Customer Reviews

New England Soup Factory Cookbook: More Than 100 Recipes from the Nation's Best Purveyor of Fine Soup

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had high hopes for this book. My boyfriend and I have visited the New England Soup Factory frequently and have always been impressed by the array of interesting soups and the fact that we have yet to try one we didn't like. However, I wasn't sure how this would translate into a cookbook as sometimes recipes invented for large scale production don't taste the same when you pair back the yield to something more appropriate for the average home cook like myself. I also wondered if they would leave out some of their more interesting recipes. Thankfully, neither of my fears were founded. The recipes I have tried to date taste just as good as anything I have had in their restaurant and are just as interesting.

The thing that sets this book apart from others I have tried is the sheer variety of interesting recipes. Sure most books cover the basics, but this also includes some very inventive combinations. My personal favorite is the author's take on spanakopita in soup form. It's rich and delicious and quite unlike any soup I've ever had. The eggplant parm soup is also unbelievable. I first tried it in the restaurant and the cookbook version is identical. I also quite enjoyed the Roasted Beet and Pear Soup with Blue Cheese. I'm not normally a huge beet fan but this soup won me over. Overall, you get a breadth of recipes that not only sound good on paper, but work out perfectly when you cook them at home.

The ingredients used are also very easy to find in the average supermarket so you shouldn't run into the problem of wanting to make a delicious soup but having no access to the raw materials. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to expand their soup repetoire beyond the usual standards.

I made one of the tomato soups the first day I got the book. It used roasted tomatoes and was absolutely delicious. The recipes are generally very healthy and could be more so if you made some simple substitutions. Soups are a great way to get my family to eat more vegetables and a convenient way to eat; easy to make in advance, freeze and reheat. I have never been to the restaurant but I'll bet it's amazing. The soups are inventive but not fussy or complicated, perfect for a home cook.

I am in love with this book. Many of my co-workers and I consider it a special treat on days we get to lunch at the New England Soup Factory (their Chili Con Carne is our collective favorite), so I was ecstatic to find a copy of their recipe book while browsing the bookstore over the weekend. And, yes, the Chili Con Carne recipe is included!

There are so many mouth-watering, rich, unique and comfort-food soups that I had a hard time deciding what to make first. From Potato, Crab and Gorgonzola to Apple, Onion and cheddar--they all sound so good! I decided on a vegetarian option: Spinach, Feta Cheese, and Toasted Pine Nut Soup. Not only was it delicious, but it was easy to make.

In addition to the seasonal soups, Druker has included a chapter of sandwiches and salads which are just as appetizing as the soups. (For example; The Fallwich, with sweet potatoes, cranberry mayonnaise, turkey and cashews.)

I know what I'll be getting my whole family for Christmas this year.

My husband and I have been frequent NE Soup Factory customers for years. So imagine how excited I was when I walked in to the Newton store and saw the book. The manager saw me flipping through the pages and he looked at me and said "It's in there." and I said "No, it can't be," and he said "Yes, it's in there." and Lo and behold, my favorite Greek Orzo, Lemon, and Chicken Soup, perfect if you are feeling under the weather, was in the book. I bought it on the spot. What I love most about having the recipes is that we can tailor the book to our dietary preferences- eliminate cream, use vegetable broth instead of meat-based broths, use box broths in a pinch, reduce butter, and the taste is just as great! Meanwhile, have I made my favorite? Nope, but I've made two batches of vegetarian mulligatawny soup, the sweet potato and carmalized onion soup, the puree root vegetable....I will work my way through all winter....They may have lost a store customer but I plan on buying the book for friends and family for the holidays. Enjoy!

Full disclosure: I love soup. So my review is inherently biased. But you want this cookbook. These recipes are easy, most of them are delicious, relatively healthy and a good mix of omnivore and vegetarian recipes. I wish every soup had its own picture but the pictures that are there are very well-done. There are no weird, hard-to-find ingredients and no over the top techniques best left to the pros or serious amateurs. In fact, if you are looking for a cooking challenge, this book will bore you. If i had time to make my own stock I could chastise her for her technique for adding bouillon cubes to "home-made" stock but I don't, so I won't. I use store-bought stock and the soups are still delicious. There are recipes in the back for sandwiches that look and sound really good but I have had so much fun making soup that I haven't done any of those.
The very first soup I made was a lima bean soup. I hate lima beans but I loved that soup. In retrospect, I'm not sure why I chose that as my first recipe out of this book but I'm glad I did as it has made me open to trying recipes I wouldn't normally bother with. The book is well organized starting with various stock recipes (none of which I have made), then chicken soups, tomato soups, chowders, and then by season. The summer soups are mostly cold fruit soups- not my thing- and I haven't made any. The ones I made that I will make again and again: 1. Eggplant parmesan soup - it's worth buying this book just for this recipe it's that good. 2. Black bean and sausage- outstanding. 3. Mulligatawny- so, so very good. Now I know why Seinfeld made an episode just about this soup.
I love this book and use it once a week when the weather is getting cooler. There's no attitude in this book. Some authors make you feel like a failure for not making stock or implying that soup made without it isn't even worth making. This author doesn't. No special equipment is necessary but you will likely need a new soup pot. These recipes make a lot of soup. Most are for twelve servings so get a big pot or halve the recipe. An immersion blender comes in handy but a regular blender will suffice. I used this book as an excuse to get an immersion blender and it's now my favorite kitchen gadget of all. I need to write a review of that too. Other than that, buy this book and make some soup!

Move out of the way Charlie Trotter, Patick O'Connell, Todd English, Bob Kincaid, and James McNair, the Celebrity Chef of Soups - Margorie Druker of Boston's New England Soup Factory has published her first cookbook with recipes that will knock you out. I found this cookbook by accident but my family and friends have just loved the 4 soups we have tried so far. The Pumpkin & White Bean soup had my dinner friends clamoring for seconds; indeed, it is the best pumpkin based soup you will ever enjoy. I made the Pasta Fagioi with beef short ribs instead of pork on a cold Sunday, and it wowed our group of 10 friends so much that they stopped watching the Redskins football game and quietly devoured their Fagioli - then asked for more. I am a weekend gourmet chef with 20+ years of kitchen experience - the Veal & Portobello Mushroom Stew was fabulous, again, the best veal stew I have made. It was worth following the recipe! I have given some copies of this cookbook to friends who cook because they will appreciate the ingenuity of Druker. As to the celebrity chefs out there, and I have many of their books, their soup recipes don't hold a candle to this cookbook.

Prior to finding the actual New England soup factory, I did not like soup. Now, I am addicted. I was thrilled when I walked in and found that Marjorie was willing to share her recipes with the rest of us. BTW -- the Carrot Ginger soup is amazing!

This is an exceptionally fine recipe book. One of the best I've ever read and we own hundreds of them. By all means, buy this book for yourself and buy one as a very unique, completely excellent book for someone else.

I've eaten at the Soup Factory many times. It has an outstanding reputation in the metro Boston / New England area.

What a great book.

One would be hard pressed not to find several dishes in this cookbook that aren't a favorite. There is a wide variety of soups and stews from:

Fresh and Summery: such as Chilled Beet and Raspberry Soup

Hearty:(meat subs can be used. Try the Cheddar Corn Chowder with Bacon & Scallions, Country Split Pea Soup with Bacon and Potatoes, Chili Con Carne, Porcini Mushroom Soup, Cauliflower Potato & Cheese Soup, Asparagus Potato and Herb Soup...

Holiday Friendly: We like to serve soup on Thanksgiving and Christmas by hollowing out small pumpkins and cutting off the top half and then serving soup to each person inside the small pumpkin with roasted pumpkin seeds on top. Or using one large pumpkin as the tureen. It has a wow factor and the soup can be made in advance and simply reheated to cut down on holiday cooking the "day of" yet still provide a gourmet course. Here are some good choices: Pumpkin, Lobster, & Ginger Soup, Pumpkin and Cranberry Soup (our favorite for the holidays), Yellow Split Pea Soup with Pumpkin, or Sweet Potato Soup with Carmelized Onions.

Chicks dig it: Some favorite chicken soups: (meat subs can be used.)Chicken Tortellini Soup, Holiday Chicken Soup, Grandma's Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls,Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup.

A few other faves worth noting: Roasted Yellow Pepper and Lobster Soup, Lobster Bisque, Italian Vegetable Soup with Rice, Roasted Tomato and Butternut Squash Soup, Spinach Feta Cheese and Toasted Pine Nut Soup, Italian Vegetable Soup with Rice

Want a full meal? The author also has recipes for sandwiches, spreads (try the cranberry mayo for turkey sandwiches or wraps!), dressings, salads and breads.

I often make soup on the weekend to continue with leftovers during the workweek for dinner, but then add in sides of a half a sandwich or salad, or even both with a small cup of soup. This cookbook allows for just that idea.

The instructions are easy to follow, the ingredients used are typically very easy to locate and not too exotic but the soups really are full of flavor and taste. There are no processed ingredients yet most soups are hardly time consuming in preparation.

The recipe book will provide everything from creamy to hearty to broth-based to chilled soups so it allows for great meals year round.

Negatives: It's not a lengthy cookbook at just over 100 recipes...had it been longer and contained nutritional info I would have easily given in 5 stars. However, I can't fault it much as the taste is solid and that, after all, is why we cook. Great recipes that work flawlessly...

Conclusion: A great cookbook. Will make anyone wanna eat their veggies!

This book has several wonderful recipes that you normally don't see such as the carrot-ginger soup. All of the soup bases (stocks) are made from scratch. Most recipes, if not all, can easily be done at home. Highly recommended.