Inspiration Comes From ...

Michael Bauer recently reported on Thomas Keller's "temporary" restuarant in Yountville, and the description of one night's menu proved yet again the man makes food beautiful -- the meal included an heirloom tomato salad fresh from the French Laundry garden and made-that-morning mozzarella; tri-tip smothered with a mix of olive oil-poached mushrooms served with corn on the cob and roasted piquillo peppers; a cheese course with Humboldt Fog, jewel-ripe figs and Marshall Farms honey; shortcakes with a bowl of stem-on strawberries and whipped vanilla bean cream.

Even the tri-tip, which I don't eat, sounds amazing. Someday I hope to go to the French Laundry myself and throw caution to the wind, and eat whatever (vegetarian tasting menu) they put in front of me without worrying about the cost and how much wine I've drunk. For now, though, I am relegated to reading the cookbook when I come across it in bookstores, and marvelling over the ingenuity of it all.