Cream of mushroom soup has been a favorite of mine as long as I can remember. Of course when we were growing up it was Campbell's and it came in a can.

But even as an 8 year old I took great pride in heating my own soup, and discovered for myself how much better it was if you added milk instead of water, and how important it was to slowly add the milk while stirring so it wouldn't form clumps.

As a grown-up I still love mushroom soup, and happily make it from scratch using lots of fresh mushrooms, shallots, garlic, chicken stock and cream. Many people add a dash of sherry or nutmeg to mushroom soup.

Our recipe calls for a couple pounds of cremini or button mushrooms. Either will do, though I think cremini (young portobello mushrooms) are a little tastier.

We also recommend adding a handful of fresh shiitake mushrooms to the soup. Even though they are more expensive than regular mushrooms, their flavor is much more intense and deepens the rich flavor of this soup.

I discovered a tip from a chef friend that just a little tarragon will help bring out the flavor of the mushrooms, so we've added a little dried tarragon to the soup base. Not everyone has this herb though, you can easily substitute thyme (or put in a dash of nutmeg).

We've gotten a lot of great suggestions from readers over the years who have made this soup and made their own variations. Here are a few:

Condensed cream of mushroom soup is quite a bit thicker than this soup. We don't recommend using it as a substitution.

This soup will keep refrigerated for up to five days and can be reheated gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.

If you'd like to freeze this soup, don't add the cream. Wait until it's defrosted, heated, and ready to serve to whisk in the cream.