I ended up skipping a couple of French Fridays with Dorie weeks in December. I didn’t want to – in fact I’d made most of the December recipes ahead of time. But then the holidays kind of took over and I slacked off in the Dorie department.
So I was quite determined to get back on track this month. And what a lovely way to start – mushroom soup!
And it couldn’t be simpler.
Soften some onion and garlic in some butter…
Add some sliced mushrooms…
Cook until they release their liquid…add wine…cook some more…add herbs and stock…simmer…puree…eat!
I confess, I didn’t do the salad portion of the recipe – sliced raw mushrooms and scallions in the bowl first. I just wanted the smooth, mushroomy soup part.
It’s not a pretty soup, but who cares? It tasted very good. Dorie mentions in her recipe that it you use an immersion blender or food processor, the soup won’t be quite as smooth, and that’s certainly true.
Julia tried it and didn’t like it. She likes mushrooms on and in things, but this didn’t work for her. Bill thought it needed something more – and maybe if I’d done the salad part, that would have been the something more he needed.
Me? I loved it. I think I could have cooked it a bit longer, might have reduced the amount of rosemary and upped the wine, or tried sherry instead, just for fun.
I was also thinking it would be nice with some large, garlicky croutons floating in it. I had leftover garlic bread from dinner the night before, and I had some of that with my soup – it was a VERY nice combination of flavors and textures. I might make some more garlic bread tonight, since there’s definitely enough soup for another meal.
Overall – yummy soup. And so easy to make. I think I’ll make this again, and probably play around with it.
There’s no way Alex will like it though. He was horrified by it. Not a fan of mushrooms, that boy.
Anyway, if you’d like to see what everyone else thought of this soup, click on over HERE and check out all the links!
I think it looks incredible - I'm a big fan of nice big garlicky coutons. Sometimes I parboil potato chucks, dry them off and then crust them up in olive oil and make potato croutons or fried cheese - like breaded cheese squares - so good. No one in my house would eat this - but I would!
Posted by: Jenny | January 08, 2011 at 08:14 AM
potato chunks - that is - Chuck will never get into the pot willingly.
Posted by: Jenny | January 08, 2011 at 08:15 AM
I didn't do the salad part either.
I thought it was just lovely.
Posted by: chocolatechic | January 08, 2011 at 08:48 AM
garicky, cheesy croutons! What a great idea! I think I would have liked that more than the salad.
I'm glad you had fun making it.
Posted by: Candy | January 08, 2011 at 11:10 AM
Your soup turned out so nice and smooth! Great post!
Posted by: yummychunklet | January 08, 2011 at 11:19 AM
Love the pictures...great post.
Posted by: Mary | January 08, 2011 at 02:42 PM
This is a recipe that reminds us all that cooking is artful. I had to adjust as it was cooked to bring out the best flavor but its real art is in its simplicity and very few ingredients. Nice post!
Trevor Sis. Boom.
Posted by: Trevor Sis Boom | January 08, 2011 at 06:14 PM
I made the salad the first time we ate it, but skipped it on the leftovers. You didn't miss much. The herbs for the salad made a nice garnish on the soup though. Welcome back!
Posted by: Betsy | January 08, 2011 at 10:35 PM