Ad Hoc at Home Book Signing

My sister and I went to the cookbook signing held at Williams Sonoma in Columbus Circle for Thomas Keller's new book, Ad Hoc at Home. We were amazed with how the Williams Sonoma staff have these events down to such a fine science. The whole experience was absolutely wonderful. We arrived about 15 minutes before the scheduled start and there was already a pretty long line almost running outside the store. While we waited in line, my sister and I started flipping through the book. Its a beautiful cookbook...okay, its really more of a tome weighing in at a hefty 5lbs. The pictures are beautiful and the recipes are primarily for straight-forward american comfort classics, with a few modern twists here and there. On the traditional front there are things like fried chicken, roasted chicken, chicken pot pie, creamed corn, and meatball recipes. And on the fancier, more challenging/gourmet front there are recipes for blowtorch prime rib roast, confit of pork belly, and homemade mozzarella. There are a ton of recipes for vegetables and a whole chapter on how to perserve vegetables and fruits. After flipping through it while in line, my sister and I were certain it was going to become one of our go-to cookbooks. In fact, we decided that our christmas cooking would come largely from Ad Hoc at Home recipes. Our wait in line was probably around 30 minutes, but it didn't feel long at all. The unbelievably cheery and friendly staff at Williams Sonoma came around with a sample of cauliflower soup with homemade croutons and chocolate chip cookies (both of course made from recipes from the book). These samples were delicious and confirmed our sentiment that this cookbook is going to be something special. My sister was so pleased with the experience she decided she might just quit work and begin a career at Williams Sonoma! They even had someone at the ready to snap a photo with the chef! Chef Keller signed the book "It's all about Family". Lets hope all the family loves the recipes! I'll be sure to keep you posted on what I try out from the book.

Until next time,