In recent years I’ve tried hard to avoid purchasing kitchen appliances or gadgets with singular functions or those whose functions can be completed by appliances or gadgets I already have. For that reason, it was not until this past holiday season that I acquired my very first immersion blender. After all, I already had an expensive stand mixer, a blender and hand mixer. It seemed that an immersion blender was wasted duplicity. Wrong! I love my immersion blender and use it for everything from making cream soups to de-lumping gravy. It’s easy to use, easy to clean and easy to store.
Soup – I’m a soupaholic and pride myself on being able to make a wonderfully delicious soup out of just about anything. When others are grabbing leftover pizza or fried chicken as a midnight snack, you’ll find me standing at the stove in the wee hours conjuring up some delicious delight from the leftovers in the fridge. Last night for dinner we had steak with sautéed onions and mushrooms, steamed broccoli and macaroni and cheese. We had a little bit of everything leftover, but not enough for another full meal. I wrapped the leftover steak and popped it in the freezer to use the next time I make Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup). I then proceeded to make a wonderful soup out of the rest. Here’s how:
Cheesy Cream of Broccoli and Mushroom Soup Recipe (More immersion blender recipes.)
Total time: 7 minutes
1. Add your leftover onions, mushrooms, broccoli and macaroni and cheese to a deep sauce pot. Add milk in proportion to your solids (be conservative, as you can always add more if needed). Throw in a dash each of celery seeds and garlic powder.
2. Using your immersion blender, blend everything together to your preferred consistency.
3. Heat through and add small amounts of cheese to thicken (if desired).
Sauces and Gravy – Lumpy sauces and gravy will be a thing of the past once you get (and start using) your immersion blender. It honestly takes me less than three minutes to get mine out, de-lump my gravy and rinse off the blending arm.
Vinaigrettes – With an immersion blender you can emulsify your salad dressings in just 20 to 30 seconds.
Smoothies – Whether you prefer sweet fruit smoothies or savory green smoothies, you don’t need one of those expensive smoothie blenders to get the job done. A good quality immersion blender can do the job with a lot less clean up time.
Whipped cream – If your immersion blender has a whisk attachment, it’s great for making quick and easy whipped cream.
Yes, I realize you can do any of these things with a regular blender or mixer, but with an immersion blender it is faster and easier to both use and clean. It’s so handy and so versatile I don’t know how I ever managed without one.
