New England Soup Factory Cookbook: More Than 100 Recipes from the Nation's Best Purveyor of Fine Soup

Move out of the way Charlie Trotter, Patick O'Connell, Todd English, Bob Kincaid, and James McNair, the Celebrity Chef of Soups - Margorie Druker of Boston's New England Soup Factory has published her first cookbook with recipes that will knock you out. I found this cookbook by accident but my family and friends have just loved the 4 soups we have tried so far. The Pumpkin & White Bean soup had my dinner friends clamoring for seconds; indeed, it is the best pumpkin based soup you will ever enjoy. I made the Pasta Fagioi with beef short ribs instead of pork on a cold Sunday, and it wowed our group of 10 friends so much that they stopped watching the Redskins football game and quietly devoured their Fagioli - then asked for more. I am a weekend gourmet chef with 20+ years of kitchen experience - the Veal & Portobello Mushroom Stew was fabulous, again, the best veal stew I have made. It was worth following the recipe! I have given some copies of this cookbook to friends who cook because they will appreciate the ingenuity of Druker. As to the celebrity chefs out there, and I have many of their books, their soup recipes don't hold a candle to this cookbook.

I made one of the tomato soups the first day I got the book. It used roasted tomatoes and was absolutely delicious. The recipes are generally very healthy and could be more so if you made some simple substitutions. Soups are a great way to get my family to eat more vegetables and a convenient way to eat; easy to make in advance, freeze and reheat. I have never been to the restaurant but I'll bet it's amazing. The soups are inventive but not fussy or complicated, perfect for a home cook.

My husband and I have been frequent NE Soup Factory customers for years. So imagine how excited I was when I walked in to the Newton store and saw the book. The manager saw me flipping through the pages and he looked at me and said "It's in there." and I said "No, it can't be," and he said "Yes, it's in there." and Lo and behold, my favorite Greek Orzo, Lemon, and Chicken Soup, perfect if you are feeling under the weather, was in the book. I bought it on the spot. What I love most about having the recipes is that we can tailor the book to our dietary preferences- eliminate cream, use vegetable broth instead of meat-based broths, use box broths in a pinch, reduce butter, and the taste is just as great! Meanwhile, have I made my favorite? Nope, but I've made two batches of vegetarian mulligatawny soup, the sweet potato and carmalized onion soup, the puree root vegetable....I will work my way through all winter....They may have lost a store customer but I plan on buying the book for friends and family for the holidays. Enjoy!

I am in love with this book. Many of my co-workers and I consider it a special treat on days we get to lunch at the New England Soup Factory (their Chili Con Carne is our collective favorite), so I was ecstatic to find a copy of their recipe book while browsing the bookstore over the weekend. And, yes, the Chili Con Carne recipe is included! There are so many mouth-watering, rich, unique and comfort-food soups that I had a hard time deciding what to make first. From Potato, Crab and Gorgonzola to Apple, Onion and cheddar--they all sound so good! I decided on a vegetarian option: Spinach, Feta Cheese, and Toasted Pine Nut Soup. Not only was it delicious, but it was easy to make. In addition to the seasonal soups, Druker has included a chapter of sandwiches and salads which are just as appetizing as the soups. (For example; The Fallwich, with sweet potatoes, cranberry mayonnaise, turkey and cashews.) I know what I'll be getting my whole family for Christmas this year.

This is an exceptionally fine recipe book. One of the best I've ever read and we own hundreds of them. By all means, buy this book for yourself and buy one as a very unique, completely excellent book for someone else. I've eaten at the Soup Factory many times. It has an outstanding reputation in the metro Boston / New England area. What a great book.