The Best Recipe: Soups and Stews

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.

I used to think "The Daily Soup" was the last word in preparing and making soups and stews, but it pales in comparison to this thoughtful, well executed volume. Everything about the Cook's Illustrated book series impresses. The production values are first rate, the research is superb, and the writing walks the fine line between prose and tech. I commend Mr. Kimball on his singular vision. It results in books like this one that make cooking a real pleasure for a moderately skilled cook like me. This book is a must have for every kicthen!

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.

If you are not familiar with Cook's Illustrated magazine, you are in for a real treat! Every recipe I have made from their magazine, and now from this cookbook is perfect. When I was looking for a good soup and stew cookbook and I saw this one, I knew it would be the one to have. They try and retry recipes dozens of different ways until they hit upon the perfect method, perfect ingredients; and I swear, they come up with the perfect recipe. And at times, it isn't so much the ingredients as the methods that make the dish so good - little tips such as adding flour to the pan after the meat has been sauteed in the Beef Stroganoff recipe instead of flouring the beef. They even tell you how wide to slice the beef - and believe it or not, all these little tips add up to the perfect dish. No matter how many times I've made something, when I tried their recipe, it was better than the way I had been making it. The chicken stews alone are worth the price of the book.

These recipes were chosen over many others as a result of trial and error testing. The result is a well-organized book with delicious soup and stew recipes. With the cool days of fall and winter ahead, especially in my country, soups and stews become almost a staple meal, particularly for lunches. The chikcen noodle soup contained in this one is actually my favourite, and do not think for one minute all chicken noodle soup is chicken noodle soup because this recipe definitely stands out. Clam chowder and lobster bisque are also big hits in Eastern Canada, especially for those of us who living on this small Island where fishing is a primary resource. Clams, mussels, oysters and lobster are abundant in season.If you are a fan of soups and stews, invest in this terrific book. The book also contains all kinds of useful tips and techniques but what impressed me the most was definitely the recipes.