Product Description

The editors of Cook’s Illustrated tested 23 chicken noodle soups, 40 cioppinos, and 54 beef burgundies to find the absolute best methods for making more than 200 soups and stews. Now you can have the very best versions of these recipes, and much more, in The Best Recipe: Soups & Stews. More than 200 recipes cover just about every soup and stew imaginable, from American classics such as Manhattan Clam Chowder, Cream of Tomato Soup, and Lobster Bisque, to international favorites such as Coq au Vin, Hot-and-Sour Soup, and Beef Goulash. 200 illustrations show you how to cut up a chicken, shape matzo balls, and fill tortellini, and no-nonsense testing results provide you with equipment buying recommendations and suggestions on which food products are best.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #310900 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

From Amazon.com
Everyone loves soups and stews--but how best to prepare these sometimes challenging dishes? The Best Recipe: Soups & Stews, part of the Best Recipe series from the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine, has the answer. Applying its signature "trial and error" approach to the business of choosing definitive recipes and techniques, the magazine tested 23 noodle soups, 40 corn chowders, and 54 beef Burgundies. The results? Not only 200 exemplary recipes--ranging from Manhattan Clam Chowder and Cream of Tomato Soup to Lobster Bisques, Chicken Noodle Soup, Irish Stew, and Beef Goulash--but an armament of technical information, tips, and equipment recommendations all cooks will welcome. Among these are authoritative stock-making suggestions, keys to choosing tender stew meat, and recommendations that yield a superior crust for onion soup. Readers also learn why blender jars with interior flutes produce the best purées, which brand of matzo meal to choose, and how best to crush tomatoes and slice flank steak. The book also covers accompaniments such as baguettes, mashed potatoes, rice, and cornbread. With ingredient profiles, "Science" sidebars (How Starches Work, is one), plus step-by-step how-to illustrations, Soups & Stews will help all cooks achieve mastery of these beloved dishes --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly
The newest addition to the Cook's Illustrated (How to Grill, How to Make a Pizza, etc.) library dives into the world of soups and stews, from the most basic chicken stock to a silky lobster bisque. This weighty volume is divided into four helpful sections: the first covers equipment and ingredients (including recipes for the necessary homemade stocks); the middle two focus on soups and stews; and the final one addresses the matter of accompaniments. Inserts provide descriptions of ingredients, details of their preparation, and the impact they have on dishes. An introduction to each recipe describes the testing processes involved in determining its final proportions and directions, so that chefs are treated to the "why" as well as the "how." Soups range from the classic Chicken Noodle Soup and the warming Mushroom-Barley Soup to the spicy, creamy Indian Dal Soup, a variation on the Lentil Soup. Chilled soups include favorites like Borscht and Vichyssoise, as well as more unusual fruit soups, such as Chilled Melon Soup sweetened with honey. For stews, there's everything from the Hearty Beef Stew to the robust, sweet and piquant Country Captain Chicken, which was one of FDR's personal favorites. The vegetarian is not forgotten, either: there are vegetable stews and suggestions for animal-friendly substitutions in several of the recipes. Accompaniments, like the subtle Basmati Rice, Pilaf Style or the fluffy Mashed Potatoes, perfectly complement this impressive compendium of liquid cuisine.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Daily News
"...the result of massive research."

Customer Reviews

INCLUDES BOTH ASIAN AND EUROPEAN SOUPS & STEWS
Impressive selection of soups by Jack Bishop and the Staff of Cook's Illustrated.

Asian recipes include Wonton, Hot & Sour, Thai Curry, Miso, Indian Curry, Vindaloo among others, including Oxtail Soup with Asian Flavors. I was pleased CI included this variation of oxtail soup - a favorite from my childhood.

Other European/Ethnic recipes represented are Osso Buco, Irish Stew, Scotch Broth, Bouillabaisse, Coq Au Vin, Cassoulet, Borscht, Matzo Ball Soup, Moroccan Lamb Tagine. There's many others too numerous to list, but you get the idea. There's alot of classic recipes in this collection, some with some variations.

There's also a nice selection at the end of rice, potatoes, polenta, breads and biscuit recipes - I can't think of any better accompaniment.

Hats off to the designer of The Best Recipe Series. These are some of the most elegantly designed cookbooks/references I've ever come across. I think the 2-column format appeals to the "academically inclined" in us. The finely detailed illustrations by John Burgoyne are inline with the textbook concept.

If you like this book, you may also like Bernard Clayton's 1987 paperback, The Complete Book of Soups and Stews.

Wonderful foundation for creating stock and soups
This is a wonderful book because it highlights the science and deterministic nature of good cooking. They first suggest some basics for your kitchen, aiming to be practical and spending only where it truly makes a difference.

Next, is a foundation of beef, chicken, vegetable and seafood stock recipes. I enjoy reading these because they're very methodical in trying to understand how to best do things, often suggesting short cuts where "20% of the effort results in 90% of the flavor." There's clearly substantial trial and error, but nice summary of what worked and didn't.

I was especially delighted to see they covered a variety of international cuisines, including Thai and Indian curries (from scratch!), borscht, miso, boullabaisse, minestrone, and gazpacho.

This is easily a "must have" for the creative cook.

Best Chicken Soup on Earth!
It takes more work (have your butcher cut the chicken) but people you never even knew will be begging you for some of your "famous" chicken noodle soup