La Bonne Soupe Cookbook Reviews
May 25, 2011 by admin
Filed under french food cookbooks
La Bonne Soupe Cookbook
Bistro cooking mаdе easy wіth mouth-watering recipes fοr thе famous La Bonne Soupe bistro οn West 55th Street. Intеrеѕtіng recipe intros аnd ѕtοrіеѕ. Each recipe offers complete meal menus, including whаt bread аnd wine tο serve. Award-winning onion soup, аnd οthеr delectables—cheese fondue, stews, cassoulet, quiches, аnd omelettes, poisson аnd poulet! Grеаt tips οn techniques, cookware аnd ingredients. Thе best chocolate mousse, crêpes suzette аnd fondues!
List Price: $ 14.95
Price: $ 13.54
Perfect Party Food: All thе Recipes аnd Tips Yου′ll Eνеr Need fοr Stress-Free Entertaining frοm thе Diva οf Dο-Ahead
Hοw dο уου throw a party without stressing out? Plаn ahead аnd dο-ahead. Thіѕ entertaining guide frοm Diane Phillips, thе Diva οf Dο-Ahead, wіth hеlр уου gеt out οf thе kitchen аnd іntο уουr οwn party. Shе presents nearly 500 recipes thаt саn аll bе mаdе ahead οf time–ѕοmе days аnd even weeks–thаt taste dеlісіουѕ, аnd аrе designed tο bе served buffet style. Handy icons ѕhοw whісh recipes аrе јυѕt rіght fοr a backyard barbecue, аn elegant cocktail party, οr аn аll-night blow-out bash. Dozens
List Price: $ 27.95
Price: $ 85.05
French home cooking,
I first fell in love with this kind of food on a trip to the New Hebrides Islands (the island of Espiritu Santo) in the 60′s. Upon returning home I immediately purchased the only book of French cooking around–Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and put on 20 pounds. This book is wonderful! It’s fun to read, easy to work with, and the food is really, really good. I loved the Split Pea soup and the Hunter chicken. Fortuneately, since the paradigm shift in French cooking during the 1970′s, there’s not a lot of high-fat food here–just good, solid, nourishing comfort food. Enjoy…
Was this review helpful to you?
|Not as I remembered it….,
La Bonne Soupe used to be one of my favorite restaurants for lunch, and I ate there often. Their onion soup was wonderful, but their Creme Andalouse was the best soup I’d ever had anywhere. I often thought about that soup since I moved from NYC and longed to have some, but never saw it offered anywhere else, so you can imagine how excited I was to learn that the recipe was in this cookbook! In fact, I bought the book for that one recipe alone; anything else would be a bonus.
The ingredients were easy to find – nothing exotic or unusual – and the recipe simple to follow. I’m a terrific cook, and usually “tweek” recipes as I go along, but because I wanted the exact same taste I remembered so well from La Bonne Soupe, I followed the instructions to a “T”, apart from substituting half & half for the heavy cream.
What I ended up with was a huge pot of very mediocre, very thick soup. I was a little doubtful about it when I saw that the only “spices” called for were “salt & pepper to taste,” but I went along with it, much to my disappointment. The amount of uncooked rice called for was far too much – perhaps that added to the bland taste of the soup; no doubt it added to the thickness. (The soup is pureed in a blender before serving.) It might taste OK to those who’ve never had the real thing at the restaurant, but this wasn’t the Creme Andalouse I often dream of.
I might try the recipe again, adding some spices and cutting the amount of rice called for in half – only because I’m still craving the soup I remember and love so well – but this experience has made me reluctant to try any other recipes in the book.
Was this review helpful to you?
|Phillips will make you want to throw a party!,
It’s not necessary to read Phillips’ party-planner introduction, but you may find it steadying, even reassuring with its calm, well-organized timeline, lists and tips. The book’s easy-on-the-eyes graphic design allows for quick browsing and the color-coded highlights and eye-catching symbols continue on through the recipes. An appendix includes mail-order sources and “stress-free” menus for all occasions.
Recipes provide 10 to 12 servings, and all have at least some elements (even if it’s only salad dressing or sauce) to prepare in advance. Phillips provides a table for multiplying recipes for larger parties, a list of essential tools and pantry items and an entertaining primer for rescuing disasters, from lumpy sauce to too many guests. She even gives her email for last minute disaster aversion.
Brief intros to each dish suggest variations and describe the dish’s character. Step-by-step instructions pause at “do-ahead” points, and give instructions for how, and how long, to store, be it a few hours, days, or even months.
From drinks (Mulled Wine, Margaritas) through appetizers (Marinated Shrimp, Pigs in a Blanket) salads (Marinated Orange, Chicken Waldorf), sides (Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta, Wild Mushroom Rice), poultry (Tarragon Sesame, Oven Fried, French Farmhouse), seafood (Pesto-Crusted Fillets, New England Clam Pie, Seafood Gumbo), meat (Braised Beef in Cabernet Sauvignon, Swedish Meatballs, Pulled Pork Barbecue), to dessert (Strawberry Shortcake Layer Cake, Chocolate Truffles), Phillips emphasizes accessibility, be it sit-down elegant or grazing casual.
A versatile sauce chapter, from Cilantro Pesto to Quick Berry, offers a choice of serving suggestions and Phillips (“The Perfect Mix”) also includes chapters for breakfast and lunch. Thoroughly unintimidating and full of useful advice beyond food preparation, this is a practical, comforting guide to making entertaining a pleasure.
- Portsmouth Herald
Was this review helpful to you?
|EVERY time I entertain from this cookbook, I get asked for the recipes,
This cook is the star of my 300+ cookbook collection. The James Beard Foundation recognized it by nominating it for an award in 2006, which is a measure of its quality. I got it almost a year ago, find it fascinating just to read, and cook from it often.
I have entertained from it for two brunches (the Bloody Marys and the Peach Amaretto French toast are amazing. Oooo, and the coffee cake muffins!) – 14 people, and it was ready when they walked in the door. I have done spectacular tarts from it for a SuperBowl party. I have made Harry Belafonte bars for a neighborhood coffee klatch. I made scones and pineapple/coconut muffins for a meeting. I have done an entire dinner from it, and taken it to a friend whose husband had a stroke. In EVERY case, someone (and sometimes multiple people) asked me for one or more of the recipes, which I take as a fine measure of the quality of the recipes. AND – you get to enjoy your parties, because it is all done ahead, and you can be confident that everything will be delicious.
I have also found this book to be an excellent resource for taking food to those who have a new baby, a family crisis or an illness. It gives you the ability to finish a great dish up to the point that it goes into the oven, then take to someone with directions that say “put in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes then enjoy!”
Was this review helpful to you?
|ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS IN MY COLLECTION!,
Spending my time in the kitchen while entertaining is not my idea of a good time. So when I saw this cookbook, I was anxious to purchase it and try the recipes! I have made several recipes in this book and they have all been excellent. The recipes are easy to follow, delicious and creative, with ingredients that I usually have in my pantry or are easily found at the store. The recipes feature a lot of fresh veggies, herbs and quality ingredients making the recipes fresh and healthy. There are not a lot of high fat, high salt ingredients called for. I love the fact that all of the recipes have steps that can be done in advance that will allow me to have most everything prepped and ready to go before company comes. I find myself referring to it over and over. Great find!
Was this review helpful to you?
|