This is not a pretty soup, but its a pleasing soup. I love wild rice, and what better to pair wild rice with than some chicken? I’ve had my share of great chicken and wild rice soups on buisness trips to Minnesota. I decided to play on my own and come up with my own version. The thing about soup is that you can follow a recipe, but sometimes the best ones are ad lib.

I essentially took five chicken drumsticks and roasted them with a few strips of cut of bacon. Something about bacon used in cooking that just imparts a wonderful flavor and aroma. I cleaned and sliced one leek and added it to the roasting pan.I used my enameled Le Creuset dutch oven so it can go from oven to burner. I roasted the chicken and leeks for approx 1 hour to get a nice brown carmelization. I then transferred to pot to the burner and deglazed my pan with Sherry.I added dried shitake mushrooms,that had been soaking for the past hour and sliced,water, spices( herbs de Provence,ground sage,salt,pepper,a dash of sugar,etc.).I let it simmer for about another hour, with periodic stirrings from Certain Someone for his proclaimed magic touch.Around the last half hour I added heavy cream mixed with cornstarch for thickening.It didn’t get as thick as I would have liked , but it was fine just the same.Certain Someone ate two bowls and was happy. I’m not a big soup person but he seems to like my soup concoctions. Now if they only looked as good as they tasted..