I think I’m on a mushroom kick.  (As if that were a bad thing.)

mushroom bisque
adapted from Mollie Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook

2 medium potatoes (the size of an average person’s fist)
1 ½ cups water
1 ½ T butter
2 cups chopped onion (or scallions, leeks, shallots – whatever you have)
1 celery stalk, minced
1 ½ lbs. mushrooms
1-2 t salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ t dried thyme
3 T dry sherry
2 t soy sauce
fresh black pepper
1 cup milk (can be lowfat, but I always use whole)
top with minced chives or scallions, chopped walnuts, or a drizzle of cream or thick olive oil

1. Peel potatoes, chop into small pieces, and place in a small saucepan with the water.  Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer until potatoes are tender.

2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a dutch oven or pot.  Add onion and celery, and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Stir in mushrooms and salt, cover, and cook about 10 minutes, stirring occassionally.  Somewhere in there, add garlic and thyme.  (Adding garlic later keeps its flavor stronger.)  Remove from heat; stir in sherry, soy sauce, and pepper to taste.

3. Use a blender to puree both the potatoes in their cooking water and the mushroom saute in its own liquid.  When you run out of the liquid, use the milk.  Combine the purees back into the dutch oven or pot.

4. Stir and heat gently.  Taste to adjust seasonings.  Serve very hot on a very cold winter day with optional but highly recommended toppings.