Vegetable and Grain Soups

Food Blog Forum – Part 1: The Biltmore Estate NC & Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup

It’s been a while since my last post and I truly missed my blog and my dear readers. My new kitchen is finally finished; summer vacations are behind us, so I can slowly come back to my real life with cooking, photographing and sharing recipes. My first recipe after a long break is wild mushroom soup, creamy and earthy, just the way it should be. Please scroll down for the recipe, because first, I have shared with you some impressions from my last voyage.

The Food Blog Forum this year took place in a gorgeous town of Asheville, North Carolina. I have never been there before and I am glad that we made a decision to take a long drive to attend this conference. It was three days of learning and sharing experience, meeting new people and tasting food (lots and lots of delicious food). I loved every minute of it; this was the best one yet!

The opening welcome party has been provided by Doubletree Asheville-Biltmore on the beautiful garden terrace. We enjoyed unique appetizers with peach and watermelon moonshine cocktails (featuring local artisan distiller Troy & Sons). We left with goodie bags from Foodtopia Asheville.

Next day we have gathered at Biltmore Lionscrest grand ballroom to learn from the best people in business – how to create your tribe (Jaden & Scott), how to write with publications, learned about food photography and styling (Todd & Diane), work with brands (KitchenAid, OXO) and much more. I am very thankful for every speech and every advice. Thank you!

Our behind-the-scenes tour of Biltmore House took place during second half of the day. The tour focused on culinary traditions at the turn of the century. We had a chance visit not only upstairs of the Estate but downstairs also, where many servants cooked food day after day in “good old times”.

For more photos of The Biltmore Estate, please visit my Flickr album.

The finale of the day culminated in sophisticated evening reception with a menu inspired by Biltmore’s production garden (with free-range beef, wine from a 94-acre vineyard and local ingredients).

Stay tuned for the part two of my impressions from the amazing Food Blog Forum.

Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup

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Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2-3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
  • 1 lb. fresh mushrooms ( I used baby portobello mushrooms)
  • 2 cups dried shiitake mushrooms
  • 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme
  • 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
  • 5 cups vegetable stock or water ( if you are not vegetarian, add meat stock, it helps to strengthen the earthy flavor)
  • 1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
  • salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

1

Put the dried shiitake mushrooms in a bowl, add the hot water and leave to soak for 20 minutes. Lift the mushrooms out of the liquid and squeeze to remove as much of the soaking liquid as possible. Strain all the liquid and reserve to use later. Finely chop the mushrooms.

2

Heat the oil and butter in a large pan until foaming. Add the onion, garlic and cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened but not colored.

3

Chop or thinly slice the fresh mushrooms and add to the pan. Stir over a medium heat for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Pour in the stock or water and bring to the boil. Add the shiitake, soaking liquid, thyme, paprika, soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Lower the heat, half-cover the pan and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4

Pour about three-quarters of the soup into a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Return to the soup remaining in the pan, stir in the heavy cream and heat through. Check the consistency, adding more stock or water if the soup is too thick. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot, garnished with springs of fresh thyme.

Notes

A good mushroom soup makes the most of the subtle and sometimes rather elusive flavor of mushrooms. White mushrooms can be used here for their pale color; shiitake and portobello mushrooms give a fuller flavor but turn the soup light-brown.

Wild mushroom soup with thyme

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14 Comments

  • Reply
    Rosa's Yummy Yums
    August 27, 2014 at 3:21 pm

    A fabulous place! Thanks for the lovely pictures and report.

    That soup looks amazing.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  • Reply
    HEAVEN CAN WAIT
    August 27, 2014 at 5:24 pm

    Very nice post, Yelena. Nice to see you again 🙂

    I love mushrooms and anything made with them. A mushroom soup reminds me so much of my childhood when I used to hunt mushrooms with my parents. We would drive for miles to woods and return home loaded with wild mushrooms that my mother turned into magical dishes.

    Greeting! – Dominique

  • Reply
    La Table De Nana
    August 27, 2014 at 6:33 pm

    Gorgeous post dear girl..
    Love seeing the chefs and copper pots..the estate..flowers etc..
    I have never put soya sauce in my mushroom soups..must try..I think it's a great idea..
    Welcome back Yelena..Hope the kids have a great school year!

  • Reply
    melangery
    August 27, 2014 at 8:45 pm

    Thank you my dear ladies for you comments, it is so good to be back-))

  • Reply
    S Coviello
    August 28, 2014 at 7:03 am

    Welcome back …. Will try this soup!

  • Reply
    Angie Schneider
    August 28, 2014 at 6:44 pm

    Welcome back, Yelena! Thank you for sharing those beautiful photos.
    The soup looks very creamy and flavourful!

  • Reply
    Meli
    August 29, 2014 at 2:46 pm

    I am glad that you are back, Yelena! The place you were spending some days seems to be amazing, probably a day will come when we will meet in person on such event.

  • Reply
    melangery
    August 29, 2014 at 3:14 pm

    Hello Meli, I would love to meet you in person very much!!!

  • Reply
    Anonymous
    August 29, 2014 at 8:50 pm

    Welcome back Yelena! 🙂 So glad you are back with a kitchen and we get to see your gorgeous images again. Looks like you had a lovely time at the food blogging conference and those poor long suffering chef's would have been photographed inside out by the end of the evening 😉 Love this soup. I would use heavy almond milk (home made) instead of the cream at the end to veganise this…yummy 🙂

  • Reply
    melangery
    August 30, 2014 at 3:22 pm

    O, wonderful idea! I think almond milk, specially home made, will be perfect here-) Yummy!

  • Reply
    LyndaS
    September 1, 2014 at 4:41 pm

    That was a great conference/trip. Your photos are amazing!

  • Reply
    Lina Kislenko
    May 20, 2016 at 3:04 pm

    How is this soup compared to your other creamy mushroom soup. Or which is better lol… I'm debating on which one to make.

  • Reply
    YIGII
    April 6, 2021 at 2:30 pm

    I really like the old buildings at Biltmore House. And your food pics make my mouth water!

    • Reply
      Yelena Strokin
      April 7, 2021 at 4:29 am

      Thank you so much! We had a wonderful time there-)

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