Cream of Mushroom Chowder

Patti Cake's Note:

Comfort Food! This hearty chowder has great flavor and texture. A winner even for non-mushroom lovers - they're hidden amongst all of the other delicious vegetables! My 9 year old mushroom-hater gobbled his up; asked what it was; then said, "Wow, there are mushrooms in here!?!" Psych! :)

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• ½ lb bacon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion , chopped
• 1 bunch celery heart , chopped
• 2 cups carrots , chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 (12 ounce) packages sliced mushrooms , chopped coarsely into 1/4 inch pieces
• 3 garlic cloves , minced
• 5 medium potatoes , cubed (optional -- I leave skin on)
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 2 eggs , beaten
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2⁄3; cup parmesan cheese
• 1 bunch green onion , sliced for garnish

Directions:

1. Brown chopped bacon in a stock pot.
2. Chop and add onion, celery, carrots, olive oil, salt and pepper and sauté over medium heat 10 minutes until tender.
3. Chop and add mushrooms and garlic and continue cooking for 10 minutes more.
4. Chop potatoes and add them with chicken stock. Add spices. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.
5. Beat eggs and ¼ cup half and half in a bowl. Add 1 cup broth from soup and stir. Add mixture back into soup and stir. Slowly stir in the rest of the half and half to soup. Add nutmeg and parmesan cheese. Taste and season accordingly. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes and serve.
6. Pour into soup mugs and garnish with sliced green onion.

Reviews

[mama smurf]

What a great and wonderful chowder. We love mushroom soup and with the bacon and parmesan it really added another depth of flavor. This is definately a keeper...thank you! Made for SPRING PAC 2010.

[MarthaStewartWanabe]

Made for PAC Spring 2009--Hello, adopted child! This is a wonderfully savory, rich chowder. I like my soups chunky, so I chopped all the vegetables coarsely. DH and I thought the flavors of bacon and parmesan were the star performers of this chowder with the supporting performer being the scallion garnish. We also thought the nutmeg was an unlikely but nice touch. Thank you for a delicious recipe!