Cream of Mushroom & Chicken Soup

Okay, so first off... I've been noticing a lot of blogs I read (whether about food, politics, everyday life, etc.) sometimes have "theme-days"... so in spirit of all of that... I've decided to make Fridays from now on, FYI Food Science Fridays. What will it pertain, you ask? Well... every Friday, before my recipe, I'm going to give an overview of a journal or research article that pertains to Food Science or Technology.

I do this for 2 major reasons.
#1. I've officially decided I'm going to finish up my Biology degree and then go to grad school for Food Science. So it would benefit me to keep up to date with current research and experiments being conducted to be more familiar with what I'm getting myself into, and to just see what's being done.

#2. I think the scientific part of food development is overlooked. There's so many things out there that you wonder, what does that mean? why is this so? So hopefully, the articles I go over are going to give you a little bit of insight into what you're putting into your mouth and how it even got to you in the first place.

I'm hoping the pieces will be interesting and spark some comments, and hell... who knows, you may be on Jeopardy one day and your Final Jeopardy question may be something you learned from one of my articles. I've already read what I'll be talking about on Friday and I'm not letting you in on anything quite yet, so you'll just have to sneak a peak back on Friday afternoon to find out the interesting tid bit.

Anyway, on to the recipe...

Ingredients:

8-12 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2-3 cooked chicken thighs, skin and bones removed, then shredded

The one thing I love about cream of anything soup is that the prep work doesn't usually involve fine chopping, because at the end of day, you're just going to blend the whole thing up to get a nice smooth consistency anyway, so I wouldn't worry too much about slicing or chopping.

Heat a dutch oven over high heat. Add the olive oil and when shimmering stir in the mushrooms, garlic, and onions. Saute until the mushrooms start to become soft, about 5 minutes.

Season the mushroom mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Add in the chicken broth and cream. Cover and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the mushrooms are completely tender, about 8-10 minutes.

Puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth or at a texture you prefer. Stir in shredded chicken and season with salt and pepper if needed. Ladle into bowls and serve!

I loved this because it was so quick and easy... and flavorful to the extreme! This could even be put on top of pasta or chicken breasts it was so good. I may even use this for the next time I make green bean casserole! Enjoy! And don't forget to come back Friday for the first installment of FYI Food Science Friday!