Ad Hoc at Home

This is a beautiful cookbook filled with classic American dishes. The recipes, for the most part, are complicated, multi-step affairs, although there are notable exceptions. I usually like to cook simpler recipes, and if I do take more time with a recipe, I want it to be over-the-top delicious. I also don't like to cook with as much fat as many of these recipes call for.

Most of the recipes I tried turned out beautifully and deliciously. I have found that the simpler recipes were the more successful ones. Cod en persillade, marinated feta and tarragon chicken all come to mind. Some of the more complicated dishes were absolutely scrumptious to eat, but would have to be reserved for special occasions because of the fat content, such as the hash, chocolate brownies and garlic bread.

On the other hand, some recipes flopped, and were doubly disappointing because of the effort required to make them. Others were very complicated to make, and I have made simpler versions that were just as good, if not better. I'm thinking particularly of the blue cheese dressing and oven-dried tomatoes. These were the exception, rather than the rule, though.

As a whole, I enjoy looking through this gorgeous cookbook and cooking from it occasionally. But I tend to reserve it for special-occasion cooking or when I am in the mood to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

I really like this cookbook and love the Cookbooker Challenge. Without it I probably wouldn't have purchased this book. It has been so much fun to see what other people are cooking! This book is beautiful to look at, well laid out and has so many useful tips. It would make a great coffee table book except for the fact that my copy is now looking well used from the challenge.

I like that there are many easy recipes to make. These have few ingredients or can be prepped ahead, yet they still come out tasting restaurant-worthy like the Wild Cod en Persillade and the Pan-Roasted Halibut. However, there are also so many recipes that require numerous steps like the Iceberg Lettuce Slices. Who knew a salad could be so complicated!?

Almost everything I have made has been really, really good and Keller's cooking times are pretty spot on. Some negatives? In addition to being turned off by the overly complicated dishes I have found that I really didn't need to use nearly as much butter as some of the dishes call for- especially some of the vegetable dishes. They are still great with less. Also- the Piment d'Espellete that seems to feature frequently in many of the recipes I have been most interested in is $196 a pound!!! ($54 for four ounces!) at Kalustyan's here in NYC. I find this outrageous even if you are using just a little at a time. But if those are my only complaints, so be it!

I really love this cookbook and am looking forward to trying even more recipes- as are my family and friends. Though they would really appreciate it if I would stop photographing the dishes as they come out of the kitchen, so they can eat food that is still hot. Everything just looks and tastes so delicious that I feel the need to document it!