This cookbook was reviewed by Todd of A Cooking Dad.
Here in Minnesota we just had our first snow of the season. I am not a big fan of the snow, but it did signal that it was the perfect time for this cookbook to arrive in my mailbox. Great Homemade Soups – A Cooks Collection, by Paul Gayler is full of soups, soups, and more soups. Actually it is not just soups; the cookbook starts out with a handful of recipes for garnishes, accompaniments, and toppings for soups. Most of them were very simple ideas, some did not even need recipes, but they were a nice unexpected addition which definitely gave some ideas to dress up a soup dinner.
After the garnishes, accompaniments, and toppings Gayler goes into recipes for several different stocks: white chicken, brown chicken, beef or game, vegetable, and fish. Starting right away with the stocks there are several of the recipes written as a “Masterclass” recipe. The recipes are great but the “Masterclass” items step it up a notch with step by step photographs to help explain the process. I really think this was a great idea, especially with some of the more complicated soups.
