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Best Soup Cookbooks


Lindacakes

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I would appreciate some help selecting a soup cookbook intended as a gift for a friend. This dear friend is a marvelous soup cook but does not usually use a cookbook. She's most familiar with Moosewood.

The intention is to provide both recipes and ideas.

I have poked through the cookbook threads, but no one seems to focus on soup.

I have done some research and these are the three that look promising to me --

Culinary Institute of America's Book of Soups

James Peterson's Splendid Soups

Bernard Clayton's Complete Book of Soups and Stews

Can anyone who is familiar with any of these books comment on them? I'm looking for sure-fire, not too challenging, delicious recipes.

Thank you very much for your time and help.

I like to bake nice things. And then I eat them. Then I can bake some more.

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Peterson!

He's the father, the son, and the holy ghost. His soup book isn't a technical tour de force in the same way as his Sauces book, but it's fantastic. The recipes are diverse and delicious, but it's written around lessons in the structure and technique of soup, so you won't akwats be dependent on the recipes. What I love about his cookbooks is that they're written to help you not need them. Even so, there are a few recipes that are so good that I make them over and over.

Some of his recipes are time consuming, but nothing I've come across seems particularly difficult. It's soup, after all ... lots of good stuff mixed together. It's not organic chemistry.

Definitely take his quantites for seasonings are starting points, I find he likes to go much lighter on herbs and spices than I do, particularly with spice-based cuisines like indian and north african.

Notes from the underbelly

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I received Peterson's splendid soups for channukah several years ago, and I refer to it often. I'm not huge on following recipes, especially for soups, so I haven't actually made too many of the recipes, but the spicy chicken soup from Borneo is my must have when I'm sick. Not being familiar with the other two books you mentioned, I can only say that I think the Peterson book fits what you're looking for. It covers all the basics, but also offers creative ideas.

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A few years ago my son (who lived in Chile for 6 months) gave me "Latin Ladles" by Douglas Rodriguez, published by Ten Speed Press. It is subtitled "fabulous soups and stews from the king of Nuevo Latin cuisine".

I love it. I have no idea how "authentic" it is - it looks pretty good here in Oz, but there are some fantastic recipes in it. Dont know if it is still in print though.

Whatever book you choose Linda, do let us know. I am always in the market for good soup ideas.

Happy Feasting

Janet (a.k.a The Old Foodie)

My Blog "The Old Foodie" gives you a short food history story each weekday day, always with a historic recipe, and sometimes a historic menu.

My email address is: theoldfoodie@fastmail.fm

Anything is bearable if you can make a story out of it. N. Scott Momaday

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Well, since I get a company discount on the Peterson, I'll go with that.

Thank you for your help and I'll let you know how it works out.

I like to bake nice things. And then I eat them. Then I can bake some more.

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My favorite soup cookbook (at the moment) is Soup Makes the Meal , by Ken Haedrich. (Sorry, I can't figure out how to get the Amazon link to work.) It has a variety of different soups, organized by season, and each soup is accompanied by a bread and a salad recipe. The soup recipes aren't really flashy or fancy, just simple and good. The best soup I've tried from it so far is for a cream of chicken soup with dumplings. There's also a great port salad dressing recipe. I haven't tried too many of the breads, but I've really liked all of the soup and salad recipes I've made from it.

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I love soups and have all three of the books you mentioned. If restricted to that list, I'd go with Peterson. I also have and love Deborah Madison's Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen as well as the soup recipes in her more general book Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Obviously, these are limited to vegetarian recipes.

If your friend is a fan of Italian, you might want to look at Domeinca Marchetti's The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy. We used it for several recipes in last month's "The Cuisine of Tuscany" thread and it is both authentic, beautifully illustrated, and delicious ...

Finally, if your friend likes stews as much as soups, you may want to look at Molly Stevens' All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking.

Good luck!!

Edited by JasonZ (log)

JasonZ

Philadelphia, PA, USA and Sandwich, Kent, UK

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  • 4 years later...

I've enjoyed cooking from Jasper White's 50 Chowders: One Pot Meals - Clam, Corn, & Beyond . It's not new but I only picked it up this past summer.

I couldn't resist buying a used copy of the edited volume Soups and One Pot Meals: The 100 Best Recipes from Around the World. Though I have yet to cook from it, the recipes and photos make for great reading. Not just the standards, it includes recipes from Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Laos, Monacco, and other cuisines that I might otherwise not have on my bookshelves.


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  • 1 month later...

Seconding Love Soup as a great soup book. I particularly like the Caramelized Cabbage Soup. The recipes are all vegetarian, but as an omnivore I still enjoy it very much, along with Anna Thomas's other books.

I may have to pick up a copy of Splendid Soups, though. In the dead of winter, a few more recipes couldn't hurt.

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Not at all new, but I've always turned to Bernard Clayton, Jr.'s The Complete Book of Soups and Stews.

Published in 1984, it is a wonderful reference tool and a good recipe guide as well.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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