Sherried Mushroom Soup

I love making my mushroom soup as much as I like eating it.  It is truly just as enjoyable to make, despite a lot of boring prep time, because the soup as it is cooking fills the kitchen with a smell that is just as delectable as the taste of the finished product.

I use a combination of mushrooms.  I will usually make quite a large batch of the soup if I'm going to go through the bother of making it, so I will start with something like 4 to 6 cups of button mushrooms.  I also like to add some cremini, for color and flavor, and I will use maybe a quarter of the amount of button.  I usually use a third type of mushroom to add depth of flavor.  Shiitakes work really well, as even though they are expensive, just a few of them really add a nice nuttiness to the soup.  One or two portabellas also work, obviously adding a bit of a different flavor than the shiitake.  Either will work.

I am a stickler for washing the mushrooms, so I actually take the time to wash each individual one.  (Hence the "boring prep time" comment.)  This is actually the most difficult portion of making this soup.  Since I am making a liquidy product out of them, I actually run them under water to clean them instead of delicately wiping them with a damp paper towel, as you should normally do with mushrooms that you don't want to soak up all that water.  But it's for soup, so who cares?  Slice or chop the mushrooms (slice if you want to leave some pieces in the finished soup, they look nicer than chunks), and also chop about a half cup of white or yellow onion, and 3 or 4 garlic cloves.  These three veggies, a little salt and pepper, and one stick of butter go into a large pot on medium-low heat, covered, for at least 30 minutes.  This is the part where the kitchen fills with buttery, mushroomy smell, and it's really worth it to make the soup just for that.  I also love to eat mushrooms just like this: leave them whole instead, otherwise the exact same instructions, and you have lovely buttery, garlicy mushrooms as a side dish or just to eat as is.  Yummo!

Anyhoo, after the mushrooms cook down for at least a half hour, and anywhere up to an hour and a half depending on the size of the mushroom pieces and how many there are, you will see that the mushrooms have created a ton of lovely juice.  Simply scoop out everything in the pot and puree it in a blender in small batches until it is smooth.  You may need to add water to the blender batches to help it along; go ahead and do this, as you are going to be adding water to the soup either way when you are done blending.  If you want mushroom pieces in your finished soup, leave a scoop of them out of the blender, obviously.  Everything then goes back in the pot, and add a few cups of water and a bouillion cube.  Salt and pepper to taste, and you can also add a little thyme, or parsley if you like.  After everything is seasoned the way you like, you add about a quarter or a half cup of sherry.  Basic cooking sherry works fine.  Then, stir in a cup or two of cream.  That's it!  Compare this to any canned cream of mushroom soup.... it's not even close.  This is one of those recipes that makes my husband roll his eyes and say, "Oh my gosh, that's good."   It really, really is. 

Happy eating!