I really like to bake, so I thought I should tell you about my favorite baking tools. You don’t have to do everything manually, and you don’t have to spend a fortune doing it.
The Kitchenaid Mixer
This is probably the tool that I use most in my kitchen.
When I started making bread many moons ago, I did everything by hand. I was getting big muscles from kneading, and fungus under my nail salon nails! My friend, Joseph, and his lovely wife, Maggie, felt sorry for me and bought me a mixer. That was 20 years ago, and I haven’t looked back.
I use my mixer for all sorts of things. I don’t like getting my hands dirty – I mean, I really don’t like getting my hands dirty. So, I make my “world-famous” meatloaf in here, or anything that requires stirring, or mixing with hands.
I like getting toys for my wonderful tool. I got her (yes, my KitchenAid is a SHE) a citrus juicer because my neighbor had given me about 40 lemons. My girl made a whopping quart and a half of lemon juice. I poured the juice into ice-cube trays, froze them, and then put them in the bags in the freezer. Now I can have lemonade any time I want!
My poor mixer died after 20 years, and the one pictured is its replacement. She’s smaller than the original, but I didn’t need a huge mixer in a relatively small space. I use the mixer often enough that I keep her on the counter along with…
Braun Food Processor
Can we talk? My chef friend gave me his restaurant’s Waring food processor, and it chugged along for many years. Finally, one day, it went to appliance heaven just like my KitchenAid. It was a good processor, but it was loud, it was unable to chop onions without liquidating them, and it only had an S blade.
It just so happened that the Waring died around the same time that the announcement came out about the S blade of Cuisinart blenders being recalled.
My small processor by Krups also died at the same time the Waring died, and I used it a lot to make small amounts of sauces or dressings. I also used it to chop nuts and other jobs the Waring was too big to do.
When I was perusing Amazon, this processor leaped into my suggestions. I took a look at the specifications, and the reviewers, many of whom were former Cuisinart users, who praised it for its toughness and quiet motor. I was sold.
This is easily the best food processor I have ever had. It’s powerful and does so many jobs. I use it to make pie dough, biscuit dough, cookie crust, salsa, grate loads of cheese, grate carrots, make ground meats. It also has a small bowl that sits inside for small jobs like making Blue Cheese dressing.
Wilton Cookie Press
Wow! I just got this great tool after having rolled out dough all winter and using cutting forms. That’s a lot of fun, but, this thing is a real treat! I made 5 dozen Cheddar crackers in a half an hour! Good God! I go could nuts with this thing – no, come winter, I will go nuts!