ChefSteps is a team of chefs, writers, and food lovers who develop recipes, techniques, and guides to help people cook better at home.

ChefSteps

We know that many folks go to Thanksgiving celebrations where a table laden with dishes requires one staple: Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom condensed soup. This thick, gelatinous mass in a can is the basis for green bean casserole, scallop potatoes, broccoli and cheese casserole, and something called creamed onion bake. (No one here has eaten this before. Have you?) Most folks want Thanksgiving dinner to be traditional. As you can imagine, here at ChefSteps, we’re about innovation and new flavors. The cream of mushroom base is still a great idea. This year, we decided to make it ourselves with Matsutake mushrooms, but you could use any variety of different wild mushrooms available in the Northwest, or a farmed mushroom like King oyster, or any mushrooms available where you live.When we began working on this recipe, we tried to pack as much mushroom flavor as we could into it. We assumed that a cream of mushroom with chanterelles and dried morel powder as the thickener would be the winner. It tasted super delicious. However, it looked like brown sludge. So we took our notes from the ingredients on that can and made a flavorful base that was white with chunks of mushroom that stand up to thick, creamy gravy.Now it is yours.