Cream of Mushroom Soup (bisque)

We are back in town for a few days before leaving on our next trip, so I will post some recipes before we leave again.  The trip to Michigan was delightful.  Seeing our daughter's family is always fun and the weather was superb.  We played a golf course we hadn't played before.  It sat in the hills above Little Traverse Bay, just outside of Petosky.  The views were breathtaking.  The golf a little less so, but fun at any rate.

I love thick creamy soups like chowders and bisque's.  On our trip, I had some great seafood chowder at the Pier, an old standby restaurant in Harbor Springs.  It was recently remodeled and was as beautiful inside as was the view to the water outside. While having lunch we had a conversation on the meaning of chowder vs. bisque.  Chowder is a rich soup typically containing fish, clams or corn with potatoes and onions.  Bisque is a rich creamy soup typically made with shellfish like lobster or shrimp but can eliminate the seafood altogether and be made from pureed vegetables.  Chowder trends to be chunky and bisque tends to be smooth.  What really sets bisque apart form soup is the addition of cream and wine, so I think we can call  this soup either bisque or soup.  Use whichever you prefer, but I think you will find it tasty no matter what you call it.

I started with a basic recipe that I found online, but altered it to the point where I think it is fair to say this is my recipe for Cream of Mushroom soup.  The recipe makes four servings, but I think if you were serving the soup as a first course with a full meal, you may be able to get at least six servings out of it.

Ingredients:

5 TBSP unsalted butter
1/2 of a medium onion - diced
2 Cloves garlic-minced
2 LBS crimini mushrooms- thinly sliced ( sometimes sold as baby bella mushrooms)
1/2 tsps dry thyme leaves
1/4 tsps dry tarragon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste
1/3 cup cream Sherry
3 TBSP all purpose flour
31/2 Cups low salt chicken broth, reserving 1/2 Cup
1/2 Cup heavy cream
1/2 Cup sour cream

Preparation:

In a heavy bottomed soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the onions and garlic and cook until tender and translucent.  Add the sliced mushrooms, thyme, tarragon and salt and pepper, cooking until all of the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates.  Add the Sherry and cook until the liquid is evaporated.  Remove 1/2 cup of the mushrooms and set aside to be used later as garnish.  Stir in the flour and cook for 2- 3 minutes.  Add 3 cups of the chicken broth.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to scrape up the frond left in the pan from the mushrooms.  Puree soup using an immersion blender or transfer soup to a blender and puree until smooth.  Return soup to the soup pot.  Bring to a low simmer and whisk in the cream.  Add reserved chicken broth as needed to bring to desired consistency.  Adjust seasoning to taste.  Lower heat and whisk in 1/4 cup of the sour cream.  Keep the soup warm, but do not simmer or boil.  Serve soup garnished with reserved cooked mushrooms and a dollop of the remaining sour cream.  We enjoyed this soup last night as a first course, that proceeded roasted chicken with broccolini and oven roasted fingerling potatoes.