up a little to speed up the process.) Add a two-finger pinch of salt (see ), and when the greens are wilted, cover the pot and put it in the oven.

Put your potatoes in a big pot, one that allows them plenty of room, cover them with cold water, add a three-finger pinch of salt, and set over high heat. When the water comes to a simmer, reduce the heat slightly to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook the potatoes until theyre tender, meaning they give no resistance to a knife.