A find in the used book store!

I'm very excited and wanted to share...while wandering thru a used bookstore today I stumbled across a discarded library copy (very slightly damaged on one page) of The French Laundry Cookbook, Written by Thomas Keller, one of the chefs/restaurants spoken of in the book The Soul of a Chef. It was originally a $50 book, now marked $20. I splurged, and it came home with me.

It's a huge, gorgeous book 11 inches square. I also purchased the latest copy, (used), of Saveur magazine at a discount. It's their Saveur 100 favorite foods, restaurants, drinks, people, places and things issue of the year, meaning they pick 100 of their favorite things, cooking and food related. Thomas Keller was chosen as #2, America's Most Stellar Chef. (#1 was the Best Reason to Get Up Early-Saturday's Farmer's Mkt in Stockton, CA). Not sure if the 100 are in any particular order, anyway. But I sense a theme and it seems a meal at the French Laundry is going to have to go on my before I die list. I was interested in it after reading Soul of a Chef, but this clinches it.

I read somewhere that he has a video camera/screen in the kitchens of both his restaurants, The French Laundry in CA and Per Se in Manhattan, so he can keep an eye on both kitchens no matter which one he is in.

Next year I plan to review Soul of a Chef for our book club and serve a couple of his dishes from The French Laundry Cookbook after the review. I will need to practice on unsuspecting (or suspecting) friends and relatives first, but I'm sure they won't mind.