A Bowl of Soup and a Bag of Dry Sack

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Hello, friend

This week, we again face unexpected goings-on at home — and this time, it’s me. I’m sick. Ergo, this week’s recipe is going to be simple. In some stroke of precognition (or blind luck), I had already chosen the recipe before the plague got me.

Do you know the best thing to eat when you’re sick? Soup.

Which soup, you ask? Mushroom soup.

Why? Because it's the antithesis of last week's recipe — the ingredient list is tiny. And because I suspected it would taste absolutely incredible.

Every week, it becomes clearer that Anthony Bourdain’s recipes are some of the best ever put to paper. The depth of his talent — his understanding of how food works — cuts through the gloom of mediocre cooking like one of those god rays that sometimes burst through the clouds at sunset, if you’re very lucky. His years of training, tasting, experimenting… all distilled into recipes we mere mortals can follow.

The mushroom soup lives in Les Halles, page 47. One page. Five ingredients:

• Mushrooms

• Onion

• Chicken stock

• Parsley

• Sherry

Salt and pepper don’t count as ingredients.

The Pantry Ghost Steps In

Since I was feeling miserable, the ghost offered to chip in.

Really? I said.
Absolutely, he said.
“You’re not just going to sit there, sip your whiskey, and watch me?”
Nope. I’m going into the pantry to find the dried shiitakes.

Now, this is a bigger gift than it sounds. When the ceiling collapsed and had to be restored, the pantry was collateral damage. Everything from the top and bottom shelves came out, and my once well-organized pantry devolved into an “I’ll just set that here for now” situation.

So where did the shiitakes end up? With the nuts? The beans? The pasta? Your guess was as good as mine.

But within minutes, I heard an “Ah-ha!” from behind the pantry door.

The recipe calls for button mushrooms, but with a caveat: you can add other mushrooms for deeper flavor, as long as you don’t overwhelm the base. If you're adding oyster mushrooms or chanterelles, use only a small amount — not the full 12 ounces.

We settled on three shiitakes. They needed a good long soak in warm water. Once plump, squeezed, and patted dry, they weighed a little over an ounce. The button mushrooms were 10.8 ounces. Close enough for kitchen math. This isn’t pastry — we’re allowed vibes.

I sliced an onion after sharpening my Global chef knife, because if you want thin onion slices, you need a blade that could split a hair.

I brushed dirt off the mushrooms, trimmed the stems, and halved them. Then: two tablespoons of butter into a medium pot, onions in, sauté until soft but not brown. Add mushrooms and four more tablespoons of butter. Let them steam-cook for 5–6 minutes.

Add 4 cups of chicken stock, a sprig of parsley, and bring to a gentle simmer for one hour.

After the hour’s up, pour the hot mixture into a blender (if yours can handle it), and whirr until smooth. Return to the pot and stir in two ounces (¼ cup) of good sherry.

I had to buy sherry specifically for this, because we are not living in Victorian England where ladies enjoy a small pre-dinner tipple. Bourdain is adamant: do not use cooking sherry (which, naturally, is already in my pantry).

So I went to the liquor store and picked the bottle with the cutest bag — a fabric pouch printed in red with the phrase DRY SACK. When I got home, I showed the ghost and we immediately riffed dirty jokes. Now I have approximately 23.5 ounces of sherry living rent-free in my fridge.

Most recipes call for a tablespoon or two of sherry at most, so I’ll likely freeze some in ice cube trays and call it a day.

Couch Time

Now I had an hour to kill. Isn’t this the perfect recipe for a busy, lazy, or sick day?

Not feeling especially grand, I set a timer, curled up under a blanket, and put on one of the British police procedurals I adore. (More on this later.)

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The Lid Situation

One thing I’ve noticed about Anthony’s recipes: he never tells you to cover the soup pot.

But I know that if I don’t cover it, the liquid evaporates like it’s trying to escape the mortal plane. In one YouTube video I watched, a chef had so little liquid left that he grabbed heavy cream just to get it to blend.

But this is not cream of mushroom soup. Please don’t put cream in it.

If you have truffle oil, it makes a lovely finishing touch. If not, don’t worry — the soup stands beautifully on its own.

But girls cannot live by soup alone. Especially thin, silky soup. My go-to pairing: grilled cheese.

I buttered sourdough slices, added white American and shredded Gruyère, grilled until toasty and molten, then sliced into perfect little wedges for dipping.

This soup is amazing — creamy without cream, earthy and rich from the mushrooms, with the sherry adding a warm, toasty sweetness.

Be generous with salt and black pepper. And when you make this — and you should — taste it again after adding the sherry.

British Procedural Bender

Once I photographed the meal, I took my dinner to the couch and resumed my murder shows.

I just finished season one of Slow Horses on Apple TV. Seasons two and three require an actual subscription, which I do not have. And Bourdain knows I already have enough streaming services to satisfy any whim of mine.

If you also love police procedurals, posh accents, and plenty of crime-solving, send me your suggestions.

(Note: I'm already watching Maigret, Black Snow, Whitechapel, Chelsea Detective, and Karen Pirie.)

Do You Cook With Noise?

What do you do while you cook? Watch TV? Listen to music? I toggle between the two depending on the mood.

Sometimes we put on Parts Unknown while cooking. A little extra channeling.

Plus, I think the ghost enjoys seeing himself on TV — although he winces at old lines, muttering about producers, Oxford commas, and metaphors.

Thanksgiving Plans

Let’s talk Thanksgiving recipes.

It’s usually a small gathering here these days — two or three people. We used to host big dinners, but after the pandemic, things shifted. Maybe yours did too.

With such a small crowd, I’m not making a “stunt turkey” and a “business turkey.” I’m not even making a whole turkey.

Last year I discovered the slow-cooker turkey breast, and I swear it’s the most delicious turkey I’ve ever had. And that’s coming from someone who prefers dark meat on any bird. But this? Juicy, tender perfection.

I’m considering other Appetites recipes too. If I can track down enough turkey backs and wings, I’ll make the turkey stock so I can use his gravy recipe. Stock can be made ahead and frozen.

Mashed potatoes: undecided. Robuchon style? Or a modest half-pound of butter?
(Yes, half a pound counts as modest in this kitchen.)

Stuffing: I’m trying Anthony’s recipe this year.

I love the flavor of Stove Top stuffing — have I ever found a recipe that tastes better? No. But I’d like something a little fancier than “breadcrumbs in a box + hot water = dinner.”

I won’t be stuffing the turkey breast, because I don’t want stuffing sitting in a slow cooker for five hours. Thank you very much.

The recipe will tell you to put the cooked bird under the broiler to brown the skin. This will brown the top few inches. If you want fully crispy skin, remove it and broil separately.

One More Week Though

So now that I’ve planned Thanksgiving two weeks early… what am I cooking next week?

A tart?
Steak au poivre?
Meatballs?
Maybe I’ll finally cook that sourdough spaghetti loitering in the pantry.

We’ll see.

In reverence and rebellion,
Michelle Davis
Your kitchen medium