The Soup Mix Gourmet: 375 Short-Cut Recipes Using Dry and Canned Soups to Create Everything from Delicious Dips and Sumptuous Salads to Hearty Pot Roasts and Homey Casseroles (Paperback)

by Diane Phillips (Author) "THE PANTRY I DESCRIBE HERE ISN'T much different from the pantry that I recommend to my beginning cooking students..." (more)
Key Phrases: Garlic Soup Mix, Lipton Savory Herb, Knorr Leek Soup Mix (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
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.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press; illustrated edition edition (October 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558322094
• ISBN-13: 978-1558322097
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #90,678 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best ever!, November 18, 2002

By	Scott Coffman "Scott the Bookman" (Louisville, KY United States) - See all my reviews

I'm a cookbook junkie, endless perusing the latest editions and the old standards (and not-so-standards) for new and exciting meals. A normal cookbook purchase will usually net 3 or 4 suitable recipes for my family's tastes. The Soup Mix Gourmet has proven a bonanza! I've marked over 40 recipes that sound terrific for our needs, and all five that I have made so far were total winners. I'll be looking for more works by this author; she really has the "magic touch" in the kitchen! I work in a brick-and-mortar bookstore, and have recommended this book to over two dozen folks in the last couple of weeks. All of them have expressed great pleasure (one even sent me a couple of boxes of dry soup mix with a thank-you note).
This book is beautifully done. Buy it today!

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Canned and dried soup??? Yep! And you'll love it!!!, November 15, 2001

By	Daniel F. Moore (Yarmouth, Maine USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Soup Mix Gourmet: 375 Short-Cut Recipes Using Dry and Canned Soups to Cook Up Everything from Delicious Dips and Sumptuous Salads to Hearty. Pot Roasts & Homey Casseroles (Hardcover)

This is a HUGE book! Don't be daunted by that as it covers everything from appetizers to main course and tosses in a host of rubs and marinades. Diane Phillips doesn't just recount all of the previously published recipes of the various soup vendors, she undertakes to combine the flavors of canned and dry soup mixes to produce a wonderful result. She provides many tips and alternatives to accomodate individual tastes.

This isn't 'dump chili'. It is a realistic use of condensed and dried soup to enhance and ease the cooking process. I was reluctant at first to purchase this book but it was recommended by a friend. I remembered growing up to recipes that were 'drowned' in salty goop. This book departs from that by combining condensed and dry soups with herbs and spices. I must admit that I was most pleasantly surprised AND I use this book repeatedly.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you ever wanted to cook with soup, October 23, 2001

By	"jantink" (Redford, MI USA) - See all my reviews

I am not a snob. I often use canned soup as well as dried soup mixes in my cooking. I am a busy mom and don't have time to concoct elaborate sauces and I have children who are extremely suspicious of "flecks" and "chunks". On the other hand, I like to eat food that TASTES good. I welcomed the advent of this cookbook and have already stuffed it with post-it notes on the recipes I am going to try. There is an enormous variety here and if you like to cook with soup you are certain to find something that you will like!

The biggest drawback I found was the emphasis on shallots over onions (this can be pricey for some), but this is easily rectified..just use onions. Some recipes calling for just the seasoning package and not the noodles from ramen noodle soup had me looking askance as well, but you could easily subsitute a bouillon cube. I don't have room to store opened packages of ramen noodles, although I occasionally use the noodles without the seasoning and store those to throw in soup!