Thomas Keller cookbook more family-friendly

Fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits and blueberry cobbler are some of the dishes you’ll find at Ad Hoc, Keller’s casual and less expensive Napa Valley restaurant, where the four-course, $49 prix fixe dinner is indeed served family style.

The recipes in “Ad Hoc at Home” range from simple (a grilled cheese sandwich) to deceptively complex (an iceberg lettuce salad that has four subrecipes, including oven-roasted tomatoes) to rather time-consuming (a Catalan beef stew that requires a companion recipe for braised beef short ribs). Most, though, not only are tasty but teach you something.

Pan-roasted Halibut is made with just five basic ingredients and a straightforward technique that perfectly sears the fish to a crispy golden brown while retaining a beautifully moist flake.

Old-fashioned Pineapple Upside-down Cake features fresh pineapple and what Keller calls a “pan schmear” of butter, honey, dark rum and brown sugar that imparts a wonderfully rich flavor.

Recently, Keller answered a few questions about “Ad Hoc at Home” and the process of creating cookbook recipes.

Q: What distinguishes Ad Hoc from your other restaurants, and what makes it special?

A: I don’t think I am necessarily distinguishing Ad Hoc from my other restaurants. It is just a different concept. I think what makes it special is the sense of community our guests feel as everything is served family-style and how it allows for dining in a familiar way.

Q: You call the food “approachable,” but do you think most home cooks can be successful with these recipes? Do you keep that in mind, or is it more important to faithfully reproduce the techniques you use to prepare the dishes you serve at Ad Hoc?

A: I think we try to achieve both. We do want to respect the recipes at Ad Hoc, but they were certainly developed by a home cook, Susie Heller, who painstakingly took these recipes that we gave her and adapted them for home use. I’m very confident that anyone who tries to cook from the book will be very successful.

Q: There’s this idea among many home cooks that great chefs will never give up their secrets, and that they always leave something out of the recipe. What do you say?

A: There’s nothing left out of our recipes. We would never do that. To do so lacks honesty and integrity.

Q: A book like “Ad Hoc at Home” is certainly a huge undertaking. How long did it take to write, and how many times were the recipes tested?

A: It took two years to write. There was no set number of times a recipe was tested. Some were tested twice; some, five or six times. It really depended on how much development the recipes needed for the home cook.

Q: If you could give home cooks one really big tip, what would it be?

A: I think it is impossible to choose one as I think there are several to keep in mind. Being prepared is certainly paramount, and I think that deciding what to cook by what is available in your grocery or farmers market is equally as important. To decide on a recipe, then go shopping sometimes leads to disappointment when the product is unavailable and you end up having to substitute. I suggest going to the store first with an idea of what you want to cook, then hopefully you will be inspired by the products there and use the recipes in the book.

---------------

Chanterelle Mushrooms With Pea Shoots

Hands on: 15 minutes Total time: 15 minutes Serves: 6

This is a simple and delicious dish that you’ll like especially for its vivid yellow and green colors. If you can’t find chanterelles, other mushrooms, preferably wild, will do. If you don’t have access to pea shoots, you can substitute baby arugula or spinach. Use as a bed for the Pan-roasted Halibut.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots

3 thyme sprigs

8 ounces small chanterelles or other mushrooms in season, trimmed and washed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 to 1/2 cup chicken stock

11/2 cups (2 ounces) pea shoots

Extra-virgin olive oil

Fleur de sel

In a medium sauté pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until tender. Add the thyme and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are almost tender (if the pan becomes too dry, add a little of the chicken stock).

Add 1/4 cup chicken stock and cook, adding more stock as needed, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mushrooms are tender. Continue to cook until the stock is reduced to a glaze. Discard the thyme. Add the pea shoots and stir just to wilt and incorporate, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with fleur de sel.

Per serving: 156 calories (percent of calories from fat, 22), 5 grams protein, 30 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fiber, 4 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 10 milligrams cholesterol, 8 milligrams sodium.

--------------------

Pineapple Upside-down Cake

Hands on: 30 minutes Total time: 90 minutes, including 30 minutes for cooling the cake Serves: 8

Fresh pineapple makes for a more elegant dessert. But this is a general template that you can use for many different fruits, including fresh pears, and they all work wonderfully. Make the “pan schmear” of butter and brown sugar, top it with the fruit, and pour the cake batter over the top. The recipe makes more schmear than you need, but it is difficult to make less, and it will keep in the refrigerator or it can be frozen.

For the pan schmear:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

11/2 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon dark rum

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract

Kosher salt

1 gold (extra-sweet) pineapple

For the cake:

11/3 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the schmear and pineapple: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the butter, honey, rum, brown sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth and well-blended. Spread 1/3 cup of the schmear over the bottom of a 9-inch silicone cake pan. Sprinkle lightly with salt. (The remaining schmear can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks or frozen for up to 1 month; bring to room temperature before using.) Cut the top and bottom from the pineapple and cut away the peel. Cut the pineapple lengthwise into quarters, and cut the core from each section. Cut each piece crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Beginning at the perimeter of the pan, make an overlapping ring of pineapple slices with the curved side facing out. Make a second ring inside the first one, overlapping the slices in the opposite direction, working toward the center of the pan. Reserve any extra pineapple for another use.

For the cake: Sift the flour and baking powder together and set aside. Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle and mix on low speed to combine, then beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until light and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary. Mix in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until the first one is incorporated before adding the second and scraping down the sides as necessary. Beat in the milk. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating just until combined.

Pour the batter into the pan and spread over the pineapple. Bake for 15 minutes. Rotate the pan for even browning and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until a cake tester or wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 20 to 30 minutes.

Run a knife around the edges of the cake, invert onto a serving platter and serve warm. (Leftover cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.)

Per serving: 461 calories (percent of calories from fat, 47), 4 grams protein, 59 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 25 grams fat (15 grams saturated), 116 milligrams cholesterol, 150 milligrams sodium.

--------------------

Pan-roasted Halibut

Hands on: 15 minutes Total time: 15 minutes, plus 15 minutes for the fish to stand Serves: 6

Halibut stands up well to heat, so it is good for pan roasting. It has a beautiful flake, and serving this very white fish with vivid green pea shoots and yellow chanterelles is visually appealing.

2 pounds halibut fillet, cut into 12 rectangular pieces

Kosher salt

Canola oil

Extra-virgin olive oil

Fleur de sel

Position oven racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the fish from the refrigerator and let stand for 15 minutes. Check the halibut to be sure all bones were removed. Season on both sides with salt.

Add some canola oil to 2 large ovenproof frying pans and heat over high heat until it shimmers. (If you don’t have 2 pans, cook the fish in batches and transfer to a rack set over a baking sheet, then finish in the oven.) Add 6 pieces of halibut to each pan, presentation (nicer) side down, lower the heat to medium-high, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the bottom of the fish is golden. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 2 more minutes.

Transfer the pans to the oven and cook for about 2 minutes, until just cooked through.

Remove the pans from the oven, flip the fish over, and let the second side sit for about 30 seconds. Transfer to a platter and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of fleur de sel.

Per serving: 246 calories (percent of calories from fat, 47), 31 grams protein, no carbohydrates, no fiber, 12 grams fat (1 gram saturated), 48 milligrams cholesterol, 238 milligrams sodium.