Mushroom Leek Soup

Happy New Year to you all! May 2010 be a year of blessing and peace in your family. We'll start the year with a bowl of soup. After all the big dinners and appetizer evenings of the Christmas season. . .we're all ready for a bowl of satisfying soup with some crusty buns.

• 4 leeks
• 1 pound white button mushrooms
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 cup milk
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup sherry or madeira wine (optional)
• a dash or two of ground cayenne pepper to taste
• a small handful fresh chopped parseley. .about 1/3 cup chopped
• chopped chives for garnish
• salt and and pepper to taste just before serving

1. Remove the green parts of the leeks.
2. Slice the leeks and rinse well in water and drain in a colander.
3. Slice the mushrooms.
4. Melt the butter in a large saucepan.
5. Add the leeks and saute until wilted but not browned. Remove from pan.
6. Add the mushrooms to the pan and simmer until all the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms have browned a bit about 30 minutes on medium low.
7. Add the leeks back into the saucepan.
8. Add the flour and thyme and stir well and simmer a minute or two.
9. Add the milk and the broth and stir until well combined.
10. Leave the soup chunky for main course or for a soup course .. use an immersion blender to chop it up a bit. Either way .. .it is delicious. If you don't have an immersion blender you can put a few cups at a time in a regular blender .. don't fill too high. .hot liquids tend to be explosive in a blender and you'll end up with soup on your cabinets and clothes. ..(speaking from experience.)