Boom.

Most of you have probably seen these, but for anyone who likes to cook (and especially for those who love kitchen gadgets), an immersion blender is a must-have tool. I own the cuisinart one pictured above, which comes with awesome attachments that I find I use all the time, like a mini food processor and a perfectly shaped measuring cup for making home made mayonnaise and other spreads.

Puree soups and sauces in a few seconds, whip up some salsa in the mini processor, there are endless possibilities for these things. Here are a couple of my favorite things to do with them:

Homemade Mayonnaise (kicks the crap out of the store bought stuff)

2 large egg yolks
2 champagne vinegar (lemon juice works)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dry english mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pinch cayenne
1 cup vegetable oil

Add all of the ingredients except the oil into the mixing cup for the blender. Turn the immersion blender on and slowly drizzle in the oil while the blender is running. Let it run for 30 seconds or so and you’ll have the best mayo ever. Kick it up with some roasted garlic or some roasted red peppers and it’s great on roast beef sandwiches.

Tomato Beurre Blanc (great on fish)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tbsp champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
2 shallots, finely diced
1 tsp fresh chopped tarragon
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 butter, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp white pepper

Method:

In a small saucepan, combined the white wine, shallots, tarragon and champagne vinegar. Simmer on medium heat until the mixture has reduced by half. Add in the heavy cream and tomato paste. Turn on the immersion blender and begin to blend while slowly adding in chunks of the butter until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This is a very classic French sauce and it’s great on eggs, vegetables, fish and chicken. You can also replace the white wine with red wine to create a beurre rouge that is delicious on lamb.

Tags: classic french cooking, immersion blender, vancouver catering, vancouver personal chef

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 24th, 2009 at 3:49 pm and is filed under Cooking Tips, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.