Soup Sunday - Cream of Mushroom

I'm not posting my new, fantastic, great, yummy, gotta-make-it-soon-again quinoa soup recipe.

Not gonna do that because I did try the recipe and it was awful, terrible, grimace-producing, chuck-that-recipe-out-right-now.  Just how bad was it?  Let's just say the chickens wouldn't eat it (a sad but true statement) and let it go at that, okay?

I don't make too many dishes that are that bad, but I excelled on this one.  Kinda bummed me out 'cause I not only wasted the time on it but also six cups of really good turkey broth and five cups of fresh, frozen corn.  Arrrgh.  But, hey, it's not the end of the world, and these things do happen.

But . . . fear thee not.  I do have a really good soup recipe to share with you today.  It's not a new one, but an old favorite.

I once gave this recipe to a friend who thought it was great.  Shortly thereafter, she had a fella she had been dating over for an impromptu dinner.  She sat him down in the kitchen with a glass of wine and said she was going to whip up some Cream of Mushroom Soup.

He hesitantly said, "Um . . . I don't like mushroom soup."

"Trust me," she replied.  "You'll love this."  And then she went on to make the soup.  He ate two bowls and said, "This is crazy 'cause I really have never liked mushroom soup before!"

Here's hoping you like it, too.

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CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

1/4 cup butter

8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon savory

Pinch of white pepper

1 can beef broth (or about 12 oz. homemade beef broth)

1 cup 1/2 & 1/2

Melt butter in a saucepan.  Add mushrooms and onions and cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are brown and most of their liquid is gone.

Sprinkle with flour, salt, savory and pepper.  Stir until coated.

Remove from heat and slowly blend in beef broth.  Put back on heat, bring to boiling, cover and reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  Mixture will be very thick so simmer on a low heat and stir now and then to make sure it's not sticking.

Mix in the 1/2 & 1/2 and heat to serving temperature being careful not to boil.

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I like to let the 1/2 & 1/2 sit out on the counter while I'm making the first parts of the soup.  There's less chance of it curdling if it's a little tempered rather than pouring it straight from the refrigerator into the hot soup.

Yesterday when I made this, it seemed just a titch thick so I added half a cup of water to the end product.  If you, too, desire to thin it, you can add more water, broth, 1/2 & 1/2 or milk.  They all work well.

Sorry there are no pictures.  Yesterday was a slightly discomboobulated day and I just plumb let the photos slip my mind.  Our bowls were about licked clean when I thought of it.

This recipe makes only a scant quart of soup so you can feel free to double it as I have often.

Happy Sunday Soup!