Soup Mix Gourmet or Bills Open Kitchen

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 Roast and Homey Casseroles

Author: Diane Phillips

Mainstream short-cut cooking at its best, with 375 recipes that use dry soup mix or canned condensed soup as a key flavor ingredient.

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. (Oct.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

The recipes in The Soup Mix Gourmet, in some ways the antithesis of Haedrich's book, use both canned soups and packaged soup mixes. Phillips (The Perfect Mix) developed hundreds of recipes based on these products, from five versions of famous onion soup mix dip to Seafood Lasagne to Beef Burgundy. She is obviously a good cook, but some of the recipes seem as if they would be better off without the soups or mixes, which usually contain both lots of salt and chemicals; e.g., it seems a shame to add a dried soup mix to a salad made with expensive, and flavorful, Stilton, roast beef, new potatoes, and fresh chives or to a pasta primavera full of fresh vegetables and herbs. The soup chapter may be the most successful, with ideas and recipes for jazzing up the canned or packaged products before serving them. And the recipes are not always quick some of the ones that include the mixes need several hours or more of standing time. Buy for demand. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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Bills Open Kitchen

Author: Bill Granger

In Bills Open Kitchen, renowned Sydney-based restaurateur and chef Bill Granger presents dozens of effortless, inventive dishes for every meal of the day.Bill loves food that is fast and easy to prepare, yet still rich in flavors like Ham and Gruyére French Toast, Caramel Chicken, and Banana Maple Upside-Down Cake.Bill believes cooking is a time to kick back and relax. You won't find any complicated steps or fancy equipment here – just simple, straightforward, delectable dishes. And all infused with the welcoming, celebratory spirit of Australia.