Customer Reviews

The Secrets of Jesuit Soupmaking: A Year of Our Soups (Compass)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you're looking for the ultimate gift cookbook, I can't think of a better choice than The Secrets of Jesuit Soupmaking. This book is beautifully written, and engages the reader's heart and soul unlike any other cookbook I've ever encountered. The recipes are SUPERB, and there is a year's worth of variety in this compact volume.

I've loaned The Secrets of Jesuit Soupmaking more times than I can count, and everyone who's borrowed it ended up buying their own copy. That's the highest praise I can lend this wonderful book!

"There is something so comforting about soup. It touches something deeply rooted in our lives." p. 5 This book is a journey around the work and through the year.

The soups are divided into church seasons: Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. It is filled with interesting stories and antidotes from Curry's travels and from Jesuit history and lore.

The recipes are great and the tales make them nourishing for the soul as well as the body. With soups from around the world and tales of travels, life loss and joy, the book will be a pleasure to read. Savor the words of wisdom as you enjoy the soups.

Rick Curry entered the Society of Jesus in 1961. In the last forty years he has been an actor, baker, teacher and author. He founded the National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped, a nonprofit acting school for persons with disabilities. With both a asters and doctorate in arts he has created the first residential center for arts for persons with disabilities.

This works better as a "memoir of soup making" rather than a book of soup recipes. Mr. Curry has an engaging and stimulating writing style and many of the stories that surround the recipes are quite delightful. The recipes themselves leave a lot to be desired. A lot of the ingredients I've never heard of and a lot of the soups are designed to be made by someone with unlimited time and patience available-not the norm in the typical American household. Some of these concoctions seem to have been designed to be exotic merely for the sake of being exotic, not because they provide superior soups. Of those recipes that seemed doable on our schedule with what we normally have at hand for our routine cooking, all were fine but none exceptional or particularly noteworthy.

If offbeat soup making is your life, then this might be a good choice. For most people, I'd say look for it on a friend/acquaintance's bookshelf and read it for the stories.

While these recipes do not especially appeal to me all that much, my wife will be making them one after another. This book is a gift for her.

My own preference is for "man soups," hot, hearty, lot's of meat, (especially beef), everything but the kitchen sink. These recipes are well thought-out ingredient flavors which blend to a nice pinnacle, mostly giving rise to a particular flavor. Here are some examples from this 209-page softcover book:

-- Chicken Soup
-- Clam and Mushroom Soup
-- French Onion Soup
-- Zucchini Soup
-- Avocado Soup

Now, don't get me wrong -- some of these soups have lengthy ingredient lists, much to do with herbs and garnishes. All the recipes can be easily prepared by a beginning cook but more experienced cooks will find them fun to make. The instructions are very clear.

The author has been a Jesuit Brother since 1961 and he's well-versed in culinary skills. Brother Curry has other cookbooks to his credit including: The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking.

Also included are lots of stories about Jesuit life and there is additionally an appropriate amount of spritual commentary. The work is generally broken down into four sections which include Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. There are over 62 soup, chowder and stew recipes in all.

If Eric Satie had been a chef instead of a composer, his recipes would have been like these. If you are a bit of a gourmet and have discerning taste buds for specialty soups, you'll probably love this volume.

Even marginal cooks can enjoy this cook book. There are so many hearty, wholesome soups as well as some soups for a lighter diet. There are tips on buying and picking fresh, organic ingredients. The instructions are simple and easy to follow. It has some lovely personal stories between recipes. It really is a wonderful book.

The soup recipes in this book are pretty simple, delicious and well explained. The stories and thoughts in between are very nice and often thought provoking. Don't be afraid of a cookbook by a catholic preist.

A good dual-tome; part good soup recipes and part peek into the inner world of a Jesuit Brother. I really enjoy reading it. This year (2010) Curry became a Jesuit Priest. He was so gracious when I showed up after Mass with my new-to-me Soupmaking book for him to sign. Also try his book on break making. Just as tasty.

This is a book full of healthy, delicious recipes and stories in between. Pair it with "Jesuit Bread Making" for a wonderful meal. Warm bread and butter and clear tomato soup is a good way to start. Enjoy!

I loved the bread book Brother Curry wrote. And I will most likely buy this book in print. But I won't pay more for an electronic version than the paper one....the cost to produce it just doesn't support the increased pricing. I'll check again later with hopes of an adjustment.

I was very disappointed at the quality of the recipes in this book. One recipe actually used boullion cubes for the stock!! From the tilte of the book I would think that each of these soups would be a "labor of love". None are very inspiring. I will probably never open this book again. I suggest the Willams Sonoma "Soup" highly over this.