The easiest thing to do is to remove the central plug
in your blender top and cover the hole with a towel.
This will allow expanding gases to escape but
prevent liquids from flying out. The second, and
easier, way to prevent blow-out is to start blending
very gently. Start your blender at the lowest speed
and slowly work your way up to the highest.
Expansion will take place more slowly, allowing the
gases plenty of time to escape, and enabling your
kitchen and your dog to get away unharmed.

STRAINING

If “velvety-smooth” and “lump-free” are terms

that you’d like to be able to use to describe your
soups and sauces, a fine-mesh strainer is your tool of
choice. But have you ever poured a batch of soup
into a strainer set over a pot or bowl and waited for
it to all pass through? Chances are, you ended up
waiting a long, long time. As the soup passes
through, the holes in the strainer get clogged.
There are two solutions to this. The first is The
Rap: Holding the soup-filled strainer above your
container with one hand, rap a long heavy tool
repeatedly against the edge of the strainer with your
other hand (I use a heavy spatula or a honing steel).
Soup should flow out of the bottom with each rap.
For extra-thick or chunky soups, I use a second
method, The Spoon Press: Holding the soup-filled