Morels, Soup and A Giveaway!

If you had received 2 lbs of Morel Mushrooms for free...

And you had never even tasted Morels before...

Let alone cooked with them....

Wouldn't it be way cool if you could taste these delectable, tasty 'shrooms in a brand new dinning room?

I wish I could've. I mean, my dinning set is old and a little...mmm...wobbly. But a gal can dream, right?

The people over at CSN Stores, well...Sean to be exact, contacted me to see if I would host a Giveaway.  Of course I said yes. I mean....why would I turn down the chance to give my favorite blog peeps something for free!!

What can you win? A CSN STORE GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR $80.00!!! You can use it at any of their 200+ stores (holy crap...did you know they have that many online stores???). This is a one-time use gift certificate, and it does not cover shipping costs.

This giveaway is for U.S. and Canadian residences.

What do you have to do to win? Leave a comment and some way I can contact you should you win.

You have until hmmm....how long should I keep this giveaway open? Let's say...1 week. Post your comment by the end of the day of 7/6/2010. I'll announce the winner a day or so after that....depending on how my week is going. Sound fair?

Oh...if you do not wish to be part of the giveaway, or you live outside of the US or Canada, you are more than welcome to (and highly encouraged to) leave a comment...just let me know you're not entering the contest.

Now...did someone mention Morel Mushrooms? Oh ya....that was me. Well, let me tell you how I became the proud owner of such exquisite fungi.

I entered a contest over at Marx Food....and I won! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

And within a couple of days, a big box showed up at work! Of course I looked inside to see my prized possessions...and quickly stashed the box in the fridge at work.

I have to take a moment to apologize to all my co-workers for being responsible for making the fridge smell like dirt.

For 3 days.

Not that I left the box there for 3 days....but the odor kinda lingered. And bless their hearts...not one person complained. At least that I know of. Sorry guys!! You're the bestest!

This post is getting a big long winded isn't it? I'll go into more detail on my mushrooms with the next post. Yep...there's gonna be more. I didn't just make soup. But since I was craving mushroom soup for the longest time...I thought I'd share it with you all first.

This recipe came from Julia Child's MtAoFC and I have to say...it is fabulous!!!

Most often, when I cook, I change up stuff. I mean...that's what we do, right? But with Julia's recipe, I didn't change a thing!! It's easy, but not simple. It didn't take all that long...but there are several steps.

And each step is sooooo worth it. I know it's not soup season....but this isn't a hearty soup and it is lovely. It has a rich, creamy flavor that leaves you wanting more. Just when you think you're done and you walk away....you find yourself still tasting the soup in your mouth and next thing you know, you're running back for another bite.

I swear!! It happened several times to me.

Potage Veloute Aux Champignons
(Cream of Mushroom Soup)
Printable Version

1/4 cup minced onion
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
6 cups of boiling chicken stock (Julia says that if you don't have any stock, then use chicken broth with 2 parsley sprigs, 1/3 bay leaf and 1/8 teaspoon thyme)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chopped stems of 1 lb of mushrooms (or if you're using morels like I am...just chop up 1/4 of them)
2 tablespoons butter
Thinly sliced caps from the 1 lb of mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 egg yolks
1/2 - 3/4 cup whipping cream
1 - 3 tablespoons butter

Slowly cook the onions in 3 tablespoons of butter for about 8 - 10 minutes, until tender. But don't let them get brown. Add the flour and store over low heat for about 3 minutes, without letting it brown.

Remove from heat and beat in the chicken stock until thoroughly blended with the flour mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the mushroom stems. Simmer while partially covered for at least 20 minutes.

Strain and press the juices out of the mushroom stems. Return the soup to the pan.

Now, I didn't want to waste any of my morels...so I didn't strain them out. I put them right back in and I got out my emulsion blender and had at it!

In another sauce pan, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter. When the butter begins to foam, add the mushrooms, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and the lemon juice. Cover and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes.

Pour the mushrooms along with their cooking juices into the strained soup base and simmer for 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and cream.

Then....beat in a cup of the the hot soup 1 teaspoon at a time! Gradually stir in the rest. (this process will temper the eggs so you don't end up with scrambled egg soup.)

Add more salt and pepper if needed. Return the soup to the pan and stir over low heat for a minute or two but don't let the soup simmer.

Remove from heat and stir in 1 - 3 tablespoons of butter, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Serve and enjoy...thoroughly!

I'm going to enter this soup as my Real Food for Two for Tuesdays at Heathers from GirliChef:

Aaaaand....Souper Sundays over at Debs from Kahakai Kitchen :

whew...ok, I'm done. and I'm pooped. You can wake up now.