Splendid Soups

Partial Table of Contents:

BROTHS, CONSOMMÉS, AND SIMPLE BROTH-BASED SOUPS.

Clear Broths.

Consommé.

Combining Broth with Eggs, Cheese, and Herbs.

VEGETABLE SOUPS.

Single-Vegetable Soups.

Beans, Lentils, and Dried Peas.

Mixed Vegetable Soups.

RICE SOUPS.

FISH SOUPS.

BIVALVE SHELLFISH SOUPS.

CRUSTACEAN SOUPS.

MEATS SOUPS.

New England Boiled Dinner, Pot-au-Feu, Bollito Misto.

Asian Tabletop Meat Soups.

Hearthy Peasant Soups.

Borscht.

Chicken.

Duck.

Pork.

Lamb.

Beef.

Veal.

Tripe.

A Few Less Common Ingredients.

BREAD SOUPS.

YOGURT, CHEESE, AND BUTTERMILK SOUPS.

FRUIT SOUPS AND DESSERT SOUPS.

BASIC PREPARATION.

Patterns for Improvising Soups.

Metric Conversion Chart.

Sources.

Index.

James Peterson has taught professional and home cooks at Peter Kump's New York Cooking School and The French Culinary Institute. A French-trained chef and former owner of a highly acclaimed French restaurant in New York, he is also the award-winning author of: Sauces Winner, 1992 James Beard Foundation Cookbook of the Year Splendid Soups Nominee, 1994 James Beard Foundation Fish and Shellfish Winner, 1997 International Association of Culinary Professionals Vegetables Winner, 1999 James Beard Foundation Essentials of Cooking Nominee, 2000 International Association of Culinary Professionals and James Beard Foundation.

"Tremendously informative and stubbornly opinionated, master chef Peterson updates his classic soup tome by stirring new recipes and more international ingredients into the pot. Before getting to the recipes, readers are treated to a detailed remedial education in ingredients, featuring Peterson's humorously fussy explanations of dried and fresh herbs. The tried-and-true leek stands alongside the trendy galangal root as a soup essential, as Peterson enlarges the intermediate cook's familiarity with international cuisines. Peterson also seeks to re-educate readers on the proper methods for composing bouquet garni, making a roux and improving the flavor of the commercial broths they will insist on buying. He wisely intersperses his suggestions for technique alongside relevant recipes, making valuable information accessible for the busy cook. The recipes are roughly organized by ingredient and include the vast range of vegetable soups in some unusual combinations (Water Chestnuts with Watercress and Sweet Potato with Chili and Lime). Other noteworthy concoctions include Spicy Brazilian Fish Soup with Coconut Milk; Shabu-Shabu; and Duck and Sherry Soup. Most of Peterson's recipes are not for the fat-phobic; whether he's extolling the virtues of heavy cream over milk and yogurt or encouraging readers to add a few pats of butter to any bowl of soup they order in a restaurant, Peterson throws caution to the wind."
--Publishers Weekly, September 18