Soups On

Bernard Clayton, Jr.'s, first book, "The Complete Book of Breads," won the coveted Tastemaker cookbook award and was praised by Craig Claiborne as perhaps the best book on the subject in the English language. Of Clayton's "The Complete Book of Pastry," which also received a Tastemaker award, Claiborne said: "One of the most important cookbooks of this year if not this decade." Now this highly respected author turns his attention to soups and stews. From his travels around the world, Clayton has put together an eclectic collection of 250 soup recipes and 50 stew recipes, adding to the clear instructions personal anecdotes and historical background throughout. He covers a wide range of soups, from Asparagus-and-Crab to Peach-Buttermilk. American classics such as New England Chowder, Burgoo and U.S. Senate Bean Soup share the spotlight with such international gems as Japanese "Shabu-Shabu," Nigerian Peanut Soup and Scottish Cock-a-Leekie Soup. After a thorough discussion of the many kinds of stocks, from Brown Stock to Vegetable Stock, Mr. Clayton includes, for those of us who are lazy, the pros and cons of homemade versus storebought stock, along with tricks and tips to improve the later. With recipes that are well written and easy to follow, Clayton shows that soup-making is neither time-consuming nor difficult, and in any case is well worth the effort.