Sunday Dinner (aka Jason's Favorite Cream of Mushroom Soup)

As the resident cook in the family, I make dinners most nights. I say most nights because Jason and I have a deal where I cook 4-5 nights a week (usually Sunday-Thursday) and we go out to eat the other two nights (usually Friday and Saturday)... because even someone who likes to cook as much as I do needs a break! During the week, I try to stick to relatively simple meals (e.g., those that are not too time consuming or that require a hundred different ingredients) since, no commute aside, I do work a 40+ hour week too.  This means that Sundays usually are my days to try out more complicated recipes or things that just require more time to prepare.

Ina Garten’s cream of wild mushroom soup is a prime example of a Sunday meal around here and it just so happens to be one of Jason’s all time favorites. I decided to make it today since he spent a good portion of the day working on our taxes (he is the finance whiz in the family).  You start out by making a mushroom stock that is used in making the actual soup (hence why it is a bit more time consuming than my average weekday meals).

Then you sauté some leeks and a whole lot of mushrooms, add some white wine, and simmer with the stock for a bit. Stir in some half-and-half and heavy cream and you’ve got yourself some soup! Yum.

The key to making the most flavorful soup is the stock and I have identified a pretty good way to ensure maximum flavor---adding a little Better than Bouillon once the stock has come to a boil. I found this out by accident, actually. The first time I made the soup, I found it a little bland (to my dismay) although Jason loved it. I chalked it up to not having seasoned it properly and vowed to try again. The next time I realized that I had discarded the mushroom stems too soon and was not going to be able to use them for the stock. After a moment of panic, I realized that I had some Mushroom Better than Bouillon in the fridge (leftover from another recipe) and threw some in. The resulting stock (and therefore soup) was far more flavorful and delicious than before.

Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup
Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:
15 ounces of mushrooms (this time I used maitake, portabella, and cremini but you can use any kind as long as they are not white/button mushrooms)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 stick plus 1 Tablespoon butter
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon of dried thyme, herbs de provence, or something similar
1-2 Tablespoons Mushroom Better than Bouillon (depending on how mushroom-y you like things)
2 chopped leeks (white and light green parts)
¼ cup flour
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup half and half (all the grocery store had today was fat free so I used it and it worked just fine)
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and Pepper

1.  Make the stock: Separate the mushroom caps from the stems and coarsely chop them. Set aside. Slice the mushroom caps into bite size pieces. Heat the olive oil and 1 Tbl of the butter in a large pot. Add mushroom stems, onion, carrot, and ¼ tsp of the dried herbs, salt and pepper. Cook over medium-low heat from 10-15 minutes until everything is soft. Add 6 cups of water, bring to a boil, and add the Better than Bouillon. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid.
2. After the stock has simmered for 10 minutes or so, heat the remaining butter in a large pot and add the leeks. Cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes until the leeks begin to brown. Add the mushroom caps and cook for 10 minutes or until browned and tender.
3. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir for another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the mushroom stock, remaining dried herbs, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add the half-and-half and cream, heat through but do not boil. Check for seasoning and serve.

Tonight I served the soup with some yeast rolls that I “made” from frozen dough.

You just let the dough rise (in a warm oven) for an hour and then bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

They are so good. Sometimes I brush a little melted butter and add some herbs to the top before baking. Awesome!