Friday, January 7, 2011

French Fridays with Dorie - paris mushroom soup

Such a lovely simple soup...so many interesting observations and mishaps!  First, I realize why there is a beautiful, artistic picture of some of the ingredients of Dorie's paris mushroom soup in her book and no picture of the actual soup (did you notice her photograph has fresh thyme in it, but there's no thyme in the recipe?)  This soup doesn't photograph very well.  Although, I did try!  I took about 75 pictures and think I might have gotten one or two good ones.  But they are currently "stuck" on my flash card.  They won't download to my mac and they won't download to my pc.  And, this is all my fault!  At Christmas, I accidentally pulled the flash card out of my sister's computer while it was still active.  It hasn't been the same since.  However, each time I've used it since then, I've been able to coax the pictures off of it.  But I keep forgetting to put a different flash card in my camera.  I shot all my soup pictures yesterday and even had my son get in on the action for the "pouring" pictures.  Then, when I went to download the pictures...no luck!

So, unless I can get the pictures off later today...this is a picture-less post (addendum...see the end...I got some pics!).  Perhaps it's not too tragic.  After all, it's just mushroom soup.  But, oh what a wonderful mushroom soup it is.  It's hard to believe there's no cream in this recipe.  The pureed mushrooms make it very "creamy."  Here's where mishap number two comes in (although it occurred before the flash card revolt)...my blender doesn't like me.  Really, don't laugh.  I have a brand new blender and it works like a charm.  But when Dorie says...puree in small batches...she means it!  I thought I was doing a small batch until my blender EXPLODED!!!  Thank goodness I had my hand on the lid or I'd be writing from the ER room with 2nd degree burns on my face.  As it is, only my floor, counter and clothing got traumatized.  So, heed my warning...only put about 2 cups in your blender at a time.  It will take about 4 times to get it all blended.  But it's worth it in the end.

The soup was a total hit with my son, although he left his "salad" at the bottom of his bowl.  I found the fresh mushrooms slices and green onions a great treat and a perfect complement to the soup.  I made the soup with no alterations and thought it was great.  It would also be great with a dash of cream, which I might add to the bit I've got left.  That's right, my son and I ate almost the entire pot.  But, I didn't feel bad, this soup really doesn't have that many calories...except for the butter!

I also made roast beef paninis to go with the soup and they were super yummy.  If you don't have a panini press, you don't know what you're missing.  If you do have one, you know what I'm talking about!  Paninis are so easy to make.  Butter your bread, put fixings on, put on panini grill.  Watch the magic happen.  I have some nice photos of the paninis too.  On the faulty flash card.  Boo hoo! (addendum...see below)

My third mishap, which is the worst of all, is my hot water heater decided to develop a leak in the connecting pipe...in the wall.  And while I was merrily cooking, leaked inside the wall and under the hardwood floor.  There are no pictures of this because it is too awful!  We are currently without water and hopefully the plumber can come first thing this morning.  The damage is pretty bad and I have a feel it's going to be expensive to repair...two walls and a couple square feet of hard wood floor.  Bummer!

Even though many things went wrong around this soup...none of them were the soup's fault and I'd recommend making it.  You can see how my fellow French Friday participant's fared with the soup here.

And...while I was writing this post...I once again convinced the flash card to give up the images...so here's a couple of pictures of the soup and panini.  Yeah!  Maybe the leaking pipe will be easy too.

The "salad"

Pouring the soup

The panini...I didn't notice the cheese drop when I took the picture...but I kind of like it.

This was so good!

Soup and Panini...perfect, simple winter dinner

Thanks for sharing my soup making adventure!

33 comments:

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

So glad your memory card finally cooperated...I'm always doing that sort of thing! This soup was lovely and I love your pairing with a roast beef panini~

Unknown said...

Steph...if you need help give Robin a call at the Studio he is a flash card wizard. 626 449-8180

Susan said...

Looks great! I'm looking forward to trying it tonight - I like the pairing with Panini, so I'll probably do that, too. A great comfort meal at the end of a crazy week.

Kathy said...

So sorry for all your mishaps but really sorry about your water heater. Hopefully it's not to cold where you live. Your soup looks amazing and I love your panini. I would have served one last night also but my hubby is on South Beach. Great job!

Barbara l Vino Luci Style said...

I started to shoot the bowl I had put together and my battery was dead. Let's just say how thankful I am that I bought a 2nd batter last week; so fortuitous!

I didn't do the salad part in the bottom but think I'll try that this week...because I still have some leftover! Looks great.

Jessica of My Baking Heart said...

That looks SO good - I'll be over in a bit for lunch! ;)

Candy said...

Sorry about all of the mishaps! I desperately want a panini press!

I also noticed that the cookbook didn't include an actual photo of the soup, but I was pretty happy with my photo this week, just wish I had liked the food that was in it! LOL

Anne-Marie said...

I'm making this soup tonight so I'm grateful for the photos. I was convinced it was a cream soup and I've read the recipe 3 or 4 times thinking "where's the cream?" Thanks for setting me straight. It looks delicious!

A.W. said...

What a great idea to pair it with a panini. I still have some soup left, so definitely going to borrow your idea!
Thanks Steph!

Anonymous said...

Yikes, what a bunch of mishaps this week! Hope the water damage is not going to be too costly. Love the panini! If only I have a panini press too...

Beth said...

Steph I love the panini idea . Hope you recoop from your week. Enjoyed the post as usual B:)

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you were able to figure out the photos. They look great! Both the soup and sandwich are making me hungry again!

Betsy said...

Sorry about all your mishaps. Your soup looks great! I too have experienced blender explosion, several years ago. It only takes once to learn that lesson. I got sprayed in the eye. No damage, but it scared me. I was wondering what to make with soup for dinner tonight. Paninis seem like the perfect answer. Thanks for the inspiration. Here's hoping next week is less eventful for you!

Cher Rockwell said...

Steph - water problems are the worst. I am so sorry for you.
I agree - I love my panini press. My favorite are apple and havarti sandwiches. MMMMM

scrambledhenfruit said...

I was telling hubby last night- as we were eating our soup with meatloaf- that it would be great with paninis! Glad you got your photos off of your flash card- they're gorgeous! Hope your hot water heater mishap is as easily dealt with. :)

Elaine said...

What an inspiration you are that you went through all that and still were able to post! I hope everything works out with your water heater and the floor. Isn't it strange how these things always happen around the holidays and almost always when we are cooking?! Your photos turned out great and that beef panini looks perfect with it!

Cakelaw said...

Mmmm - the panini sounds good.

kitchenarian said...

I am glad you were able to get your pictures. I love the panini sandwich with it. I love my panini press and will definitely serve sandwiches with it next time. I just had french bread and brie. The meal could have used a bit of meat.

It's a great soup and for you it sounds like a very memorable one. Thanks for sharing.

Ronda Kisner said...

Gosh, that panini looks great! I hope those repairs are less expensive than you fear.

Trevor Sis Boom said...

Um... I think a photo of a pannini NEEDS a cheese drop. It should be required! Looks wonderful! And a perfect partner for this lovely soup!
Trevor Sis Boom.

Candy (Dulce) said...

This would have been so much better with your sandwich! The combination looks and sounds great!

Hope things get back to normal for you... Whew!

Anonymous said...

Good luck with your hot water repairs - they can be nasty.

I'm glad you got your photos back. The panini sounds like a great addition. In fact, it's prompting me to finally seek out some lunch today!

Tasty Trix said...

Oh no!! So sorry about all that ... ug. Hope you have water by now. But how committed are you that you still posted the soup? Kudos!!

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

Love the panini with the soup.
Hoping, this week runs more smoothly. Happy cooking with water.

marcella said...

The panini press is one of the best cooking inventions ever! Glad you were able to rescue some of your pictures. Now, did you change the card in your camera? :-)

Ann (napangel) said...

What a wonderful dinner! I'm glad you were able to recover the photos. You could some good ones!

Ann (napangel) said...

What a wonderful dinner! I'm glad you were able to recover the photos. You could some good ones!

Anonymous said...

Thyme! That was the first thing I noticed about the mushroom soup photo! I added some to mine.

Cheryl said...

Your paninis look so great with the soup. Love your blog...I poked around a little and now I'm trying to talk my husband into a home exchange! French cooking has to suffice--FOR NOW.

Mardi Michels said...

Glad you got some pics in the end because it all looks wonderful! Pannini!!!!!! YUM!!!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the tips regarding the blender and the photographs. I haven't made the soup yet. Will tomorrow. But at least I won't kill myself blending too much soup. I totally would have done that! You rock!

Lindsey said...

Yummm...the panini sounds like a perfect addition to the soup. Happy New Year! I resolve to not work so much & return to my favorite Dorie blog hobby!

Ana said...

Many years ago, I noticed water on my basement floor. It was coming from my hot water heater which was broken and leaking. And to add insult to injury that was the day I was breaking up with my boyfriend. That was a horrible day!
Have you thought about calling your home owner's insurance? I bet some of the water damage will be covered. Anyway, yes, I noticed the thyme in the photo and the absence of it in the recipe. I went ahead and added some thyme to my soup. After the soup was made, I realized why there was no picture of it in the book. Brown in a soup bowl just does not photograph very well!