Surprisingly, I actually like Valentine’s Day. Maybe it's not that big a surprise since I have someone I love, and against all odds, she actually loves me back (food obsessions and all). I know you can do nice things for people you care about “anytime you want,” but there’s something about Valentine’s Day that I like. Maybe it’s that you have an excuse to do something on a weeknight that you may not do otherwise. Last year my wife and I had the best Valentine’s Day—it involved a movie, some wine, and, of course, a pair of serious sandwiches. Fancy dinners and expensive flowers are nice, but I think hidden food snuck into a movie (with alcohol pairing of... More

Thomas Keller, Inc.; Todd English Enterprises; Tom Colicchio Industries. Celebrity chefs have become branded commodities. They open restaurants all over the world, endorse everything from blenders to stemware, and put their names on boxes of frozen food. The question serious eaters want to know: Are these chef-brands a good thing? Where are all these chef brands taking our food culture? In a Diner's Journal blog entry a couple of weeks ago, Frank Bruni pondered some of these questions as he sat in New York's Bouchon Bakery, owned by Thomas Keller: The sandwiches looked good. So did the muffins. But are they really reflections of Mr. Keller’s culinary devotion and passion? Are they bids for art or lucre?If the latter,... More

Unable to get a reservation at Thomas Keller's French Laundry, Carol decided to make her way through his French Laundry Cookbook instead, one recipe at a time. She's blogging it, of course—complete with photos of the process from mise en place to finished product—so you can follow her escapades at French Laundry at Home. The project is a lovely idea, but the thing that really makes it work is that Carol is a fantastic writer with a great sense of humor and is unafraid of sharing her frustrations when things go awry. Last week she made the candied apple dessert from the book, which turned out to be a success taste-wise, but found the experience of making it so... More

Thomas Keller's recipe for My Favorite Simple Roast Chicken from his cookbook Bouchon is up on Epicurious, and boy is it simple—six ingredients total including the chicken, and the thyme is optional. The writing is great too: "Cut the breast down the middle and serve it on the bone, with one wing joint still attached to each. The preparation is not meant to be superelegant. Slather the meat with fresh butter. Serve with mustard on the side and, if you wish, a simple green salad. You'll start using a knife and fork, but finish with your fingers, because it's so good." 183 user reviews on Epicurious, and 94% of them would make it again. [via Drive-Thru]... More