Recipe: Cream of Mushroom Soup with Gorgonzola Cheese

Tonight's dinner was based on this recipe at Allrecipes.com, with a few tweaks. 

Now that I'm thinking about it, homemade garlic croutons would make a smashing garnish.  Hmmm.

<pause while I cut some stale bread and put it in the oven to dry>

Start with a couple tablespoons each of butter and olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat, into which throw a diced yellow onion and a healthy dollop of garlic.

When the onions are translucent, add pound of sliced fresh mushrooms and one can (drained) of mushroom stems & pieces, then cook it down until the mushrooms are tender, stirring regularly.

Sprinkle with a bit of flour....

...and stir until thickened.  Moderate the heat if necessary to prevent sticking.










(At this point I added about two cups of leftover porcini mushroom sauce for pasta.  It's all about using up leftovers in this house.)











Mix that all up...

...add four cups of chicken broth and a cup of heavy cream... 




...a bit of salt, a few turns of pepper and some crushed dried rosemary. 

Stir in about 3/4 cup of crumbled gorgonzola cheese...

... and continue stirring over low heat until cheese has melted and incorporated into the soup.







Remove half of the soup to a blender and blend until smooth.

Return the blended soup to the stock pot.

Add a tablespoon of dry sherry and a quarter cup or so of chopped parsley. 



Stir to until soup is thickened and heated thorougly. 

Correct seasonings and serve, garnished with croutons and additional fresh parsley.














Cream of Mushroom Soup with Gorgonzola Cheese

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 lbs. mixed mushrooms, sliced or chopped
3 tablespoons flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary
5-6 oz. Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon sherry
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus additional for garnish
Croutons, for garnish

In a stockpot over medium heat, melt butter in oil.  Add onions and garlic and sautee until onions are translucent.  Add mushrooms and cook, stirring regularly, until tender. 

Sprinkle with flour and stir until thickened.  Gradually add stock and cream, salt, pepper and rosemary.  Reduce heat, stir in gorgonzola cheese, and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Remove half of the soup to a blender and blend until smooth.  Return to the soup pot.

Stir in sherry and 1/4 cup parsley and correct seasonings.  Heat through and serve, garnished with additional parsley and croutons.

Serves 6.