Bon Appétit

There have been several times in the course of my life where it's dawned on me that certain meals or food items can be made from scratch. For some reason, my industrial and limited mind thinks there are things that only factories can make.

Mushroom soup for example. Before a friend sent me this recipe it never even occurred to me that one could make it at home with their own two hands.

Talk about decadent! I mean really, if you like mushrooms on any level, you're in for a treat. The recipe I used is below. My advice is to follow the ingredients and directions closely. Try not to be a hero with this one. I used a large lemon and mine could have used a little less lemon flavor, so stick with a medium sized one. Be careful not to let those pesky lemon seeds into your mushroom mix too. Biting down on a lemon seed in your soup is far from ideal. Don't substitute anything for the heavy cream either. DON'T I TELL YOU! I'd say a general rule of thumb is to stick with heavy cream when told to.

Enjoy mon ami...

Wolfgang Puck Mushroom Soup
- 4 servings

Ingredients
- 1 pound firm white mushrooms, with stems, cleaned
- 1 medium lemon
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons minced shallots
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley

Directions
1. Sprinkle the mushrooms with juice from one medium lemon. In a food processor, coarsely chop mushrooms.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan and lightly saute the shallots. Add the mushrooms, thyme, and bay leaf and saute over moderate heat for 10 minutes, or until the liquid disappears. Add the salt, pepper, cream, and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add the cornstarch to the soup and continue to simmer 10 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Correct seasoning to taste.
4. Serve in warm bowls.