Kitchen Blenders

i want to get my mom an immersion blender for her birthday, and the Cuisinart SmartStick Immersion Blender looks nice. Yet it seems so much cheaper than the other blenders…does this one have good quality? i’m not looking for a top model, but not a crap cheapo one either…

basically, does anyone have any good durable immersion blenders i can look at? thanks!

the higher the watts the better

this one looks good and is stainless steel 500watt

http://www.everythingkitchens.com/lequip-immersion-blender.html

Hello I am wondering if I can use a hand blender: http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CSB-76BC-SmartStick-200-Watt-Immersion/dp/B000EGA6QI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1264208056&sr=1-1

in this kind of a enameled iron cast oven: http://www.amazon.com/Creuset-Enameled-Cast-Iron-2-Quart-French/dp/B00004SBH4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1264208252&sr=1-1

or will it damage the pot?? I am thinking of blending soup right in the pot.
thanks

You can use it – no problem at all. That type of hand blender won’t harm the pot. It has two little feet on the bottom to keep the blades from doing anything to any kind of non-stick coating a pot might have. I’ve done it many times.

I use my blender a lot for liquidizing vegetables and fruits for things like salsa, sauce, spreads, salad dressings, home made milk shakes, malts, icy-drinks, etc.

As for the food processor, imagine egg salad, ham salad, minced onions, minced garlic, pico de gallo etc without actually having to be good with a knife. One thing I use a food processor the most for is preparation of onions, garlic, oil, and spices for sauces and such. Fresh garlic is kind of a pain to mince, as are onions, but the food processor will do it all for you. mixing in a little olive oil or grape seed oil and the spices that the recipe calls for to the mix in the processor does three things. The first is that the garlic and onion are more finely chopped, and that will help to bring out the flavor. Mixing the oil in will bring out the flavor of the spices and the garlic. Finally, any time you use dried spices, the flavor isn’t on the surface. breaking up the spice brings out more of the natural flavor, meaning your use a little less, and it’ll save you more, or for the same amount, more flavor.

The model that I have is the one with the following setting only: pulse, high, low and ice crush. Not the latest models with the touch pad controls.

Do you have it , the top locked in properly. This ussually is the problem.

And are you excited about it?

Me? Thanks for asking, I’d love to share. I just purchased the Cuisinart 16 cup Elite Food Processor from Williams-Sonoma. This will be my first food processor, and I am so excited I may not sleep for the entire five days it will take to get here. Maybe I will sleep, but only to dream of slicing, shredding, chopping, mixing and kneading…
Due to financial circumstances, and my husband’s penchant for handguns, I have been waiting for several months to make this purchase. Why, I’ve even had to go back to buying mayonnaise! Expensive and yucky.
My daughter complained all summer that I wouldn’t buy something to just get by, so she could make smoothies. But I tell you that if I had done that, I would be living with a blender I would be dissatisfied with for years before I finally got what I wanted. This way, I suffered for a few months, and now what I want is on its way. Patience is finally my reward.
Share with me your appliance = love story!
EDIT: Ooh! I got a new range about a year ago! I found, on a fluke, a 5 burner ceramic top (no gas out here) with a convection oven for half price, because it had a small dent! Woot! Have fun!

I’m actually hoping to do an entire renovation on my kitchen in the next 6 months or so (make it a lot bigger!) so hoping to purchase new stove, oven, fridge etc.
The next appliance i know i want and can’t wait to purchase is a deep fryer Very unhealthy, i know, but very useful!