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Creamy Mushroom Soup




Source of Recipe


recipezaar.com (I modified slightly)






Recipe Introduction


I never used to like mushrooms... I'd pick them off of pizzas, I'd pick them out of stroganoff. For reasons I cannot explain, over the past few years, it seems I can't get enough of them! My husband and I love mushroom soup, and we liked this recipe.





List of Ingredients



• 1 lb mushrooms (the beauty of this recipe is that you can use ANY combination of mushrooms you want, depending on how you want it flavored. Recently, I used portobello, shiitake, oyster and wood ear mushrooms)
  
• 2 tablespoons sherry or brandy (Please use the real stuff! Don't use cooking wine!)
  
• 2 cloves garlic
  
• 1 medium onion
  
• 1 quart chicken stock
  
• 1 cup heavy cream (no, this is not a low-cal, low-fat recipe)
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• butter - enough to saute the veggies in
  






Instructions



1. Okay, first of all, be sure you get a big enough container to cook all this stuff in. A big, deep pot will work fine.
   
2. Slice up the onion and all the mushrooms. Saute in butter, in the big pot. Cook until the onions become translucent and start to brown.
   
3. Crush the garlic; add to the pot. Give it a good stir.
   
4. Add the sherry/brandy. Let the alcohol cook off (should take about two minutes).
   
5. Add the chicken stock. Bring the whole thing to a boil and let it simmer 15 - 20 minutes.
   
6. Give it a taste. Add salt/pepper to taste.
   
7. Add the cream. This can be tricky if you're a novice. Add it S-L-O-W-L-Y, or otherwise it will curdle. Drizzle a little in, stir it. Drizzle, stir. Drizzle... well, you get the idea.
   
8. Simmer another 10 minutes.
   
9. Now, here's where you can make the choice between keeping it the way it is OR putting it in a blender. There are advantages to each. Blending it will release a lot more of the mushroomy flavor; keeping it the way it is gives you that nice texture of biting into bigger mushroom chunks. Depends what you're into. If you DO decide to blend, be sure you have a big enough blender. (Learned that one the hard way.)
   
10. Serve!