Immersion Blender

A $20-25 immersion blender eliminates the most dangerous step in home cooking: transferring boiling soup to a countertop blender in batches while it tries to explode the lid off. Stick it directly in the pot. Blend. Done. It makes silky soups, smoothies, whipped cream, mayonnaise from scratch, and baby food. The cleanup is running it under the faucet for 10 seconds. Brands like Mueller and Cuisinart make excellent models under $30. Once you own one, you'll wonder how you ever poured hot liquid into a blender like some kind of daredevil.