Cream of Mushroom Soup

I got hungry for mushroom soup, checked out a few recipes and decided to chuck them all and wing it.  What I ended up with was really tasty.  My only hesitation in giving you the recipe is that I didn’t pay a lot of attention to measurements.  This is basically what I did.

Buy a small carton of mushrooms.  I don't know how else to describe it any other way.  I don't know the weight or whether it's a peck.  I'm sure it's not a bushel.  It's just one of those cartons they sell.  Not the big one, the small one.

Throw a half of a stick of butter into a big pot:  sliced about three onions really thin and cook them a bit on a low heat.

I think the onion part is important.  The onion flavor is a big part of this soup but it doesn’t sound like it since it’s , well..mushroom soup.

Get one of the lunch-box size bag of carrots and chop them up pretty small.  Cut the stems off the mushrooms and chop them.  Add the chopped stems to the pot. Later on you will slice the tops of the muchrooms.

After the veggies are soft add a couple of cups of chicken stock.  Then about ¼ cup of Sherry or Marsala wine. And a teaspoon of salt if you’re using homemade stock….a little less if you use canned broth.

After all that is incorporated and the vegetables are soft take it off the heat and let cool a bit.  Then run it all through the blender.  You’ll end up with a stock that has been naturally thickened.  I love that part.  No flour required.  None.

Pour this blended mixture back into the pot and add the sliced mushroom caps.  And about ½ cup of heavy cream.  Yes, cream.  Not milk.  It’s called Cream of Mushroom soup, not Milk of Mushroom soup.

Taste it and see what you would change the next time you make this.    You could buy a rosesserie chicken and cut up the meat to add to it.  They also have ready-made rice in the freezer section now.  That would be a good addition.