Yum
Splendid Soups: Recipes and Master Techniques for Making the World's Best Soups is what every cookbook should be like. It has a great range of soups from all different areas. He has a lot of classics, but he also adds a lot of tips for variety to mix it up a little bit. His directions are very clear, which is really helpful for me since I'm a first time cook. Even if you're an experienced cook, though, it would be helpful because it provides instructions for how to make up your own soups. It got a James Beard Nomination, and I think that really speaks for itself.
Best soup book I've ever read/used
Splendid Soups: Recipes and Master Techniques for Making the World's Best Soups is great. Take my word for it. Every one of the recipes I've tried has produced a great soup. Plus, there are pages upon pages of history, instruction, explanation, etc. -- which you can skip if you don't wish to read it, but which add to the understanding of what makes a great soup.
One example: Spanish garlic soup. It literally takes less than 15 and produces a fine concoction for a winter evening.
Well worth the price. This guy knows his stuff.
Learn to Make Stocks
The most useful thing about Splendid Soups: Recipes and Master Techniques for Making the World's Best Soups is that it teaches you how to make a good stock. I can't tell you how much it has made a difference in my cooking. I do like the recipes in the book, but more often his techniques are being applied to other recipes vastly improved by my new ability to make a good stock. Once you get into the habit of making stock, you will be horrified at the thought of throwing away bones! Use them to make stock now, or freeze them and make stock later. The recipes are loose, but if you read the opening chapters you will not need absolute precision because you will know what you are doing!
Good compilation of recipies, but poor quality of each recipe..
First of all I have to say that I am spanish and I am not writing in my mother tongue. So I have to apologise in advance for my poor English skills.
When I read a review I like to know who write it in order to guess what he expected to find in the book and what sort of judgment he is going to give us.
I am an Spanish Food Engineer. I am not a professional chef but, I dare say, I am an advanced amateur cook.
I read the cookbooks form cover to cover at least twice. I underlain it and even it compare the recipies with other books.
I dont want a compilation of recipies that I left in my shelves for checking a recipe from time to time.
What I expected to find in Splendid Soups: Recipes and Master Techniques for Making the World's Best Soups was:
Best Soup Cookbook Ever
Every recipe was easy to follow and came with set-by-step instructions. All of my favorite soups are from the Splendid Soup cookbook. Everytime I make a soup from this cookbook (which is once a week) I get a thumbs up from my family, especially from the hard to please little ones!!!
