Today I am celebrating a very special birthday and I hope you will join me. It’s not my birthday (that comes next week), nor is it the birthday of any of my loved ones. But it’s a special day nonetheless, as three years ago today, All Day I Dream About Food was born. It was an ugly little newborn, I have to admit, and I was a very unsavvy, inept new blog mother. I did all sorts of things wrong, from design to photography to recipe development, and I was rather neglectful in those first few months of bloghood. Really, it’s rather astonishing that the poor thing grew out of its infancy and into what it is today. Which I hope to say is a robust childhood and that it has a lot more growing to do! We seem to be on a roll together, my blog and I, and I don’t see it slowing down any time soon.
Suffice it to say that my blog is very special to me. It has, at times, been a source of stress, but I suppose that can be said of any relationship. More often than not, however, it is a source of great joy to me. It has brought me many, many things, including a wonderful community of friends, readers and other blog acquaintances. It has helped me hone my skills in the kitchen, with words and language and with a camera. It has opened up some amazing professional opportunities and introduced me to a great many products and ingredients I am not sure I would have discovered otherwise. And it holds me accountable to my daily diet. In short, I love the darn thing and I am very proud of it. So many happy returns of the day, dear bloggy-blog. May we get to celebrate many more together.
To help me celebrate, I enlisted the help of the good folks at KitchenAid. I could go on and on about how much I love KitchenAid products but I will try to refrain from boring you. Suffice it to say that the product we are giving away today is just as great as all their others and is a truly multi-purpose kitchen tool. Their 5-Speed Hand Blender is no simple immersion blender, my friends, and I am seriously impressed with all the functions and the power it contains. I love my big mixer and my big processor, but sometimes I hate the though of getting them dirty when I just need something quickly chopped, whipped or blended. The KitchenAid Hand Blender comes with attachments for all of that: whisk, chopper, frother/beater, and two different blades for shredding, blending and pureeing. And then all you have to do is remove the attachment portion and clean that. Easy Peasy.
I tried out every single attachment and I give them all a thumbs up. I’ve used it to make lattes, smoothies, soup, and whipped cream. And when I discovered I was out of Thai curry paste one day, I whipped some up with the chopper. I adore the chopper attachment, because the blender fits right into the top of the chopper container, keeping the mess to a minimum while still being quite powerful. I honestly think this might be one of the most versatile kitchen tools I own. And now you have a chance to own one yourself! Scroll down for the entry rules.
I’ve never thought to make my own Thai curry paste, it’s one of those things I’ve always bought at the store. But I wanted to make some Thai curry chicken wings (I will share the recipe for those in a few days, because they were amazing!) and discovered that I had only the smallest teaspoon left in my jar. I was reaching for the phone to call my husband and ask him to pick some up, when it suddenly occurred to me that I might have the right ingredients to make my own, or at least a close approximation. It took all of about 5 minutes to make, and of course I made my version without any sugar. It tastes fantastic and is a great sauce or marinade on chicken, fish and tofu. And you can adjust the heat to your own liking, which in our house means pretty darn hot indeed!
I received a 5-speed hand blender from KitchenAid to review. All opinions are my own.
Ingredients
- ¼ to ½ ounce red chilies fresh or dried
- ½ stalk lemongrass minced OR 2 tablespoon bottled lemongrass (I used Gourmet Garden)
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 shallot chopped
- 2 tablespoon cilantro leaves I used frozen cubes
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger OR galangal root I have no idea where to get galangal so I used ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in bowl/container of a food processor, blender or chopper attachment. Blend until it forms a thick paste.
- Use as a marinade for chicken, meat or seafood or as a seasoning in curries, soups and stews.
Kathrynwitte says
I have a container of extra Thai Curry sauce from B-Dubs, and sorry to say, neither your “paste” nor your wings appear to look anything like it. Any idea why not? I would assume that the sauce is so watered down by your diet restrictions/coconut milk/whatever that it imparts a bare frisson to your baked wings, but why does the photo in your food processor look nothing even close to what’s in my fridge in color or texture?
Carolyn says
Of course mine looks nothing like the sauce from Buffalo Wild Wings. Their junky sauce was simply the inspiration for a much healthier, whole food version. You can identify all the ingredients in my delicious sauce (I’d suggest trying it before you start criticizing). Here’s what’s in the stuff from “B-Dubs”, as you so lovingly call it:
SOYBEAN OIL, BUTTERMILK, CREAM OF COCONUT ( COCONUT MILK, SUGAR, WATER, POLYSORBATE 60, SORBITAN MONOSTEARATE, SALT, XANTHAN GUM, CALCIUM CARRAGEENAN, SODIUM ALGINATE, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, CITRIC ACID), SALT, DISTILLED VINEGAR, SPICES, LEMON JUICE FROM CONCENTRATE, CHILI SAUCE ( CHILI, GARLIC, SALT, DISTILLED VINEGAR, POTASSIUM SORBATE AND SODIUM BISULFITE ADDED AS PRESERVATIVES), SOY SAUCE ( WATER, WHEAT, SOYBEANS, SALT), GINGER, EGG YOLK, WATER, TURMERIC, NATURAL FLAVORS, GARLIC*, ONION*, POTASSIUM SORBATE AND SODIUM BENZOATE ADDED AS PRESERVATIVES, GLUCONO DELTA LACTONE, XANTHAN GUM, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA ADDED TO PROTECT FLAVOR. *DEHYDRATED
Janice says
I am a new comer…Love your curry paste recipe. I bought my kitchen aid mixer late in life…my only regret is I did not have it when the kids were growing up. Makes everything easy!!
Deb Bresloff says
Happy 3rd birthday to your blog! I would love a new tool for my kitchen!!!
kfloveinme says
As yummy as these wings looks, I’m going to have make the Thai Curry Paste! YUM!
Jennifer O'Brien says
I’d make summer fruit soup!
Jillian says
My non-KitchenAid immersion blender is used so much that just last week I started researching replacing it. Naturally I decided on the KitchenAid. Haven’t purchased it yet so this would be a timely replacement. I love my KitchenAid food processor and can’t wait to use their immersion blender.
I’ve never had Thai curry. Love Indian and Jamacian currys so must give this one a try.
Angie says
Fauxtato soup! And a whipped mousse for dessert.
Lisa Foley says
I would whip up some soup.
Katie says
I have an old decrepit stick blender that’s on it’s last gasp, would love a more powerful less gasping one. Great Blog and wonderful info. Very helpful.
Kristin P. says
I, too, love all of my KithenAid products.
Angela Yer says
I would make a smoothie for my family.
C.M. Cole says
We did a similar exercise the other day regarding taco seasoning.
Had no pre-made (packages); hubby wanted the taste.
Went online and found the recipe; had the spices. He love it, and said it was even better than the packages (of course)
Cheryl says
I can’t wait to try this recipe, it looks great. Would love to win this KitchenAid tool, several mixers have conked out on me and I am currently without one.
Jamie F says
Looks yummy! I have been craving some wings!