Wild Mushroom Cappuccino Soup

Ingredients:

1.5 oz dried chanterelle mushrooms
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 cup finely chopped mushrooms, divided
8 oz portobello mushrooms, finely chopped, divided
8 oz crimini mushrooms, finely chopped, divided
8 oz shitake mushrooms, finely chopped, divided
8 oz oyster mushrroms, finely chooped, divided
2 cups red wine
1 cup tawny Port
3 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, divided
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
8 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 cup chilled whipping cream

Instructions:

Place chanterelles in a medium bowl. Pour 1 cup hot water over. Cover; let stand until softened, about 30 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, tranfer chanterelles to work surface and chop. Discard liquid.

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add 3/4 cup shallots and saute until tender and golden, about 3 minutes. Add chanterelles, and about 1/2 of each kind of fresh mushroom and saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Add wine, Port, 2 teaspoons thyme, and rosemary; incease heat to high. Simmer until almost all liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add chicken roth; simmer un til reduced to about 9 cups; about 12 minutes. Cool Slightly. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return to pot.

Melt remaining 5 tablespoons butter in large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add remaining shallots and mushrooms. Suate until brown, about 6 minutes. Add to soup. Bring soup to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine cream and remain 1 teasponn of thyme in large bowl; whisk until soft peaks form. Ladel soup into small bowls or cups, top with cream, and serve

Notes:

You can vary the amounts and varieties of mushrroms. If you want the whole soup smooth, then do not divide any of the ingriedients. Add then all before the soup is blended. If you do not want to whip the cream, simply add it to the soup after it is blended. Almost any kind of slightly sweet wine can be substitued for the Port.