300 Sensational Soups

Carla Snyder & Meredith Deeds
Robert Rose Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9780778801962
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (10/10)

 

What is the most desired comfort food?  Yes, it’s soup!!  And, can you imagine having access to 300 recipes?  That’s exactly what you will get in “300 Sensational Soups” by Carla Snyder and Meredith Deeds.

I’m a soup lover and was thrilled to get this book to review.  The problem was to decide which three recipes I wanted to test for the purpose of this review.  My first choice was “Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken-Corn Soup with Tiny Dumplings.” Sounds good, doesn’t it?  Well it sure was.  The soup was thick with vegetables and chicken. Adding 2 cans of cream corn and a cup of frozen corn kernels certainly did make it “corn” soup.  Other vegetables were onions, carrots, and celery. The soup was delicious but the dumplings ended up being too tough for our liking.  This is a huge recipe (serves 6 to 8) so it’s good for a couple of days or freezing.  (It does freeze well.)

The second recipe I tried was “African Peanut Soup.”  I used to make a similar recipe years ago so was pleased to find a variation that sounds good.  We weren’t disappointed - it was good.  Can you imagine putting 2/3 of cup of chunky peanut butter into a soup?  Well, this is exactly what is called for and along with the ground turkey, canned diced tomatoes, diced sweet potatoes and a seasoning of fresh ginger, curry and garlic you’ve got a thick soup that is simply delicious.  The coconut milk created the creaminess that a peanut soup needs. I’ll let you in a secret:  this soup is much better the second day.

The third recipe I tried was “Potato Tarragon Soup.”  The addition of butter and whipping cream makes this a rich soup. The fresh tarragon is strong but a good accompaniment with the garlic and onions. Because of its richness and high calorie count, I followed the soup with a fresh green salad.  This makes a wonderful lunch dish.  The authors suggest that this soup could be served cold.

There are so many other recipes that I will be making from “300 Sensational Soups.”  I commend Snyder and Deeds for coming up with so many different recipes for a dish that has been eaten from the beginning of time.  There is nothing exotic about any of the recipes therefore making the purchase of ingredients simple.  Most of them can be found in the kitchen pantry or at a local grocery story.

Make comment on weblog

FTC Disclosure