Recipes, cookware reviews, and kitchen appliances in one cooking blog.

Blend Hot Soups with Immersion Blenders

by Top Chef

If you saw yesterday’s corn chowder recipe, you read that at the end of the cooking time, the recipe calls for scooping out half of the chowder, pureeing it in a blender, and then adding it back to the crockpot.  This was a bit of an inconvenience, and has prompted me to add one of these handheld blenders, sometimes called immersion blenders, to my kitchen gadgets list.

The KitchenAid immersion blender above is made by KitchenAid, and allows you to blend anything, including scorching hot corn chowder, right in the pot.  You can immerse the blender in up to 8 inches of liquid, and it comes with several dishwasher-safe attachments.  Sounds much easier than taking my blender apart, and washing the glass pitcher.  I found this immersion blender at FFEMAX.Com for $52.99.

You can use handheld blenders in many recipes, including soups, mashed potatoes, whipping up diet shakes, and quick milkshakes.

November 11, 2008   1 Comment

Cream of Pumpkin Soup

by Top Chef

pumpkin soup

There are lots of ways to use up Halloween pumpkins, and here is one delicious option. This pumpkin soup recipe includes cinnamon croutons for topping.  You can even get creative with the croutons for making this a real Halloween treat.

  • 3 tablespoons soft margarine
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 4 slices whole wheat bread
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
  • 15 ounces of pumpkin puree, canned or fresh
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Spread butter mixture evenly over one side of each bread slice. Place buttered bread on a cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until bread is crisp and topping is bubbly. Cut each slice of bread into triangles, squares, or use cookie cutters to make Halloween shapes!

Then, saute onion in butter in a medium saucepan until tender. Add 1 can of broth and stir well. Bring to a boil and cover.  Next, reduce heat, and simmer mixture for 15 minutes. Transfer broth mixture into  blender or food processor, and blend until smooth.
Return mixture to saucepan or small stockpot. Add remaining can of broth, pumpkin, salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground pepper; stir well. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in whipping cream and heat through without boiling. Use a ladle and dip soup into soup bowls. Recipe source:  All Recipes.
Food Handling Tip: Remember to monitor the temperature of your refrigerator with a thermometer, especially when cooling a large amount of something that’s hot…like soup.  According to this article, the ideal temp for a fridge is between 35 and 38 F.  Did you know that your refrigerator will actually function more efficiently when it is full of food?  Check out these money-saving shopping and refrigerator tips at Green-Vaccine.

October 2, 2008   1 Comment