This is my introduction to Thomas Keller in a cookbook.I saw it on the library shelf and thought I'd check it out, and I am really pleased that I did. The photos are beautiful, and you can really tell just how enamored Keller is with food--his passion is contagious. It's true that the recipes are fussy, but I rarely (if ever) follow a recipe exactly. I consider recipes as general guidelines to point you in the right direction. I enjoy learning about techniques and the science behind them since I am neither a trained chef nor someone who has any interest in being part of that industry. I am pretty passionate about food and learning though, so I think I am probably the perfect audience for this cookbook. I plan on picking up a copy of my own after returning this one to the library. I think it'll make a great "browsing" cookbook...you know, when you just feel like flipping through and looking at the pictures and dreaming about that dinner party that you never get around to throwing ;) ( )

My favorite and definitely most accessible Thomas Keller cookbook. If you're willing to put in a little extra effort for a wonderful meal, then this can be your go-to. ( )

More of a coffee table book than a cookbook. ( )

I've got some delicious spiced nuts cooking right now . . . but I want my cookbooks to fit in the kitchen not on the coffee table. Beautiful food porn with an eye toward the foodie-turned-cook-in-these-economic-times, but impractical in its heft and size. ( )

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.