Comfort Food: Cream of Mushroom Soup

This is a little ridiculous, but I couldn't bear to waste the pictures.

Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup may very well be my comfort food of choice. I know a ton of people only use it for casseroles, but as soup alone, this has been my favorite, well, for as long as I can remember. 

There are 4 things that are paramount for getting it just right:

1. Use whole milk.

2. Then skimp on the milk.

3. Own a funky whisk like mine.

4. Have Ritz crackers on hand.

1 & 2. Directions call for a full can of water or milk (I already mentioned, if you're gonna do it, do it right with whole milk), but make sure you do not top it off all the way. Less liquid equals thicker soup.

3. This whisk is old (see the grody wooden handle with slipping metal piece in bottom right picture?), but so very cherished. In the 20ish years I've been making condensed soup, I've never succeeded at truly incorporating the milk without one like it. The spring shape lets you press it down flat to the bottom and right to the edge of your pan so you can incorporate every little bit of deliciousness without any lumps.

These whisks work great for pan gravy, too. I'm serious, invest in one!

4. Crackers are essential. Saltines and oyster crackers are cool, but Ritz is perfect with this soup. Sometimes I use a whole half sleeve. It's indulgent, I'm talking comfort food. I generally add two or three crumbled crackers at a time...