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The Best Recipe: Soups & Stews

by Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine

Description:
The Test Cooks at Cook's Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen, simmered enough chicken soup, beef stew and corn chowder to feed a small city-- the result? More than 200 exhaustively tested recipes and hand-drawn illustrations, kitchen equipment tests and blind food tastings that share our discoveries of the undisputed best ways to make America's favorite soups and stews. 3rd title in "The Best Recipe" series.

Review
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 - Amazon.com