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Splendid Soups : Recipes and Master Techniques for Making the World's Best Soups

Splendid Soups : Recipes and Master Techniques for Making the World's Best Soups

List Price: $45.00
Your Price: $28.35
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Souper-Douper!
Review: A hefty, comprehensive, door-stop of a book, this "soup-lopedia" includes every soup I'd ever had a hankering to make--"Sopa de Ajo"--Spanish-style garlic soup with an egg in it (I craved it after a trip to Madrid) and Dried Fruit Soup (which my Scandinavian grandmother made when I was growing up)--and every other broth-based dish under the sun.

The histories of the soups and ingredients are so thorough and so fascinating that I felt like I was in a cooking class being taught by a wise, likeable teacher--and the photos of the soups were mouth-watering, and gave me serving suggestions.

An A++ book--I'm giving it to several people for Christmas!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Making Stock
Review: After checking this book out of the library, and cooking my first presentable soups. I ended up getting the book for my library. My friends and family ended up buying the book for me after eating a few of the soups from this book. Mr Peterson includes alternate finishes as well as ideas on what to do with the leftovers. I've been using this book for a few months now and good soup is part of my weekly ritual now. As an amateur cook I found the book easy to follow and enjoyably elegant to have around. I end up reading it on the couch figuring out what I'm going to eat for supper. I've also found it an easy book to improvise with I've converted the avocado soup into dip for parties, and used the roasted garlic and acorn squash soup as a sauce. I'm looking forward to reading his sauce and vegetable books as well. Mr. Peterson I thank you for the good food...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "Gourmet" is the operative word
Review: Beware - receipes include many esoteric ingredients you're not likely to have on hand. Contains a handy, although limited, food glossary. A challenging cookbook!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Imbalanced selections mar a potentially valuable book
Review: Even though Peterson's Splendid Soups covers over 400 soups, precious few seem appropriate for daily, casual fare. Many are elaborate, avant-garde or fussy in application. James shows an affection for Asian cooking as the book is loaded with Japanese/Thai/Indian dishes. This is fine since the book claims it is a survey of the world's best soups, but I was hoping for more accessible recipes. I can see the appeal of this book to a cook who doesn't want to look at another New England Clam Chowder recipe, but I think the book could have covered even more popular favorites (or at least interesting variations on them). Peterson also carries a little chip on his shoulder, emphasising his disdain about food at "cheap restaurants", as if these institutions should be wiped from the face of the earth. Overall, I guess I was expecting Bon Apetit, but I got Gourmet.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great book
Review: great book. i tend to use it as a base for creating soups (e.g., a turkey soup that was based on 3 different veggy soup recipes). i've bought a copy for a buddy and for my brother-in-law and they both love the book (for some reason, men in my family do the cooking!!)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A fantastic book, but not for beginners
Review: I am a self-described soup addict. I make soups at least once a week year round, even when the weather in my hometown is well above 100 degrees! This book is an excellent book, great for someone who has spent a lot of time making soups and is willing to put the time and effort into getting the ingredients, and doing the chopping and cooking that is required. It has nearly every soup imaginable in it and is great for coming up with great ideas for your own new recipes. However, the reason I can't give it 5 stars is that, as others have mentioned before, it does not go into intimate detail in the instructions, it includes some hard-to-find or largely unfamiliar ingredients, and some of the recipes are difficult. If you are a beginner, you should probably stay away from this book. If you are soup obsessed like me, this book is well worth buying and will become an invaluable source of information for you.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A fantastic book, but not for beginners
Review: I am a self-described soup addict. I make soups at least once a week year round, even when the weather in my hometown is well above 100 degrees! This book is an excellent book, great for someone who has spent a lot of time making soups and is willing to put the time and effort into getting the ingredients, and doing the chopping and cooking that is required. It has nearly every soup imaginable in it and is great for coming up with great ideas for your own new recipes. However, the reason I can't give it 5 stars is that, as others have mentioned before, it does not go into intimate detail in the instructions, it includes some hard-to-find or largely unfamiliar ingredients, and some of the recipes are difficult. If you are a beginner, you should probably stay away from this book. If you are soup obsessed like me, this book is well worth buying and will become an invaluable source of information for you.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not So Splendid - at least not for me.
Review: I really, really wanted to like this cookbook. However, I tried 3 recipes and every single one was a disaster. The potato and leek soup, rather than being rich and creamy, ended up like weeds in a watery base. YUCK.

I tried to make the gazpacho recipe. After an hour and a half of chopping vegetables, I had... a huge side of vegetables. This was NOT soup. My mother saved the day by adding some wine vinegar and other ingredients, and blending it a bit.

The third time I wised up - I didn't depend soley on the soup as a main course. I tried the tomato & basil soup. This did not work out, either. It didn't even look appetizing. sigh.

I don't like to give bad reviews; in fact, this is my first. But I gave this cookbook 3 honest, enthusiastic tries and each time met with disaster. It is one thing to have a cookbook with a few recipes that don't work out. It is quite another to actually be fearful of trying a recipe! I'm going to try and sell this cookbook on eBay or in zShops and hope I can find something else.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The First, Last and BEST Book on Soups - Anywhere!
Review: I was introduced to Splendid Soups in my second semester of culinary school - my chef told the class that "if you follow the directions, there's not a bad soup in the book"- and she was so right! You really don't need to be a chef to use this book - as all of my friends and family who I've given it to for gifts can attest! Very clear directions for each recipe, good discussions on when Peterson likes to serve each soup, great advice on how to play with each recipe to make it more your own (and great advice on "fixing the soup" if you aren't completely happy with the recipe exactly as followed) and even a wonderful section in the back with resources, patterns for improvising soups, and fundamental knowledge of how to make the fun extras, like flavored butters and croutons. I write for the Dollar Stretcher (a frugal living webzine) and I've recommended this book to thousands of people, without reservation. If soup is part of your weekly menu (and for those of us trying to save money on food so we can buy more books, it is!) this is the first, last and best reference to have on your shelf. Many of the soups are very down-to-earth - try the wonderful French Onion (p.169) or White Bean and Vegetable Soup (p.197) or the Mushroom Veloute (p.163-164) if you want soups that freeze well and save tons of money from the grocery bill. There are also lovely soups for when company comes (like the Duck Consomme) and a whole section on Fruit Soups (which any child will love!). Perhaps my favorite thing of all about Splendid Soups, after the recipes, of course, is how Peterson tells you how he discovered each soup (hitchhiking to Paul Bocuse's restaurant for a meal that began with Foie Gras and Truffle Soup), mistakes he's made while preparing some (like buying a pumpkin too big for his oven)- you get to live vicariously though his background information. In all, a splendid book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Perfect Guide to Cold Weather Meals
Review: If the cold weather has you thinking of good simple hot dishes, then this is the book for you. Just about any soup you ever thought about making is here, along with some exotics you've probably never heard of. But they are all great taste treats! And as if the recipes themselves aren't enough, it also has histories of many of the soups, which will give you both an insight into why they are made the way they are, and also ideas for possible variations. The perfect gift for anyone who loves the simple hot soup on a cold blustery morning.


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