9th Day of Christmas: Hand Blender

Also Sprach Kitchen-Aid

Pro-tip: do not even bother with the 220-watt immersion blender. The engine will burn out under heavy use (read: making frozen cocktails).

Spend the extra money and get the 300-watt motor.

I use mine for practically everything I would use a stand blender to do: purée vegetables, emulsify sauces, make soups - gazpacho, potato and leek soup, cheddar and broccoli, beer and cheese - make salad dressings and yes, blender drinks.

Is it a bit of a splurge? A flashy purchase that one could live without? Perhaps. But I say it was worth every penny (about $100 for the 300-watt model).

And... look at how easy it is to clean! Bonus: clean pot too!

Most fun way to do dishes since "Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead!"

Chef Gordon Ramsay's Creamed Broccoli Soup:

• 2 heads of broccoli, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces, including stems.
• Water to cover.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

That's it. Bring to the boil, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes until broccoli is tender.

Hit it with the stick blender until smooth then serve with garlic crostini.

As you know, we like to strain this, serve the "broccoli water" up as soup and use the pulp in gnocchi or pasta.

Dottore Gustavo's Boozy Breakfast:

• 1 clementine, peeled.
• 4-5 frozen strawberries.
• 1/2 ripe banana.
• 3-4 cubes of ice.
• 1 very fresh raw egg.
• 2 1/2 ounces of vodka or gin.
• 1 tbsp maple syrup.
• Dash Fee Bother's Old-fashioned bitters.
• Dash Fee Brother's Orange bitters.

Blend until smooth in a large cocktail mixer or metal milkshake mixer. Pour into goblets if you feel like sharing or into a pint glass if you don't. Garnish with dash of each bitters.

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Kitchen Aid Hand Blenders
Also check Amazon.com for wider variety of models, used and new.