What was your Christmas* haul?

[Koltreg]

(12-29-2011 03:16 AM)Rae Wrote:  I got some very cool stuff, but the gifts I'm most excited about are a gift cert. to my favorite framing shop and immersion blender.* I'm gonna frame and/or blend the hell out of SO MANY THINGS, you guys.

Every year, the Spouse's grandparents get us really inexplicable clothes, so this year we dressed up in each other's and took silly photos.

*WOOHOO I AM A BORING ADULT

I learned the awesome powers of new blenders since my mom and sister have been making a cookies like crazy with their Kitchen Aid monster that my mom got at a rummage sale.
I might need to mail you some cookies as thanks (and to prevent diabetes).

[Rae]

(12-29-2011 04:34 AM)Quetzalcoatl Wrote:  

(12-29-2011 03:16 AM)Rae Wrote:  I got some very cool stuff, but the gifts I'm most excited about are a gift cert. to my favorite framing shop and immersion blender.* I'm gonna frame and/or blend the hell out of SO MANY THINGS, you guys.

Every year, the Spouse's grandparents get us really inexplicable clothes, so this year we dressed up in each other's and took silly photos.

*WOOHOO I AM A BORING ADULT

I learned the awesome powers of new blenders since my mom and sister have been making a cookies like crazy with their Kitchen Aid monster that my mom got at a rummage sale.
I might need to mail you some cookies as thanks (and to prevent diabetes).

1. Kitchen taxonomy lesson, because I am a nerd:

This is a standard blender. It is good for smoothies, mixed drinks, and some soups. It's bad for more than about a quart of anything, and it's a pain in the ass to clean, especially when you do dumb shit like attempt to use it to chop rhubarb:


This is an immersion blender. It is great for stuff that won't fit in a standard blender, like big pots of soup. You can also sometimes get attachments that let you use an immersion blender as a food processor. Also, it's one of the more brandishable kitchen appliances, especially if you get a cordless model, and that's always a selling point for me:


This is a stand mixer. It lets you mix stuff while using both hands for other things, without turning your kitchen into an edible Jackson Pollock painting, which is what happens if you try using a handheld mixer hands-free. The downside of stand mixers is that they take up a lot of space and are super expensive:


This is a handheld mixer. It's the needy younger sibling of the stand mixer. It's not as powerful, it doesn't have a built-on bowl, and you have to hold it and sometimes also the mixing bowl. On the other hand, it takes up a lot less space, and costs about an eighth of what you'd pay for a stand mixer. Fun fact: It is possible to rig a power drill to work as a (single-blade) handheld mixer.:


All that aside, Kitchen Aid stand mixers are seriously the bomb. I wish I had one. High five your mom for me.

2. While I appreciate the offer, I have hella ridiculous food allergies and so pretty much avoid home-baked stuff from other people's kitchens.

[Koltreg]

Yeah, Stand Mixers are magnificent and we were lucky enough to live in the town where they make most of the Kitchen Aid stuff. Also if anyone is interested in cookies, hit me up via pm. (Also I understand about allergies so no big)

[Rae]

(12-29-2011 09:16 AM)Quetzalcoatl Wrote:  Yeah, Stand Mixers are magnificent and we were lucky enough to live in the town where they make most of the Kitchen Aid stuff.

Man, if you went on a tour of the factory and there was a bizarre, tragic accident, you could become the most niche supervillain ever.

[Koltreg]

(12-29-2011 09:23 AM)Rae Wrote:  

(12-29-2011 09:16 AM)Quetzalcoatl Wrote:  Yeah, Stand Mixers are magnificent and we were lucky enough to live in the town where they make most of the Kitchen Aid stuff.

Man, if you went on a tour of the factory and there was a bizarre, tragic accident, you could become the most niche supervillain ever.

Actually the current manager was a man who was stuck in the past for 10 years with a blender and came back as Blend-Ar the Barbarian.

[thechrishaley]

(12-29-2011 03:16 AM)Rae Wrote:  Every year, the Spouse's grandparents get us really inexplicable clothes, so this year we dressed up in each other's and took silly photos.

Hot.

Also, re: blender, I was hoping for a powerful juicer this year, but forgot to ask anyone for it.

[GL 2814.4]

(12-29-2011 05:58 AM)Rae Wrote:  This is an immersion blender. It is great for stuff that won't fit in a standard blender, like big pots of soup. You can also sometimes get attachments that let you use an immersion blender as a food processor. Also, it's one of the more brandishable kitchen appliances, especially if you get a cordless model, and that's always a selling point for me:

I have heard really good things about those! I want one. I would make squash soup and leek and potato soup like every week.

---

My sister gave me this!



I've decided I'm not a bad person for asking for shot glasses from my little sister.

[Rae]

(12-29-2011 02:14 PM)GL 2814.4 Wrote:  I would make squash soup and leek and potato soup like every week.

As soon as mine arrives, I am going to do unholy things to butternut squash, and it's going to be amazing.

(12-29-2011 02:14 PM)GL 2814.4 Wrote:  

---

My sister gave me this!



I've decided I'm not a bad person for asking for shot glasses from my little sister.

You realize this means you have to come up with a themed shot for each one, right? Let me know if you want the recipe for a Flash & Substance.

[GL 2814.4]

(12-29-2011 02:28 PM)Rae Wrote:  

(12-29-2011 02:14 PM)GL 2814.4 Wrote:  I would make squash soup and leek and potato soup like every week.

As soon as mine arrives, I am going to do unholy things to butternut squash, and it's going to be amazing.

(12-29-2011 02:14 PM)GL 2814.4 Wrote:  

---

My sister gave me this!



I've decided I'm not a bad person for asking for shot glasses from my little sister.

You realize this means you have to come up with a themed shot for each one, right? Let me know if you want the recipe for a Flash & Substance.

Those were exactly my plans! I'm going to do a lot of color-coordinated shots in my future, just in time for New Years.
(And the recipe would be fantastic!)

[Rae]

Flash & Substance: Fill glass most of the way with cuarenta y tres. Add a splash of goldschlager. Shoot, fast.