I know there are a ton of fantastic cooks on the Dope, so I was wondering what your favorite appliances are.
My very favorite appliance in my kitchen is my KitchenAid mixer, seconded by my pressure cooker.
What about you?
I’m quite fond of my microplane. Second place: the immersion blender with the kung fu grip.
Those two would be on my list, but not in the number one spot. My bread maker would be there. I make bread at least once a week. Latest favorite bread was a Corn Bubble Bread, made with flour, cornmeal, egg, milk, water, sugar, salt, yeast. Minced green chile and canned (drained) corn added at the raisin beep. Dough divided into 20 balls and placed in a spring form pan. It was awesome!
#1, as in I-cannot-live-without-it is my KitchenAid mixer, along with all the attachments.
#2, as in I-could-probably-live-without-it-but-I-don’t-want-to is my Vita-Mix blender.
Rice cooker, hands down.
I don’t like lots of extra unnecessary electrical appliances. I know other people do, but I’d much rather just get by with a great knife to chop and spoons to stir. Yeah, I’m just one of those!
My rice cooker, however, I am totally stuck on.
Well, the first thing that comes to mind is my wine opener. But before you throw things at me, I’ll vote my cast-iron skillet. It cooks everything!
#1 on my list is definitely a good, sharp chef’s knife.
#2 would have to be the microwave. I use it for a lot of things. It’s a defroster/steamer/rice cooker/potato baker/reheater/water boiler…
Knives and skillets are tools, not appliances. Appliances use electricity. 
Alton Brown will probably chastize me for liking a unitasker, but bar none, my favorite unitasker is my 3-cup Zojirushi rice cooker. Yeah, it does one thing, but it does that one thing very, very well and very, very easily.
Second up would be the 6-quart “Pro” model Kitchen Aid stand mixer. If you’re gonna buy one of these things, might as well get the good one… and the “Artisan” series has plastic gears. Not a problem if you never do more than cake batter, but we abuse the hell out of the mixer at Christmastime with very stiff cookie dough and restaurant-scale production of scones. (You know the scone dough is ready when it stalls out the motor.)
Kitchen Aid stand mixer, hands down.
2nd place would probably go to our crockpot.
My food processor. I use it all the time and I’ve put it through hell, but it’s still going strong.
Electronic: Microwave. Did you know there’s microwave instant mashed potatoes now that don’t need milk?
Non-electronic: 12" chef’s knife. My mom tried to steal it from me 3 times, even when I was sitting right there.
My disemboweler. Saves me so much time.
Since I’m not lucky enough to have a Kitchenaid mixer, I’ll have to go with my crockpots.
Honestly though, my favorite things in my kitchen are my knives.
What, my hand-crank meat grinder isn’t an appliance?
A 50-year-old Norwegian hand-cranked deli slicer, made of wood and steel, with a delineator that goes down to 1mm. And still so sharp I still cut myself on it.
George Foreman Grill
We use that thing for a ton of stuff, from just grilling chicken to making bulgogi.
The refrigerator is my favorite appliance. I can’t imagine having to shop every day for a single day’s needs.
Like others, the KitchenAid mixer is tops for making bread, which I do often. I’m going to start grinding my own burger and making my own sausage soon, so it’s going to get a workout. It’s going on 15 years old and still a workhorse. Second would be my Berndes cookware, which is the next best thing to seasoned cast iron. Microplane graters would be a close third, along with the OXO garlic press.
Microwave. Followed by my really nice toaster oven, ideal for the two of us. If I get an electric frying pan, I will have hit the trifecta.
Crock-pot, or “slow cooker”.
Only the crock pot can turn cheap, tough cuts of meat into tasty meals, especially given my limited cooking skill.