If you don’t have a food processor, I bet you’d probably get more use out of one than you would a KA stand mixer if you don’t bake. I use mine all the time for dips, compound butters, hummus, big batches of sliced or grated potatoes, etc.
I use my Pro 600 mostly for bread. I also use the pasta and sausage attachments, and CrazyCatLady likes to make marshmallows, but I don’t think any of that truly justifies the mixer.
So, anyone want to recommend a food processor? I’ve never had one, but it does sound nifty. And I have a whole cabinet in my kitchen with nothing at all in it. Shocking. In our Okinawa apartment, I had pots and pans in my bedroom closet, for lack of kitchen storage. Here in Maine, I have a *walk in pantry. * Life is good.
[URL=“http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001413A0Q/ref=bt_tpi_561306_2”]This is the one that I have. I am pretty happy with it.
I’m posting from my smart phone, but someone should link to the ‘I don’t need x for my Kitchenaid mixer.’
no knead bread is great. you can also basically double the batch and leave it in the fridge for a few weeks. Search on ‘artisian bread in 5 minutes a day.’
China guy, is that a dope thread? I do that with the no-knead bread, just make a new double batch every couple of weeks and stick it in a big zip-lock in the fridge, then anytime I want fresh bread or pizza, I just pull off a hunk and throw it in the oven. It’s actually better once it has sat in there for a while. It’s the best thing since, um, sliced bread.
I’ll pay shipping for anyone who wants to send me their Kitchenaid mixer. I cheaped out and bought a retro Sunbeam and I regret it every time I use it.
The Kitchen Aid is indeed great for baking, but isn’t much use otherwise. We have that and a Cuisinart DLC-7 and I suppose I should plug the latter as a food processor - she got them both for free around 1990 when she was a sales rep, and both have stood up really well to very frequent use (we’ve had to replace the stem on the Cuisinart a couple of times and maybe the bowl once, but that’s about it).
The porn industry has some interesting uses for them.
Just sayin’.
I whipped up a batch of pasta dough, inspired by Jamie Oliver, who made tons of lovely noodles in just minutes. The mixing and kneading of the dough was MUCH MUCH harder than he made it look - he must have really strong hands. It was an interesting and fun experience, but I can buy much better pasta in the grocery store.
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. This is the spinoff website for their two books. It’s all about making big batches of no-knead bread doughs, putting them in the fridge, and making breads/flatbreads/pizzas/focaccia/desserts from them. I’ve only used the first book at all extensively, but I’ve been very happy with almost everything I’ve made from it. (That said, if you want to make no-knead challah, I’ve had to adapt their recipe, which comes out very crumbly if made as written.)
I technically own a Kitchenaid stand mixer, which is a pretty standard wedding gift in my community, but it lives in its unopened box in my childhood bedroom, waiting for a time when I have a suburban kitchen, with all the storage space that implies.
In the copy of Ad Hoc at Home that I borrowed from the library (beautiful book btw and everything we’ve made from it so far as been a hit, definitely not a “dinner in 30 minutes” book but wonderful enough I’ll probably by my own copy when I have to give it back) has a homemade pasta recipe that is mixed by hand and then put in a pasta roller in batches, but even that step can be done by hand.
The fact that there is a workaround for everything I can conceive of wanting to do with the mixer is one of the reasons I have delayed so long in buying one, but as another poster said, what it does it does well, and more efficiently. Or that’s my hope at least. I’m going to have to buy the pasta attachments and the grinder attachments as well, and I don’t see any deals on those (if someone does, lmk please) which is a bit of a bummer as those two sets will set me back as much as the mixer. But I would love to grind our own meat and make our own pasta.
I have a food processor on my wishlist as well. We have a fair amount of kitchen and cupboard space still available, but I am hoarding and savoring it after our last galley-style kitchen. I would love to have a walk-in pantry someday but it won’t be happening in this house. And a root cellar. Someday.
Tortuga - if you do end up getting a food processor before a stand mixer, you should know that you can grind meat with a food processor, without a special attachment. (Instructions here, among many other places online.) I’m sure that the meat grinder attachment does an excellent job, without one having to worry about overprocessing, but this could let you save on the expense.
I use my food processor for cooking a lot more than I use my stand mixer. They are both Kitchen Aid brand. The food processor is great to have around. I gave my old mini Cuisinart to my sister when I got the KA. She said “thanks, but I probably won’t use it.” She called me two weeks later to thank me properly. She uses it 4-5 times a week and loves having it.
I don’t bake very much - just the occasional cake or whatnot.
Nevertheless, I have a serious lust for a Kitchenaid stand mixer - primarily for pasta and sausage - although I expect I would also be inclined to make bread from time to time with one, since it would be so much less of a hassle.
I twitched when I saw the reduced price - but in reality, I simply don’t have the counter/cupboard space to justify it.
Well, you missed the mixer for $199, but there is still a rebate for a free meat grinder if you’re interested. Details below the color selector.
My no knead bread came out pretty good. It was gone in one day so it was a hit! I over proofed the dough, my fault. I used rapid rise yeast and should have let it sit 8 hours instead of 12. I also would not use a floured cloth again as it is very sticky dough and it stuck to the cloth. I am going to cover it with saran wrap in a deep bowl next time. I used parchment paper in my pyrex dutch oven and was glad I did. The bread slid right out. I found a no knead recipe to make a bread that tastes like sour dough without using a starter that I am going to attempt next. It seemed fitting that I baked on Mothers Day and also made my son his fav baking powder biscuits too. It smelled so heavenly in the kitchen!
No Knead- Almost Sandwich
Sounds like the decision is already made, but I’ll weigh in: I too would suggest skipping it. The one non-baking thing I use mine for is a cheese ball recipe handed down to me by my other; it’s a stiff enough mixture (cream cheese + other stuff) that a hand mixer wouldn’t handle well. For stuff like whipping cream or egg whites, I use my hand mixer even though the Kitchenaid is sitting right there; it’s just easier to use something so lightweight for tasks like that.
Since you mentioned no-knead bread, I have lately been making recipes from Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day. Yummmm… I do use the Kitchenaid for that however; about 2 minutes with the dough hook and it’s ready to rise. Much easier than trying to mix it by hand especially with a bum shoulder.
Occasionally one can use the meat grinder attachment to get rid of bodi… errr, make hamburger.
Raoul??? :eek::p.
