Mushroom Soup

Say what you will about the canned cream of mushroom soups, but I love them. It was my favorite soup as a child and I thought I was so fancy being able to make by myself at such a young age. Thankfully my palate has evolved, as has my cooking ability, and this recipe is quite possibly some of the best mushroom soup I've ever had.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 lbs mushrooms, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (do not use dried - use fresh)
3 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
1 cup half & half
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
In a large pot, cook onion and garlic in butter for 5-7 minutes.
Add chopped mushrooms, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes, uncovered, to allow mushrooms to release liquid, AKA flavor.
Add stock and thyme, stir occasionally, for about 10 minutes, uncovered.
In a blender, puree half of the mixture and add back to pot and stir. If using a hand held immersion blender, my weapon of choice, puree the entire mixture for 30-60 seconds and stir.
Add half & half, salt and pepper, and simmer uncovered for another 5-10 minutes.
I like to add more thyme at the end as a garnish.

Recipe adapted from one LKC makes.
Picture from LKC's original recipe.