(no subject)

[enkeli]

shopping for kitchen electrics, and i have to ask...

why would one need:

a) a hand blender
b) a mini pre-prep chopper/grinder dealy (besides the fact that it is ikkle and wee!)
c) a food processor
d) a blender

don't these all do pretty much the same thing at some point? or am i just not getting it?

i have a blender. it's mainly used for margaritas. i just bought a hand blender that came with a nifty whisk attachment. i figured i could use that for mashed potatoes and cake mixes. i think if i get the chopper thingy, i will be set, yes?

i was forced to soothe my ego by picking up a new pair of trousers. they are green. i don't have to know if they chop or puree.

Comments

[sunbrae.livejournal.com]

I have a hand blender/mixer and a mini food processor because I was going to make homemade baby food. Heh. Rarely use either. I think if you get the chopper thingy, you'll be set. I would adore a $300 Kitchen Aid mixer, but I know I'd never use it. But it looks so shiny and professional!

Now a coffee grinder? Espresso/cappuccino maker? Essential. :)

[enkeli.livejournal.com]

Now a coffee grinder? Espresso/cappuccino maker?

c'mon, now. what kinda chump do i look like? ;)

have a) coffee grinder b) french press (2) c) cappucino maker and d) milk frother as well as various and sundry tea pots and cups.

i brought my extra french press to work so i can make GOOD coffee here. :)

caffeine is so awesome.

[sunbrae.livejournal.com]

No chumps here! French press... *drool* I'm ashamed to admit we had a French press for two years, but never used it. Then, our coffee maker broke and in a fit of desperation, we pulled out the press. OMG. That was two years ago. French pressed coffee is so good with the nice crema on top. *drools*

[enkeli.livejournal.com]

yes yes yes yes yes yes yes.

mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[adjrun.livejournal.com]

You'd be surprised, actually. We use the KitchenAid all the time. Not just for special occasion and baking-type stuff (and don't you dare get a bread machine, enkeli, they suck and you really WON'T use it), but for mashed potatoes, whipped cream... it's really useful.

A cuisinart is good for chopping or grinding or shredding. Need oodles of cheese? That's where you go. Need lots of nuts chopped? Need to mash berries because you're making summer jam? This is your tool. Also, both the cuisinart and the stand mixer will last you a long time: our cuisinart was a wedding present, which means close to twelve years of excellent service. And these days, I think you can get Cuisinarts with minibowl attachment thingies, so you wouldn't need to get a seperate little choppy gizmo. We have a hand-little-choppy-gizmo, and we never use it. Kind of crappy and hard to clean, and it's just as easy to use a knife. Anyway, my rec is that, if you cook a lot, a Cuisinart is a must-have.

Now, a blender? I use a blender really only to make smoothies. Chopping ice, etc. But mostly, smoothies. Which are yummy and good, but it's only a single-use gig.

Hand blenders are good for blending something while it's still on the stove. Wait, though, do you have the old-fashioned kind, with beaters? Or a stick blender? Because the stick blender is great for the stove -- pureeing soups and sauces right in the pan, etc. Very cool. Also occasionally come with mini-chop bowl, if that is your wont.

[enkeli.livejournal.com]

yeah, the blender i'm down with. that is done. and i'd specifically use it for frosty beverages.

the stand mixer, i don't think i need... really, that is more mixing than i think i will ever do on my own. and even with cookies.. i like to do that myself. :) (i promise i will not get the bread machine!!) if i ever get married (BWA!), I will add it to the registry. ;)

if i do get a food processor, it'd be a cuisinart. but i don't make big stuff, which is why i think the mini chopper thing will be good.. and the hand mixer (not the old kind with beaters!!) will be good for soups and potatoes. :)

[sunbrae.livejournal.com]

and don't you dare get a bread machine, enkeli, they suck and you really WON'T use it

We have two, because Mr. Sun thought we'd like to make both round and loaf shaped bread. I've used them once each. Such a waste.

[enkeli.livejournal.com]

wow, two?

okay mr. sun has unseated me from the gadget throne. ;)

[sunbrae.livejournal.com]

He's crazy for gadgets. We have a potato peeler/curler thingy that makes potatoes into curly fries. Also, we have a contraption to make a blooming onion. Never used either. He sees things that interest him and will buy them without having any idea if they're practical or worth the money. And it's not just kitchen stuff. Dvds - he'll read the back or like an actor and buy the dvd without knowing if it's a decent movie or not. Why he can't just rent the darn thing and save a few bucks, I'll never know. The man really likes his things. (Affectionately called 'junk' by yours truly.)

[enkeli.livejournal.com]

mr. sun and enkeli!dad are long-lost relatives, i think. o, the things he used to bring home.

billie rae would make him take them to the garage. ;)

[notlefthanded.livejournal.com]

OK, you're going to laugh that I'm answering this, because you know how I cook. But Mom taught me a thing or two, even if I never apply that knowledge...

Rich and Reina cook fancy meals all the time. They use the mini chopper (I assume you're talking about the kind that's like a tiny food processor) for things like small amounts of herbs. They make their own salad dressings fresh, for example, so for fresh herbs, a couple of cloves of garlic, and some oil and vinegar, it seems to work great.

A blender is more for the liquid-y stuff, like margaritas and smoothies, etc, although I've heard some people use it for more than that. A hand mixer does the same thing as a stand mixer, but a stand mixer is more powerful (for example, some really thick batters will apparently burn out a hand mixer's motor). Also, the stand mixer does all the work for you - no holding/turning the bowl, no weary arm while you hold up the hand mixer.

A food processor can chop hard things, like nuts, or slice/chop/grate/whatever carrots, even meat, supposedly. But then you can switch the blade out, and mix what you've just chopped with other ingredients.

Of course you can do that stuff with a knife and a whisk; it's just faster for preparation. Then you spend all your time cleaning kitchen gadgets afterwards... Anyway, I think of it like the hardcore Home Depot types. The right tool for the right job. :) Or like the type who has to have the new iPod - "I want the new toy!" ;P

[enkeli.livejournal.com]

why should i laugh? besides, if i do you might not make spinach gnocchi again and then where would i be? ;)

and yeah, you've basically confirmed kinda the way i was thinking about this. the mini chopper thingy looks like it can do nuts and stuff too.

i guess if i wanted perfectly sliced zucchini or julienned carrots, i'd want the bigger food processor, right? but...even meat? whoa. the neatest thing the desc tells me about a food processor is the kneading bread part. that sounds kinda cool. but not like $200 cool, you know? also, i could get a bread maker to do that, if that's what i was interested in....

and the big old stand mixer is just NO FUN. i mean, what's making cookies if you can roll up your sleeves and mix that stuff up, right? there will be NO LOVE IN COOKIES then. and my cookies are full of LOVE, yo.

The right tool for the right job.

YES! mini chopper thing being purchased at lunch. wooo.

[notlefthanded.livejournal.com]

and the big old stand mixer is just NO FUN. i mean, what's making cookies if you can roll up your sleeves and mix that stuff up, right? there will be NO LOVE IN COOKIES then. and my cookies are full of LOVE, yo.

OH, so my mother never loved me?! ;)

Seriously, there's PLENTY of love in standing there with Mommy, watching the bowl spin round and round, carefully scraping batter away from the sides with a spatula, sprinkling in chocolate chips at just the right intervals. Spooning out just the right amount onto cookie sheets, so they'll be a little chewy and a little crispy, and not melt into each other. Lifting them off the pan onto cooling racks, then staring intently to guess when they're cool enough to eat. Daddy trying to sneak cookies away, which somehow always ends in some kind of attack by the Tickle Monster...

I am going to OD on nostalgia. And DAMN do I want homemade chocolate chip cookies right now.

[enkeli.livejournal.com]

of course your mother loves you. :P

am a tactile baking person, that's all. it's all billie rae's fault. don't feel like i'm really baking unless i have stuff all over my hands. :)

*hugs*

[abby20.livejournal.com]

I've got a blender with a food processor attachment and I'd part with it over my cold dead body. But I think as long as you've got something that chops and something that ... blends ... you're all set. Can't imagine why you'd need all four.

[enkeli.livejournal.com]

agreed. but, i think i will need three of them. :/

[cat-mom.livejournal.com]

You should really consider two things first before you buy any more gadgets: 1) how much do you really cook and bake from scratch? and 2) how much storage space do you have in your kitchen? I bought a really good set of knives about 11 years ago and they are the #1 tools my husband and I use in the kitchen. You already have a blender and a hand mixer, which is sufficient for most people. I always drool over those pretty KitchenAid stand mixers but I could never justify buying one. I have a very basic Cuisinart which is pretty old (10 years?) that we haul out every now and then if we're chopping massive amounts of something. I would give up every small kitchen appliance I have before I'd give up my Sabatier knives! And they don't take up much space, either! Happy cooking! :D

[enkeli.livejournal.com]

omg, i have sabatier knives, TOO! :)

i don't need a stand mixer... definitely no. mayhap a chopper. i want to buy it now only because if i buy a place, i won't be able to afford this sort of stuff anymore... so i want to get it while i have the $$.

hmm. have put off purchase of chopper for now. i just thought it would be nice for chopping small amounts of things, since it's just me. :)

[cat-mom.livejournal.com]

You're the first person I know who has Sabatier knives! Aren't they wonderful? As you know, they're made in France and I bought mine in England, but I've never seen them here.

Whee! This is what I love about this fandom! One minute I'm talking about H/D pr0n and the next I'm squeeing over knives! Life is good. :D

[enkeli.livejournal.com]

i bought them on amazon for A STEAL about a year ago. in fact, they were on my wish list and someone sent them to my for my birthday.

have since seen them at bloomingdales and i saw a few (not a set) at linens and things. anyway, yes. they RULE.