<p>DH gave me a nice, new, shiny Bamix immersion blender as a late Christmas present. I have never used one, but I’ve heard that they are nice to have. Dear CC cooks, I need your help: what dishes can I create with the use of this marvel of small kitchen appliances to get the most value out of it? I know I can mash potatoes, but I would like to make something more sophisticated. 
I appreciate your ideas and favorite recipes, especially anything involving lots of veggies! Thanks!</p>
<p>I got one for Christmas too! I whipped up one of my favorite soups last weekend. It was much easier using the immersion blender with the squash and apples in their pans rather than pouring batches of each back and forth into a blender.</p>
<p>[Roasted</a> Squash Soup Recipe - Allrecipes.com](<a href=“http://allrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-squash-soup/detail.aspx]Roasted”>http://allrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-squash-soup/detail.aspx)</p>
<p>Used mine yesterday to make a quick and yummy cream of spinach soup.
Sauteed onion and shallots in olive oil, added fresh spinach for a bit then chicken broth for a slow simmer, added salt, pepper, nutmeg and 1/2 and 1/2. Then immersion blend and serve.</p>
<p>I use mine for pesto and soup. </p>
<p>Veggie soup: Cook veggies (almost any veggies in any combination are good) in chicken broth. Add whatever seasoning you like. When the veggies are soft, puree with the immersion blender right in the cooking pot. If you want cream soup, add milk, cream, or roux.</p>
<p>BB - I am the queen of soups. I couldn’t manage without my immersion blender. I have posted a lot of my soup recipes - butternut squash, celeriac root & parsley, white bean, black bean, potato and leek, etc. If you want any I will repost. What I like is that I can blend a soup to be as smooth or as chunky as I want, depending on how long I blend it. Occasionally, for a higher end occasion I will use the food mill, but 99% of the time the immersion blender works. I often use cooked potatoes to make my soups creamy - and skip the cream. As Vball mom said, it sure beats doing soup in batches in a blender. And being the impatient sort that I am, I would put in too much, the lid would blow off…</p>
<p>I have a lot of recipes that I use as a blueprint, but then just grab whatever is handy and throw in the mix. I always have containers of veggie broth on hand. I use Pacific brand low sodium and I like that it does not overwhelm the flavor. </p>
<p>The one blending task where it has failed me is mashed cauliflower. I like that much better with a hand held mixer. </p>
<p>happy blending.</p>
<p>Many thanks to all for the ideas. It is time to go post-holiday grocery shopping and load up on veggies for my soup experiments. It sounds like anything that can be done in a regular blender can be done with an immersion blender. Good, because I do not like to wash more dishes than I need to.</p>
<p>Wnp, thanks for the tip on using potatoes instead of cream. I will look up your soup recipes - I have bookmarked a few recipe threads.</p>
<p>I also use mine for soup! I used to pour from the pot into a regular blender…what a mess!
I have now used the immersion blender right in the pot for a Roasted Chestnut & Butternut Squash soup, winter white soup, parsnip bisque, plus many more. It’s a handy little tool!</p>
<p>I do all kinds of soups (sweet potato/squash/carrot, spinach/garlic). I just used it to do deviled egg filling over Christmas. I also do a mashed cauliflower/sweet potato substitute for mashed potatoes. I also just used it like a mixer when the quantity isn’t very great, instead of getting my mixer out.</p>
<p>I just peeked at Chowhound. Found some interesting ideas there, like blending Greek yogurt with frozen fruit to make “ice cream” for breakfast. Sounds yummy. :)</p>
<p>^^I do that quite frequently. I pour in a bit of soy or almond milk into a tall measuring cup add yogurt, frozen blueberries or raspberries, a scoop of protein powder, blend, and drink up.</p>
<p>I use mine to incorporate leftover veggies into the spaghetti sauce. Purees them right in to make jar sauce yummy and have more veggies at the same time. Also use it to make the pot roast gravy thicker by keeping some potatoes in the gravy and blending them in.</p>
<p>Great thread! Our grocery store was having one of those “save up stamps” promotions, so we got ours for free.</p>
<p>I couldn’t live without my immersion blender. I use it at least 4-5 times/week. Mine is white plastic, and when it dies I’m looking forward to getting a shiny stainless one like yours.</p>
<p>I make a lot of soups with beans or lentils because S2 is a vegetarian. It is so easy to blend them right in the pot, as others have said. I also make a lot of smoothies for S2. My recipe: a tablespoon of chia seeds in the container, add water to cover and let sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. It will thicken quickly. Add a banana, plain fat-free Greek yogurt, and one or two partially thawed frozen fruits (run water over them in a colander to soften). I use a red (strawberries or raspberries) and a yellow (mango or papaya). Blend.</p>
<p>Can you make smoothies with it?</p>
<p>Any kind of root vegetable soup – curried carrot is my favorite! I include some apples and parsnips. I like the puree to have some texture, not toothpaste smooth.</p>
<p>I have had one for a very, very long time, and it has been a staple in my kitchen.</p>
<p>I use it for just about anything that needs mixing. I even make milkshakes in it, so smoothies would be no problem. I use it to make peanut sauce, just about anything. Very versatile!</p>
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<p>Confession here… I was never much of a yogurt fan, but a couple of months ago began to try some berry Greek yogurts and liked them OK enough. Last weekend, I tried the Peach Chobani yogurt and found a new obsession. I can easily eat four a day, which is great for protein (each container has 14 grams of protein) and calories (140 per container), but BAD for sugar (19 grams). So my plan now is to buy the non-fat, plain Greek yogurt, add some frozen fruit (probably non-sweetened peaches) along with some Sweet Leaf stevia (probably the glycerin form) and eat it to my heart’s content. I think I gave up on the KitchenAid stand mixer idea (90% of the things people were using it for were for foods I’m trying to avoid), so maybe I will get an immersion blender instead. BB, what brand did your H pick out for you?</p>
<p>Teri, since we are still in the middle of our year-long “not made in China” experiment, H walked into a Williams Sonoma store and asked which small kitchen appliances weren’t made in China. They had a Swiss-made Bamix blender. Apparently, it is a good brand. So far, I have not used it for anything yet while I’m trying to assess its usefulness, but H scared the cats pretty good by plugging it in (it is not that loud!). Every time I open the box, the cats disappear in horror. I guess I already found one use: if I simply leave it on the kitchen counter, it works as a cat deterrent :)</p>
<p>Here it is:</p>
<p>[Bamix</a> Immersion Blender | Williams-Sonoma](<a href=“http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/bamix-immersion-blender/?pkey=cblenders#reviews]Bamix”>http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/bamix-immersion-blender/?pkey=cblenders#reviews)</p>
<p>Reviews seem to be very positive, and there is more info including some recipe ideas. I have to use it to make dinner tonight!</p>
<p>Homemade applesauce!</p>