- With the cold weather making life difficult for us who cherish the warmer months, I thought it would be nice to have some great soup. Here is a recipe I invented a couple of years ago that hits the spot:

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 ½ cans milk
1 cup red wine (Merlot)
½ cup sour cream
8-10 large white mushrooms (quartered or sliced)
4 tablespoons minced garlic
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup butter (or about 4 tablespoons)
½ teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon nutmeg

In a sauté pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add two tablespoons garlic. On HIGH heat, sauté the mushrooms in the butter tossing (stirring) often. Once the mushrooms start to brown a bit add in the soy sauce and reduce heat to simmer for about 3 minutes.

Tip: If you want a great hoursderve serve the mushrooms just as they are with toothpicks to guests (Thank you, Mr. Mahr!).

In a medium saucepan mix together the can of soup, 1 can of milk, and the sour cream. Stir until combined. Warm it up on LOW heat.

To the soup, add the remaining garlic, white pepper, black pepper, and nutmeg. Simmer on very low heat for 5 minutes until you can smell the pepper and nutmeg.

Stir into the soup the entire sauté pan mushroom mixture. Add more milk as needed if the soup is too thick. Add the wine. Stir until combined.

Serve immediately with warm buttered bread to dip with.

The above base soup can be made to last several days. For each following day, try these alternatives:
  • Try adding a few drops of Tobasco
  • 1 cup of chopped grilled chicken makes this a whole meal
  • Thai Style: Add the juice of one lemon, a tablespoon of chillipowder, and a teaspoon of dried mint leaves
  • Spanish Style: Add 1 teaspoon cumin, the juice of one lime, and a tablespoon of dried cilantro leaves