To me, the difference between a raw mushroom and a cooked mushroom is transformational. I don’t care for raw mushrooms. My husband Howard eats them whole, as a snack, but that has no appeal for me. I like cooked mushrooms just fine, cooked any number of ways. I like them sautéed, stuffed, sliced, roasted, as long as they’re cooked. Oh, I forgot soup. I like them in soup.

In January, for French Fridays with Dorie, we’re back to everyone making the same recipe every week. This week, the recipe is Paris Mushroom Soup, a creamless creamy mushroom soup, poured over a fresh herby mushroom salad in the bowl. As I said, I like cooked mushrooms, but not raw, so this recipe presented a bit of challenge for me. However, one of the things I like about this cooking group is the chance to take a leap of faith sometimes and learn about something new. It could be a new technique, a new ingredient, or a new flavor combination. You never know what it will be.

I waited until Friday to make this recipe and got home from work later than expected, so I wasn’t sure it would come together. However, this soup is a quick one, definitely suitable for a weeknight dinner. The soup was ready in just under an hour. While it simmered, I had enough time to wash the pots and pans, and put together the raw mushroom salad I mentioned.

I made this soup pretty much as written. I found homemade turkey stock in the freezer, so used that instead of the chicken stock. The chopping went quickly. When I have to slice a lot of mushrooms, I use the food processor. I cut them in half, load up the chute, and run them through the slicer blade. It’s fast! I usually chop onions by hand (well, with my knife), but the food processor was already in use, so I made quick work of the onions too.

I liked, but did not love, the soup. I liked how creamy it was, even though there was no cream. What about the raw mushroom salad? Not so much. I did try, but I couldn’t get past those raw mushrooms. What I did like were the fresh flavors of the herbs in the salad: chives, scallions, parsley. And while I won’t put the mushroom salad in my next bowl of soup, I will garnish the bowl with the same herby flavors. That’s what I mean about learning something new with each recipe I try.

I was going to make sandwiches to go with the soup, but because of my late start, we snacked on chips and guacamole instead while I made the soup. Then, we just ate bowls of soup with some warm crusty bread. Maybe when we have leftovers for lunch tomorrow, sandwiches will be on the menu.

If you want to see how the other bloggers made out with this week’s recipe, check out their links on French Fridays with Dorie.