Happy, happy new year to everyone! Hope that your 2013 is off to a fabulous start!
In honor of the Smoothie Maker Gift Set Giveaway that we have going on this week, and because I just returned home from a carb-loading trip in Europe and am craving some lighter meals, I thought it would be fun to do a smoothie recipe roundup!
Last week I posted on Instagram my favorite way of making homemade whipped cream with a hand/immersion blender. And I immediately received a bunch of emails and comments from people who had never tried it, and had questions about what a hand blender actually does. So since we happen to be giving away a KitchenAid hand blender this week, thought it might be a fun time to post a quick tutorial!
This method is definitely not rocket science. But it is super easy, quick, and requires much less work doing dishes than if you were using a large stand mixer or food processor! And since hand blenders are so small and portable, this is also a great option if you are taking a dessert to a party and want to make some homemade whipped cream topping there on the spot. (Or, if you get asked to make some homemade whipped cream for a kittens photo shoot on location at work, I learned from experience this also randomly works well for that!) Oh the possibilities. :)
Oh how I love soup season.
As I’ve mentioned before, I am not a huge fan of cold weather. I’m all for living in a place with the four seasons, and love the beauty of a freshly fallen snow. But when it comes to any form of shivering or a red nose, I would trade that for the sweltering summer heat anyday. I just do not like being cold! But alas, since I have chosen to make my home in the Midwest, I have learned to get through my winters. And one of the things I most look forward to is a warm bowl of homemade potato soup.
Today I made one of my favorites for a special treat — classic lobster bisque.
I have a long list of restaurants I whose lobster bisques I adore, but for some reason I had never before tried making it at home. (Somehow lobster tails don’t seem to make it into my budget too often!) But my recent discovery of a bag of frozen chopped lobster meat from Trader Joe’s inspired me to give it a try. And I’m pretty sure now that this soup may make it into “the rotation” (as my friend Christin calls it) of favorites from now on.