Curried Corn and Crab Cakes Review

[Mandy]

Well, I made the crab cakes last night and they were so mushy. I had such a hard time forming them. Then when it was time to flip them in the pan, they fell apart. The flavor was good, but not worth the effort at all!

I also made the Tomato Basil Soup from July. It turned out pretty good. BUT, I made a mess making it. After simmering the tomato juice and tomatoes I was to blend them in a food processor or a blender. Well, I choose the blender because I thought that it would fit more then the FP. WEEELLLLL, what a mess I made. I filled the blender about 3/4 of the way full, put on the lid and turned it on...it went everywhere! Ug. So I had to blend it about 2 cups at a time. Does anyone have any tips on blending or processing hot soups?

Needless to say my meal last night was not worth the effort. I should've called for Chinese. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

-Mandy

[Holly S]

Mandy,
I have to tell you, the best purchase I ever made was a Braun Hand blender. Yes, those weird looking little "milk shake" mixers. I have used the Braun on almost all of the Hot liquid items I have made that need blending, since for the most part it fits right into whatever you are using,and there is no transfering of hot liquid from one place to another. They are really not to expensive
either. I believe they are under $20 now.


I forgot to add, when using it, just make sure the whole mix head is under the liquid by about 1/2 to 1 inch, it does tend to splash all over the place if not!

[This message has been edited by Holly S (edited 08-09-2000).]

[BarbaraL]

Mandy, I've done the same thing when making a red pepper soup I like. Put too much into the food processor; when processing, the soup went over the center post and made a mess! Now I process it in batches; Holly, sounds like a good suggestion with that Braun mixer thing!

[BarbaraL]

Oh, cool! I just got listed in my previous post as a "Member"! Must have been my 30th post! I feel like a veteran now.

[gabbyh]

Hi,
I have to admit I relented and agreed to a hand held blender. My husband is Australian and they use them for EVERYTHING. And now we do the same. We have the Cuisinart.

[Mandy]

Thanks for the advise. I've got to get a hand mixer! That sounds great. Do they even puree really chunky thinks like potato soups?
Thanks,
Mandy

[This message has been edited by Mandy (edited 08-09-2000).]

[LauraEllen]

I had the same experience a few years back with broccoli soup. Not a pretty picture at all. But until you get the hand-held blender you should try it with the lid held open about a half inch. The hot liquid expands rapidly when blended which causes the explosion. You just need to vent it a little when you first start the blender to let the steam out.

[karen w]

Mandy, I made the tomato basil soup. I liked it, but I like almost anything with tomatoes. I did use a hand held blender to puree the soup. It worked great.

[Ohioan]

BarbaraL, congratulations on becoming a member! -- although I'm not really sure why we keep congratulating each other on the amount of time we spend gossiping about food. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/tongue.gif As we said on another occasion, "If only this genius could be harnessed for good...."

Mandy, I love my Braun immersion blender, and I don't even have a food processor. One of the things I use it for most is to break up tomatoes right in the pot that I'm using to make a tomato sauce out of them. It's so easy to control the degree of "breaking up," too -- anything from chunks to a puree -- and only one thing to wash afterward, with no elaborate dismantling.

Phoebe

[gabbyh]

Mandy,
My husband uses our Cuisinart "blender on a stick" to make mashed potatoes! I have to admit, I use it more than my Kitchen Aid.