I broke down and bought . . .

[Marzoli]

a Cuisinart food processor. I know a lot of people don't like them, but I have trouble with my hands and wrists--chopping makes them really sore--and I like things like chopped onions and veggies and stuff! So I finally went out and bought a food processor. Can anybody give me guidance on sites that will help me get the most out of this gadget? I do intend to acutally USE it!

As a side note--my KitchenAid mixer got a case of stripped gears, so I sent it back for replacement--the new one has just arrived. I hope this one has better gears. The write ups say solid state speed control, but it seems like gears to me. Wish me luck!

[Jill Reichow]

Marzoli, I have a cuisinart DLC 7Pro and adore it. It's in the wash all the time. I use it for nigh on anything. I won't do breads in it, but use it for just about any other everyday thing that i need to do quickly. Sorry I can't help with sites...i just dump and go!

[Risa]

How come people don't like food processors? I miss having one, especially when there's lots of chopping and my arms and wrists are extremely tired. It's a great convenience. I also think that the cheesecakes I made with a food processor tasted better than the ones I make using my mixer.

[marmalady]

I love my cuis! Have also used the Kitchenaid processer, which I hate - doesn't seem to do the job as well, and the cup sticks sometimes when you're trying to offload it. I also have an old, old, Waring blender with about 20 speeds that I got for $10 bucks at an auction - and love it! Sometimes the processor doesn't do blending as well as the blender (just read what I wrote - duh!).

I use the cuisinart lots for salad dressings, and sauces, not so much for chopping, although I do use the shredder disc when I have lots of veg to shred. Start with the recipes in the booklet that came with the processor, and then jump off from there - whenever you're doing something by hand, just think if it could be done better/faster/easier in the cuis. Good luck!

[roon]

I don't care for conventional food processors- too many parts to clean! For me, ease of cleanup is as important (if not more so!) than how well it works.

I actually use a food chopper (pampered chef) and I love it. It only doesn't work for garlic (learned that the hard way!) and it's not too keen on tomatoes with thick skins. But it just opens up real easy and I stick it in the dishwasher and then I'm done!

But I figure, to each his own! Whatever works best for us is best for us! Don't let anyone rag you for getting a food processor, if that's what you like!

[Jock]

I use my Cuisinart quite a lot but like this computer, I don't get a fraction of the use out of it that I could.
In the bad old days before all our wonderful gadgets became available, pastry making was all done by hand - start to finish. Mixing the butter into the flour was the most critical part of the process because we used our finger tips to do the job. The danger being that the heat from your hands would soften the butter too much.
That's where the processor comes in. I can cut the butter into the flour with only a few pulses. I mix the cold liquid in with a fork and avoid developing any gluten. Only one of a thousand uses for the food processor.

Jock

[Marzoli]

Thanks guys! This weekend I plan to get the new off the processor--nothing big or special, just usual weekend cooking. I definitely intend to use the thing--can't afford a doorstop that cost that much!

[Brook]

I use my Cuisinart all the time to chop up ingredients for soup -- it works great and cuts preparation time to a fraction of what it would take by hand! -- and for making sauces, like bearnaise or hollandaise. Also, for the same reasons as Jock, I use it to make pastry dough. There are thousands of other uses for it. Sometimes, I pick the dish I make just so I can use the machine! It works well too for pureeing things, but since I got an immersion blender, I've been using that instead -- it's alot easier to wash! I don't know of any sites, but there is an old cookbook, Jean Anderson's Processor Cooking, that was written specifically for this machine. However, there is nothing very special about the recipes.

Be a little careful about trying to cut hard food. I cracked the center spindle twice -- once trying to slice frozen meat (even though I let it thaw a bit, it was still too hard) and another time trying to slice a turnip. Have fun with your cuis!

[Marzoli]

Thanks for the advice. I'll be careful!