It's been a while since I was accused of that! :thumb::thumb::thumb:

I let it drip through a paper coffee filter inside a funnel. I'd use the funnel anyway and the coffee filter is cheap.

You're welcome.

I don't use the funnel, but I do the coffee filter inside a little fine mesh strainer (not for any extra straining, it's just what fits inside the jar easily.

Sorry I missed your request. I don't check this thread very often. I use an immersion blender for this recipe.

America’s Test Kitchen
Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup
Published: September 1, 2008
Serves 6 to 8


INGREDIENTS

1/4-cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 medium onion, chopped medium (about 1 cup)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
Pinch hot red pepper flakes (optional)
1 bay leaf
3-1/2 lbs. Fresh Tomatoes OR 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes packed in juice
1-tablespoon brown sugar
3 large slices good-quality sandwich bread, crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons brandy (optional)
Table salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

If half of the soup fills your blender by more than two-thirds, process the soup in three batches. You can also use an immersion blender to process the soup directly in the pot. For an even smoother soup, pass the pureed mixture through a fine-mesh strainer before stirring in the chicken broth in step 2. Serve this soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches for a Crowd or topped with Butter Croutons


1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes (if using), and bay leaf. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Using potato masher, mash until no pieces bigger than 2 inches remain. Stir in sugar and bread; bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until bread is completely saturated and starts to break down, about 5 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf.

2. Transfer half of soup to blender. Add 1-tablespoon oil and process until soup is smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and repeat with remaining soup and oil. Rinse out Dutch oven and return soup to pot. Stir in chicken broth and brandy (if using). Return soup to boil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve soup in individual bowls. Sprinkle each portion with pepper and chives and drizzle with olive oil.

And in case it didn't come across in my tone, your exposed meat curtains are glorious, . . . very chic.

Look at yourselves!

Just look at yourselves!

Just look at yourselves.

You're insistence on vagina references is boring. I'm done with this ... whatever it is. You win, I quit.

Regarding bacon fat reserves, you do NOT need to strain it before use, but you can. the small particles of meat that will end up in the bacon fat sink to the bottom, and are therefore in an anaerobic environment and will not spoil. In fact, there are countries that preserve meat by completetly covering it in fat without refridgeration, and the only thing that may happen is some fermentation. In the case of bacon, it's so salty, that fermentation wont occur anyway.

Show us where the bad chef touched you

Don't start nothin,' won't be nothin'

Mine is not a safety concern, just a cleanliness effort and making sure I don't introduce foreign particles that I didn't plan for into my dish. (Though I've always heard and read that bits of food left in reused oil will make it go bad faster.)

As for my refrigeration preference, it's just a preference. On the counter, it's always a little solid, a little soupy. I prefer something a little scoopable.

I never strain my bacon drippings but I turn it over pretty quick.

You don't cook things in bacon grease that you're concerned that a speck or two of actual bacon dust might stray onto it, which it won't anyway unless you purposefully scoop down into the bottom for that little rime of bacon dust.

Pretty much all I had to say, but evidently my phraseology veered into the bitchy, assy and antagonistic, so I have some hard contemplation of my world view ahead of me.