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• Heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium ­high heat. When foaming subsides, add broccoli, onion, garlic, dry mustard, cayenne, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Add 1 cup water and baking soda. Bring to simmer, cover, and cook until broccoli is very soft, about 20 minutes, stirring once during cooking.
• Add broth and 2 cups water and increase heat to medium­ high. When mixture begins to simmer, stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer half of soup to blender, add cheddar and Parmesan, and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer soup to medium bowl and repeat with remaining soup. Return soup to Dutch oven, place over medium heat and bring to simmer. Adjust consistency of soup with up to 1 cup water. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve, passing extra Parmesan separately.

• Separate broccoli into florets and stems. Cut florets into bite-size pieces and set aside. Roughly chop stems and reserve separately.
• Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering. Add broccoli florets and cook, without moving, until charred on the bottom, about 1 minute. Stir, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until tender and charred on several surfaces, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet to cool.
• Return Dutch oven to medium heat and add butter, onion, carrot, and broccoli stems. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until tender but not browned, about 5 minutes, lowering heat if necessary. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add water or chicken stock, milk, and potato and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a bare simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until broccoli and potato are completely tender, about 30 minutes.
• In a large bowl, toss both cheeses together along with mustard powder. Using an immersion blender blend soup, adding cheese a handful at a time, until completely smooth. Stir in hot sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in reserved broccoli florets and pulse with blender a few more times until a few pieces are broken down, but most bite-size pieces remain. Serve immediately.

• In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to turn brown.
• Add the carrots and celery and cook an additional couple of minutes. Add cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine.
• Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, pour in chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer.
• In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Mix the flour with the milk and whisk to combine. Add flour-milk mixture slowly to the butter, whisking constantly.
• Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup half-and-half. Add mixture to the simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if necessary.
• Just before serving, place the sour cream in a serving bowl or soup tureen. Add two to three ladles of hot soup into the tureen and stir to combine with the sour cream. Pour in remaining soup and stir.
• Serve immediately.

• Bring the 2 cups of water to boil and add the broccoli, onion, and celery and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Use a hand blender or a potato masher to mash this all up–or carefully pour into a blender and blend.
• Make a white sauce with the butter, flour, and chicken broth: In a 3 quart saucepan, melt the butter and then stir in the flour. Add the broth slowly, whisking to incorporate it. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn down and simmer 1 minute, stirring all the time, then remove from heat.
• Stir the creamed broccoli mixture into the white sauce and add the salt and pepper. Heat just to boiling, then turn down. Add a bit of the broccoli mix into the milk or cream, and then mix that back into the soup. Stir and serve.

• Remove the greens from the fennel stalks, chop them, and reserve. Cut the fennel bulbs and stalks into coarse pieces.
• Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, 7 minutes. Add the 1 clove garlic and continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Increase the heat to high. Add the chopped fennel and the chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the fennel is very tender, 15 minutes.
• Allow to cool slightly.
• Puree the soup, in batches, in a blender until very smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean soup pot. Add the cream, and season with salt and pepper.

Salad:

• In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and lemon juice. Add the reserved fennel greens and parsley, toss to coat, and season with salt and pepper. Set the herb salad aside
• Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the ground fennel seeds and stir for 30 seconds. Add the baguette slices in a single layer, and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes total. Season with salt, to taste. Remove the baguette slices from the pan and rub each piece lightly on 1 side with the clove of garlic.
• Warm the soup over medium heat. Ladle it into bowls, place a baguette slice on top of each, and top each slice with some of the herb salad. Serve.

• Place onion and mushrooms in a large pot with the wine. Cook stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add the broth, potatoes, parsley, and nutmeg. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Add the soy milk and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
• Process in batches in processor of blender. Return to the pot and heat through.

• In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion, carrots, celery and mushrooms. Sauté until onions are translucent and mushrooms have browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, salt, pepper, thyme and nutmeg. Stir in until garlic releases its fragrance, about 30 seconds.
• Add wine if using and deglaze pan for 2 to 3 minutes. Add stock and cook on medium low heat until celery and carrots are tender, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Add rice and cream. Continue to cook until soup thickens slightly. Garnish with parsley.

• Place dried mushrooms in a small bowl. Add the 1/2 cup broth and the wine. Let stand 30 minutes. Drain and discard the excess liquid. Coarsely chop mushrooms; set aside.
• Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes still tender. Stir in fresh and dried mushrooms; cook 3 to 4 minute more or till most liquid has evaporated. Stir in flour. Add the 8 cups broth and pepper. Cook and stir to boiling. Reduce heat; cook and stir, uncovered, for 30 minutes more.
• Remove 4 cups soup mixture; puree in blender or food processor. Return to saucepan. Stir in buttermilk and heat through. Do not boil.

• Place dried mushrooms in small bowl; cover with warm water. Soak 20 minutes to soften. Drain; squeeze out excess water. Discard stems; slice caps.
• Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add chopped onion and garlic; cook 1 minute. Add both types of mushrooms; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add chicken broth; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer, covered, 15 minutes.
• Stir in ham and green onions; heat through. Blend soy sauce and sherry into cornstarch in small bowl until smooth; stir into soup. Cook 2 minutes or until soup is thickened, stirring occasionally. Serve with whole wheat dinner rolls.

• To prepare broth, melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add thyme and shallots; cook 10 minutes or until shallots are golden brown. Stir in chicken broth and porcini mushrooms; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 1 hour. Strain broth mixture through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids.
• Return broth mixture to pan. Stir in shiitake mushrooms and sherry; cook 10 minutes over low heat. Stir in chives. Serve immediately.

• One to four hours before making the soup, place the dried mushrooms into a large bowl and cover with 6 cups of boiling water.  Invert a saucer over the top to force mushrooms to stay under water.
• Wash the button mushrooms and slice roughly.  If using fresh wild mushrooms, remove stems and add to the button mushrooms.  Place half the button mushrooms into a food processor blend until fine.
• Drain the dried wild mushroom, squeezing out as much water as possible without crushing them.  Spread on paper towels to dry slightly.
• In a heavy soup pot, add half the butter and the whole garlic cloves.  Stirring constantly, allow the butter to melt and brown slightly.  Add the sliced button mushrooms and sauté until they have let off their water and begun to brown.  Add the minced mushrooms and continue to cook until they have let out their water and the pan is almost dry again.  Add the chicken stock, mushroom water, and bullion along with three sprigs of thyme and 1/3 cup of the sherry.
• Bring mixture to a boil letting it simmer on low for half an hour to forty-five minutes.
• Line a colander with cheese cloth.  Pour the soup into the colander to strain out the solids.  Press mushrooms to extract as much liquid as possible and discard.  Place the liquid back into your soup pot and set to simmer on low.
• If you are feeling lazy, add the rest of the ingredients to the pot.  Adjust seasoning to taste, bring to a boil and allow to simmer for a further 15 minutes.  Then server with a scattering of fresh herbs.

However, for extra flavor:

• Melt the rest of the butter in a large sauté pan, add the rest of the sherry allowing the alcohol to cook off a moment.  Add the mushrooms with a sprinkle of salt and sauté until golden.
• Right before removing the mushrooms from the flame, add the chopped tarragon and thyme leaves (pulled off the stems).  Place the sautéed mushrooms into the soup base and bring the soup to a boil.  Add the cayenne, black pepper, and adjust salt if necessary.  Simmer for 15 minutes.

• Place the water, leeks, celery, carrots and garlic in a soup pot.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
• Add the broth, potatoes and seasonings.
• Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and cook over low heat for 40 minutes.
• Remove the Bay Leaf.
• Serve with fresh bread.

Roux

• Cook butter and flour together in a separate pot for 5 minutes and set aside

Soup

• Brown onions in some butter
• Add mushrooms. Saute until barely cooked
• Add water and seasonings. Bring to boil, turn down and simmer for 10 minutes
• Stir in roux and remove from heat
• Add white wine and sour cream