All Shook Up

The First Electric Blender went practically unnoticed when it appeared in a bar about 25 years ago. For a long time it remained a rather expensive novelty used mostly to make a foamy rum trifle known as the frozen daiquiri. Then one day it was discovered that if you cast solid food into the teeth of the small blades whirling at 22,000 revolutions per minute, you'd be able to make, in a mere matter of minutes, patés and purées that formerly took hours of mortar-and-pestle pounding. Bachelor chefs who were in the habit of abrading their knuckles grating hard parmesan cheese could now do the same job with almost no effort at all with a blending machine. Shellfish soups, it was found, could be made into smooth bisques by flicking a switch. Spreads for canapés, ground almonds for petits fours, batters for crepes and relishes for game could all be swizzed up in no time. And, of course, creative bartenders, faster than summer lightning, began to envisage a whole new galaxy of iced drinks.

If you have resisted buying a blender until now, you should be told beforehand that after you have acquired one, you won't understand how you ever functioned without it. You should, however, know its particular role in the kitchen. You can't whip cream in it for your Irish coffee, nor can you beat egg whites for your Baked Alaska. It won't take the place of a meat chopper when you want to make a Salisbury steak. Besides mixing liquids, it reduces solid foods to tiny particles in a smooth homogeneous mass. That's all it does -- but what an all-embracing "all" that is!

If you're roasting duck or goose, for instance, with a fine stuffing, and you've gone to the trouble of making a delicate white-wine gravy, you may think of offering a simple bowl of applesauce to complement the roast. Applesauce out of a can or jar, of course, is dull if not depressing. You may decide to eschew it and go through the process of making fresh applesauce by boiling cored apples and then forcing them through a fine sieve or colander, a tedious job if ever there was one. With a blender, however, you'd make applesauce from the raw fruit, eliminating the core but including the skin. And when you taste chilled raw applesauce for the first time, you encounter an incredibly lissome, live natural flavor you've never met before. If you want to add horseradish flavor to it, you can shred the raw horseradish root right in the blending machine before the apples are added, or you can add prepared horseradish to the sauce while it's still swirling in the machine. In any event, raw applesauce is a perfect illustration of a delightful new savory that can be made in no other way than with a blender.

A blending machine is not, for all its virtues, an all-knowing robot. Artful manipulation on your part is sometimes necessary. For instance, when solid foods without liquid ingredients or with semi-liquids are blended, you can only process a small quantity at a time. If diced celery, shrimp and mayonnaise, for instance, are being blended, the celery and shrimp in immediate contact with the blades will be quickly ground into a paste while the food at the top may remain stationary and not come in contact with the chopping blades. In such cases, you must stop the machine and, with a rubber spatula, push the unblended food toward the blades.

The beginner is advised against impatience. You may have to stop the machine, in certain preparations, six or eight times and force the solid food toward the bottom of the well. Most solid foods blend quickly if there is enough liquid at the bottom of the blender to set the vortex in motion. If the solid foods are extremely soft, like canned fruits, the blending will take place almost instantly. Overblending, too, may be bad. For example, when you chop clams or oysters for canapé spreads, you must not let the blender run until the clams or oysters turn into a mushy soup. In making drinks with cracked ice, a few seconds' blending will suffice. Too much blending will simply melt the ice and make the drink nothing more than tepid and diluted. Always use cracked ice rather than whole ice cubes: "rocks" may damage the blades.

With the new blender you buy, the manufacturer will usually provide a quite exhaustive monograph filled with recipes and necessary briefing for the care of your machine. Be warned not to follow too literally, in all cases, the amount of time indicated for blending. For instance, if you're blending diced celery, less time will be required when you're using the tender inside hearts than when you use the coarse outside stalks. Lobster cut into 1/2-inch slices will take more time than lobster cut into 1/4-inch slices. In such instances you must be guided by your own good sense and judgment, blending the food only until it is smooth and feather-soft. This you can tell sometimes by merely looking at it. Sometimes you must taste it. It may look, smooth, but in eating it, you may discover coarse pieces that were not caught in the blades, and further blending is indicated.

Foods which have been pulverized are not necessarily flavor blended. Thus, if you put cooked chicken liver together with butter, mayonnaise and condiments into the blender to make a liver spread for canapés, all ingredients will be soon chopped into a smooth soft mixture. If you taste it at once, you'll detect a prominent liver flavor. The other seasonings may also be individually detected. You taste the individual notes, not the complete chord. If, on the other hand, you let the mixture chill in the refrigerator for four or five hours, and then taste it, it will have ripened into a new mellowness. This maturing period, during which flavors coalesce, is extremely important in preparing cold foods with a variety of seasonings or spices. Iced drinks, of course, should be served at once.

The blender blades should be cleaned without fail after each use, or the accumulation of food, thick syrups, etc., may become a problem. If you own the kind of blender which has a removable bottom, you can clean the blades very easily. If the blades are fixed, clean the machine by pouring a warm mild detergent solution into the well and running the machine for a few seconds. Then rinse the apparatus in hot water. Again run the blades for several seconds to dry.

While blenders may have originally appealed mostly to the banana smoothie set, they are now being used more and more for noted classics of haute cuisine, as evidenced by the following cool formulae, all designed by Playboy for the summer days ahead:

[recipe_title]Gazpacho[/recipe_title]

(Four servings)

A light cold summer soup from Seville, Gazpacho is at its best if served one day after it is prepared.

[recipe]3 cups cold chicken broth[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup packaged garlic soup croutons or packaged garlic melba toast[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup olive oil[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup green pepper cut into l/2-inch squares[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup cucumbers cut into 1/2-inch squares[/recipe]

[recipe]2 medium-sized fresh tomatoes[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon cider vinegar[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper[/recipe]

Remove stem end from tomatoes. Cut tomatoes into l/2-inch dice. Put the croutons and olive oil into the blender first. Then add all other ingredients except salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill overnight in the refrigerator. Stir well before serving. If fresh chicken broth is not available, dissolve three chicken bouillon cubes in hot water, or use canned chicken broth.

[recipe_title]Deviled Crab Meat Paté[/recipe_title]

(About one cup)

[recipe]1/2 lb. fresh cooked crab meat[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup celery cut into l/4-inch squares[/recipe]

[recipe]3 tablespoons butter[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon scallions, 14-inch slices[/recipe]

[recipe]3 tablespoons mayonnaise[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon lemon juice[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon prepared mustard[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon dry mustard[/recipe]

[recipe]4 drops Tabasco sauce[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon salt[/recipe]

Let the butter stand at room temperature until it is soft enough to spread easily. Examine crab meat carefully, and remove any pieces of shell or cartilage. Put all ingredients in a blending machine. Blend at high speed until a smooth mixture is formed. Stop the machine and force unblended food toward the blender knives when necessary. Chill in the refrigerator. Serve as an appetizer spread on thin rye crackers or whole wheat crackers.

[recipe_title]

Caviar and Smoked Salmon Paté[/recipe_title]

(About one cup)

[recipe]2 ozs. red caviar[/recipe]

[recipe]2 ozs. sliced smoked salmon[/recipe]

[recipe]4 ozs. cream cheese[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons butter[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon diced onion[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons heavy sweet cream[/recipe]

[recipe]2 teaspoons lemon juice[/recipe]

[recipe]1 large sprig parsley[/recipe]

[recipe]1/8 teaspoon white pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]1/8 teaspoon celery salt[/recipe]

Let both the butter and cream cheese stand at room temperature until they are soft enough to spread easily. Cut the smoked salmon into 1/2-inch squares. Put all ingredients in a blending machine. Blend until a smooth mixture is formed, stopping the machine as often as necessary to force the unblended food toward the knives. Serve very cold on thin pumpernickel, thin salt rye bread or saltines.

[recipe_title]Cold Bisque of Shrimp Soup[/recipe_title]

(Four servings)

[recipe]1/2 lb. fresh shrimp[/recipe]

[recipe]1 medium-sized onion[/recipe]

[recipe]1 piece celery[/recipe]

[recipe]1 small carrot[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 small bay leaf[/recipe]

[recipe]1 quart water[/recipe]

[recipe]3 bouillon cubes[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup light sweet cream[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons sherry[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon finely chopped chives[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, white pepper[/recipe]

Cut the onion, celery and carrot into thin slices. Pour the water into a saucepan. Add the onion, celery, carrot and bay leaf. Simmer until all vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes. Add bouillon cubes. Add shrimp. Simmer five minutes more. Remove shrimp from cooking liquid with a slotted spoon. Remove bay leaf. Reserve cooking liquid and vegetables. As soon as shrimp are cool enough to handle, remove shells and vein from back. Cut shrimp crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. In the blender put the cooking liquid together with the vegetables and shrimp. Blend until a smooth purée is formed. Chill in the refrigerator. Just before serving, add the light cream and sherry. Stir well. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into chilled cups. Sprinkle with chopped chives.

[recipe_title]Ramos Gin Fizz[/recipe_title]

In the old days, no New Orleans bartender would think of serving a Ramos gin fizz if the drink hadn't been shaken at least five minutes. The electric blender does a better job in five seconds. If orange flower water is unobtainable in the nearest fancy-food store, you can usually buy it in a drugstore.

[drinkRecipe]1 1/2 ozs. gin[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 egg white[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 oz. heavy sweet cream[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 level teaspoons sugar[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]Juice of 1/2 lemon[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]Juice of 1/2 lime[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 teaspoon orange flower water[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 cup finely cracked ice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]Carbonated water[/drinkRecipe]

Put all ingredients except carbonated water in the blender. Blend at high speed five seconds. Pour into a 12-oz. glass. Add enough carbonated water, usually a very small amount, to fill glass.

[recipe_title]Whiskey Orgeat[/recipe_title]

Orgeat is a syrup made of almonds. It is used in place of sugar as a sweetener. For best results, use a light blended rye in this drink.

[drinkRecipe]2 ozs. rye[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 cup finely cracked ice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]Juice of 1/2 lemon[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]Juice of 1/2 orange[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 tablespoon orgeat[/drinkRecipe]

Put all ingredients in blender. Blend five seconds. Pour into an old fashioned glass.

[recipe_title]Frozen Peach Daiquiri[/recipe_title]

Although fresh peaches will soon be plentiful, this drink is actually best if made with sweetened frozen peaches. Thaw peaches before making the drink. The quantities will make three 4-oz. drinks or two 6-oz. drinks.

[drinkRecipe]3 ozs. light rum[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]Juice of 1 large lime[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/4 cup sliced frozen peaches[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]3 tablespoons syrup from frozen peaches[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 cup finely cracked ice[/drinkRecipe]

Put all ingredients in blender. Blend five seconds. Pour. Imbibe. Enjoy. You'll find it peachy.

serving savory smoothies via the electric blender