Hand Blender

I bought a new toy… excuse me, new tool.

I decided to make this delicious-sounding recipe from my Sonoita Seasons cookbook for Cream of Broccoli and Stilton Cheese Soup. After cooking the broccoli, it needed to be run through the blender, and it’s always a pain to dump hot semi-liquids into my blender a few cupfulls at a time. Since I have wanted a hand blender (also called an Immersion Blender) for a while, I decided it was time.

I made the short trip to Plate It Up!, my favorite kitchen store here in Glendale, AZ. I told Heather I was looking for an immersioqn blender. She said, “Here’s the one we use in our cooking classes.”, and handed me the Cuisenart Quick Prep with a price tag of $32.

It looks pretty durable. It has a stainless steel shaft and blade, and has two speeds controlled by a simple rocker switch. It feels pretty sturdy, not flimsy at all.

I am happy to report that this thing rocks. It had no trouble whatsoever pureeing the broccoli and other vegetables in the soup, and did so quietly.

I can definitely see some possibilities here. I love smoothies, but dragging out the blender (and then cleaning it afterwards) each time I want one has been a problem. Whipping this thing out on the other hand, is effortless. Hmmmm…. time to re-visit my stack of cream soup recipes.