From Amazon.com
Diane Phillips, celebrated cookbook author, culinary school instructor, and brand spokesperson, presents a pantry full of helpful, timesaving suggestions in
The Soup Mix Gourmet. Packed with over 375 recipes, the book uses soup mixes, starters, and pre-made condensed soups as key components for all of the dishes, making them easy and quick to prepare. But her recipes should surprise and delight even those who enjoy spending hours in the kitchen. The use of Lipton Savory Herb with Garlic makes a nice rub for a Holiday Standing Rib Roast, while Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken soup creates an appealing element when used in Chicken Piccata. Lipton Onion Soup is mixed with sour cream for a chip-and-dip staple; Top Ramen Salad is suggested for potluck dinners; and Beef and Onion Soup enlivens the standard pot roast. For every vegetable, pasta, meat, and marinade, there appears to be a soup mix destined to enhance it. With the time saved in this comprehensive and inventive book, the family and guests may slow down enough to actually enjoy a meal.
--Teresa Simanton
From Publishers Weekly
In this hearty compendium, Phillips (Pot Pies) spins that original humble time-saver, the Campbell's soup can, into a surprisingly pleasing array of dips, salads, pastas, sauces, casseroles and even in an act that might seem redundant soup. Phillips doesn't stop with Campbell's, though, listing a dozen dry mixes from such big labels as Knorr and Lipton that she is "never without." Phillips makes a point of creating recipes with fresh ingredients, using the soups merely as a seasoning element. (Many of them would be quite delicious without using soup mix at all.) On the other hand, those fresh ingredients require prep work that can all but eliminate the timesaving factor of the soup mix. The book retains a distinct vintage whiff: those who reminisce about the 1950s will be glad to see Chicken Divan, Hawaiian Chicken and Tuna Noodle Bake recipes they can "be proud to serve your family or the boss." The more contemporary-minded will enjoy Tomato-Basil Bread and Herbed Goat Cheese Potato Pie. Despite its title, the book is not for true gourmands, who will view with skepticism Phillips's claim that salmon with three packets of miso mix is "very close" to the signature miso-glazed cod at New York's Nobu restaurant. But for those new to cooking, soup mix may well be the miracle ingredient that makes an intimidating ordeal seem easy and quick. This fearless tome may show them that a straight and friendly path to the kitchen lies through the pantry door.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
