Cooking the Bouchon Cookbook by Thomas Keller

A couple of weeks ago I received Thomas Keller's Bouchon cookbook and have been making my way through a few of the recipes. One of the first recipes that stood out to me was Keller's "Simple Roast Chicken," mostly because it was so simple. Keller calls for a "fresh farm raised chicken" so I made a trip to The Butcher & Larder (2323 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL) to pick up a 3 pound chicken:


After we trussed the bird, Keller calls for only salt and pepper for the bird, no butter as is traditionally used, as he claims that butter creates steam and that he wants a dry heat to cook the bird. So we didn't use any butter. Here's the bird before we put it in the oven:


And after only an hour of cooking at a high heat with no basting:


Before serving Keller recommends some thyme, and to "serve simply":


The Verdict:
A very tasty and moist chicken. The flavors are very simple, but with a high quality fresh bird I'm not sure you need a whole lot more than salt, pepper and thyme. We were surprised just how moist the meat was, despite not using any butter in the cooking process. I have to imagine that this is a very healthy dish. After we had our fill, I stripped all the meat I could find off the bird and saved it for later, when I made some great chicken salad by adding a little mayo and celery.

That recipe has been discussed here before and is indeed delicious -- I've made it several times. The bird can be rather salty, but certainly delicious.

He does advise slathering the meat with butter after cooking.

To go along with the simple roast chicken I decided to make Thomas Keller's Cauliflower Au Gratin from his Bouchon cookbook. The recipe calls for one head of cauliflower, but in retrospect two would probably be better. Once I cleaned the leaves off the head, I removed the florets and saved the stem.

First you caramelize minced onions:


After trimming the hard exterior of the stem, the recipe calls to put the soft interior in a food processor to mince and then add to the pot:


After adding some spices (including some spicy curry), heavy cream and while milk is added then reduced:


After the sauce has reduced, the florets are laid out in a pan and the sauce is spread over the florets. Before adding into the oven breadcrumbs are added to the top:


Here is the final product:


The Verdict
A very good side dish. Too often side dishes are made that could just as easily be a meal in itself. This dish is perfect as a side to a light protien, like the simple roast chicken.