Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

Kayla was home for a month or so after her mission trip to India.  We had a battle going over mushrooms.

I would buy them…she would eat them.

I would plan a recipe around them.  They’d disappear out of the refrigerator.

“What are you making with all the mushrooms?” I’d ask.

“I’m just sauteing them and eating them out of a bowl”, she answered.

Hmmmmm.

So this weekend, I thought I’d have my mushrooms to myself. I bought two giant 16 oz. packages of them.  I made two recipes.  And guess what?

She came home from college.

Some birthday party excuse or something.

Anyway, I made this soup Saturday night, and it is most delectably delicious.

Start by melting 3 tablespoons of butter into 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Add in one 16 ounce container of sliced button mushrooms.

Yes, that’s a lot but this is mushroom soup people!

Saute these around on medium-low for about 7-8 minutes or until the mushrooms get a little browned and juicy and soft-looking.

Meanwhile, chop up one medium-size onion pretty fine.

Add it right into the pot along with 2 cloves of pressed garlic.

Stir this all around for about 5 minutes, mixing frequently.

Then go ahead and dump in 4 tablespoons of flour.

Also toss in 1 teaspoon of dried thyme.  It goes incredibly well with mushrooms and cream.  Mix the flour into the mushroom mixture and continue to stir over the heat, letting the pasty flavor cook out of the flour.

If you have fresh thyme that would be wonderful as well.  My Thai basil has choked my thyme right out of the sunlight, and therefore, I have no fresh thyme this year. Hmph.

After a few minutes, add in one cup of dry white wine.

Stir this up and then add one entire box of chicken stock (or 32 oz.).

Bring this to a simmer and also sprinkle in one teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.

Add one 16 oz. package of potato gnocchi.  (I found this at Wal-Mart).

Let this cook for about 2 minutes (the package says 2-3 minute), and then dump in one and one-half cups of half and half.

Also add in one cup of Parmesan cheese.

Stir and simmer for another minute.

Your gnocchi should be tender but still have a little al dente “bite” to it.

Whenever I think of gnocchi, I always remember Godfather 3, when Andy Garcia is teaching Sofia Coppola how to roll it off a fork.  It was this oddly romantic scene between cousins…

Shudder.

Anyway, now ladle your soup into a bowl.  This is what I like to do to add some freshness to the creaminess.  I gently tuck some baby spinach leaves around the edge of the bowl and let them wilt for a minute before I eat it.

And there you have it – Cream of Mushroom Soup.

It knocks the red and white canned stuff right out of the park.

Katie’s Printable Recipe – Cream of Mushroom Soup

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