Williams-Sonoma Soup for Supper
In this volume from the Williams-Sonoma Lifestyle Series, Joyce Goldstein, the award-winning San Francisco chef, guides you in making and serving outstanding soups. Organizing her 45 recipes into 10 three-course menus, she shows how to compose soup-centered meals, from a Thermos and Basket Picnic to an Elegant Dinner Party, each offering soup, a salad, and dessert. Goldstein favors soups with ethnic roots, like a cold Lithuanian Borscht splashed with raspberry vinegar. She also has a fine creative touch that's evident in the Roasted Squash Soup with hazelnuts, a colorful and warming broth.Accompanying each recipe is a handy pointer for ensuring soup perfection. For Asparagus Soup, Goldstein explains that using spears past their prime can give a grassy taste--this can be balanced by adding a dash of cream.Reassuringly, the recipes are not overly taxing, but they do involve "real" cooking, such as the long simmering of dried beans. The results, though, including Spanish Pumpkin and Bean Soup, are just rewards for your efforts. Finally, Richard Eskite's splendid photos illustrating how to present each soup at the table are so full of life that you can taste them.--Dana Jacobi