I don't know what's going on today with this crazy Bon Appetit calendar, but today is Friday and this recipe should be either a cocktail or appetizer for a cocktail party! Wild Mushroom Soup? I think someone at the printer screwed up. Oh well...got to roll with the punches (although I'd much rather have a gin martini).
Also, what is up with the fact that I can't find any cool funky men's shoes? My friend Nikki and I went shoe shopping today (stopped in at no less than 5 stores) and all they had for men were some sort of canvas shoe, dress shoe, or sneaker (mainly high-tops). Where did all the good shoes go? You ladies wouldn't know what I'm talking about because you have all sorts of styles. Nikki, of course, had her choice of shoe. I, on the other hand, couldn't find a decent one to even scoop poop in. It's unfair. How can I become a shoe designer? Anyone know how I can break into the business?
The Recipe
Ingredients:
Butter: Had
Onion: Had
Crimini Mushrooms, Oyster Mushrooms, Shitiake Mushrooms: $3.00
(*see note)
Thyme: $1.29
Brandy: Had
Flour: Had
Beef Broth: $2.79
Total: $7.08
*As far as the mushrooms go, I didn't use fresh ones. Whatever. If you don't like it, then start your own blog! I happened to stumble across a mixture of dried mushrooms at Williams Sonoma that had crimini, oyster, shitiake, and morel. It was on sale because they weren't going to carry them anymore. They were perfectly fine and down to $3 (which was a steal). When getting the grocery list together for this recipe, I happened to find them in the pantry and decided I was going to use them instead of the fresh mushrooms. I don't even know where you'd find fresh oyster mushrooms? We used to get them in at work, but they were expensive and hard to get even from a professional proveyer. I suppose maybe Whole Foods (if you have one near you).
With the dried mushrooms, I rehydrated them in boiling water for 15 minutes. Then, I added that water back to the beef broth to umpf-up the mushroom taste of the soup. You don't need to saute the mushrooms once they're re-hydrated.
THE RESULTS
Fast: My version of the recipe took me 25 minutes total. I suppose if you followed the real recipe it would take you about the same amount of time once you get your prep done. In either case, that's pretty quick.
Easy: My re-hydrating version of this recipe was really simple. The only thing I had to cut up and saute was the onion and the thyme. The real recipe seemed pretty easy, just more cutting and sauteing.
Fresh: Thankfully, the brandy really gives this recipe a kick of dimension; otherwise, this soup would be nothing more than a one-note tune. The thyme is a nice touch as well. It really freshens up the heavy earthy mushroom and beef broth taste.
Overall: Surprisingly, I really like this recipe. I actually think I may stick to using dried mushrooms for mushroom soup because it really concentrates the flavor. (I've made mushroom soup from fresh mushrooms in the past and it's tasted like nothing more than beef broth.) Hmm...this may be a happy accident moment I think. I'll for sure use this recipe again. I might do what it suggests and add cream to it and top with some crunchy onion strings (or Durkee's fried onions) and VIOLA! Simple yet classy...just like me!
Tomorrow is chocolate mousse. A three ingredient version?? It should be interesting to see how this plays out.
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