Elle's Kitchen: Cape May Mushroom Soup

We have moved into the grays of Winter around

here and to warm up from the chill a lovely soup

is always a great addition to the menu.

Many, many moons ago, Mr. Wonderful and I

got engaged in one of our favorite places ~ Cape

May, NJ.  Cape May is a lovely little seaside 

village located at the southern tip of the New

Jersey peninsula.  When you drive to the very 

end of the state, it looks like you have come to 

the end of the world so it is nicknamed, "End of

the World, NJ".

Cape May is a Victorian jewel.  There had been a 

devastating fire that burned much of the town during

 the Victorian era.  Since it was such a popular vacation

destination, the town was quickly rebuilt and we now 

have a wonderful collection of Victorian architecture

in one small town.  On this visit, we were getting engaged

and we stayed at the Columbia House.  We chose this 

place because we could rent an apartment with a 

kitchen.  Even back then we were cooking on our travels.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound mushrooms

2 mediums onions

2 cloves garlic

1/2 stick butter

3 tablespoons dry white vermouth

5 cups mild chicken stock (reduced sodium)

3 egg yolks

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

salt and pepper

Peel and chop the onions and garlic finely 

and melt the butter in a large pan.  Sweat 

the onions and garlic in the butter while you

chop the mushrooms finely.

Add the mushrooms to the onions and stir them 

around for a few minutes and then add the vermouth.

In another pan bring the chicken stock to the boil

and then pour it into the vegetables.  Simmer for

15 minutes or until the taste of the mushrooms has

really permeated the broth.

Beat the egg yolks with the cream.

Add a few ladles of the soup to the eggs and 

cream to temper them.

Pour the mixture into the soup.  Season to taste.

Depending on the stock you use, you may not need

any more salt.  Heat very slowly, stirring.  Do not 

allow the soup to boil or it will curdle.  When the 

mushrooms are suspended in the soup, serve

immediately.

I made some popovers to go with the soup 

that really formed some prehistoric looking

shapes ~ but they were tasty!

We have been making this soup for decades.

The vermouth adds a nice touch and the soup

isn't gloppy like so many cream of mushroom

soups can be.

I can't remember where I got the recipe, so 

we just refer to it as Cape May Mushroom Soup.

When I make it, it always takes me back to that

kitchen in the Columbia House when we were

filled with the hopes and dreams of our future.

And we are still cooking.  Tomorrow we are 

heading down to Mexico for a few weeks and

we will be cooking.  We have already decided

we can get terracotta dishes down there to 

make  Gambas al Ajillo, but think we better 

bring our own scallop shells to make Coquille

St.Jacques...

Enjoy!