Fancy Pants: Mushroom Soup

When I was 12 or 13 years old, my mother signed me up for an etiquette class at the Dillard's department store.  For four Saturday’s in a row, myself and three other young teenage girls gathered in a small back office to learn how to cross our ankles when sitting in a chair and how to properly introduce ourselves when greeting an adult.  We were taught which skirt length and pantyhose combo would garner the most respect, and how to curtsy.  I kid you not.  They taught us to curtsy. 

Twenty-five years later, I have never once, had to use my vast knowledge of the curtsy.  But I suppose if I ever meet the queen, I’ll be glad to have that information in my back pocket. 

Anyway, on the final Saturday, we were taken up to the housewares section and seated around an elegantly decorated table, set out with the finest wedding china and stemware allowed by Dillard's management.  And around each plate, was an assortment of forks, spoons, and knives.  Then we spent the afternoon learning which fork was appropriate to use for specific functions and which spoon, if used improperly, would get us kicked out of the fanciest of restaurants.  I muddled through.  Had a hard time caring much.  

I knew I wasn't fancy then, as I do now.  I’m still not confident in my fork choosing skills... and it's probably a testament to my high fluten lifestyle, when I admit, that I consider it a fancy dining establishment, when they have cloth napkins instead of paper.

But last night, I channeled my inner fancy pants, and made some of the best Mushroom Soup I've ever tasted.  Seriously. 

What you'll need:

1 Medium/large sweet onion, sliced
2-3 Tablespoons coconut oil (whatever you need to make sure those suckers don't stick)
Black pepper
3 Cups sliced mushrooms (I used the cheep-o's...just your run of the mill, white mushroom...called Monterey)
1 Cup chopped mushrooms
1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 Cups beef broth
1 Can full fat, coconut milk

What you'll need to do:

Melt your coconut oil in a large pan.  Throw in your onions and pepper.  Just barely caramelize the onions (3-5 minutes on medium-high heat).  Add the mushrooms and stir to coat.  At this point, add a bit of olive oil; just enough so that everything gets a nice little sheen.  Let simmer, stirring occasionally (5-7 minutes....I took this time to check Facebook... wherein, I was sucked into the vortex of namecalling and fingerpointing.  Good times.)  Add beef broth and bring to a boil.  When a boil has started, pull down the heat to a simmer and let it do its thing for another 5-7 minutes.  Add the entire can of coconut milk and stir to fully incorporate.  Bring it back up to a hard simmer and then you're done.

Cell phone, photo disclaimer:
it looks really "greasy" here.
It's really not....it had cooled considerably
and I hadn't stirred it much.
It's really worth trying, despite the poor photo!

It's a cloth napkin kinda soup.  I hope you enjoy!