s/o: I love my KitchenAid/Cuisinart food processor for......

[BikeBookBread]

GIVE ME MORE IDEAS!

 

I love mine for:

 

finely chopping all of the sticky ingredients in our homemade Clif bars

slicing apples for apple pie

pesto

pre-chopping all of the celery, onions, carrots, etc, necessary for Thanksgiving dinner! (stuffing, etc.)

pie crust

salsa

 

What do you regularly use your food processor for?

[Avila]

I do apples for apple pie and the pie crust in mine.

 

OT, but here is an awesome pie crust recipe I got from Food Network that uses the food processor:

 

Pie Crust:

 

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled
  
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 8 to 10 tablespoons ice water
  

Put the butter, flour, and salt in the food processor, and pulse lightly just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful of water. Keep adding water until the dough just begins to gather into larger clumps. Transfer equal amounts of the dough into 2 resealable plastic bags and pat each into a disk. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove 1 of the disks from the bag to a flour coated surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Gently fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte ingredients.

Yield: 2 (9-inch) pie crusts

[Michelle in MO]

Not an owner of a Kitchen Aid mixer yet ;) , but I do own a Cuisinart Food Processor.

 

I use it for chopping nuts in bulk (so I don't have to chop them up for a bunch of different recipes, although I do save halved pecans for pecan pie) and grating cheese in bulk.

 

I used to make all our jams and jellies---strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and even tried blueberry syrup. The property that our lovely local apple orchard/strawberry/raspberry/peach grower was turned into a . . . prison! :mad: I guess it was for the jobs, but I loved that place and took my kids there several times a year. At any rate, I used to use the Cuisinart for pulsing the strawberries and raspberries prior to the cooking process. It was and still is invaluable.

 

I'm looking forward to a Kitchen Aid!

[Jane in NC]

My teenager could live on coleslaw so I use my food processor to shred cabbage, carrot and onion. Toss with a dressing made from mayo, rice vinegar and wasabi powder.

 

Recently I used the processor to slice potatoes for scalloped potatoes. I also use it to make certain sauces or puree soups and do a number of the things you list.

 

Truly one of the most used appliances in my kitchen.

 

Jane

[Michelle in MO]

I do apples for apple pie and the pie crust in mine.

 

OT, but here is an awesome pie crust recipe I got from Food Network that uses the food processor:

 

Pie Crust:

 

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 8 to 10 tablespoons ice water

Put the butter, flour, and salt in the food processor, and pulse lightly just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful of water. Keep adding water until the dough just begins to gather into larger clumps. Transfer equal amounts of the dough into 2 resealable plastic bags and pat each into a disk. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove 1 of the disks from the bag to a flour coated surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Gently fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte ingredients.

Yield: 2 (9-inch) pie crusts

I have never thought of pie crust in a food processor! I'll have to try this sometime. I've always used the Betty Crocker recipe and toss it very, very lightly; I use ice water for the water, and sometimes even chill the dough to give it that extra flakiness.

 

Thanks for posting this; I guess an "old dog" like me can learn new tricks, right?

[Michelle in MO]

finely chopping all of the sticky ingredients in our homemade Clif bars

slicing apples for apple pie

pesto

pre-chopping all of the celery, onions, carrots, etc, necessary for Thanksgiving dinner! (stuffing, etc.)

pie crust

salsa

 

What is a Clif bar? (Should I hang my head in shame for asking this?)

 

I'd not thought of apples, either. I have one of those Yankee apple-peeling/coring/slicing machines, but it doesn't always peel properly (although some apple peel in an apple pie never hurt anyone, as far as I know), and sometimes the slices are too thin. You want the apple pie slices fairly thing, but I often find myself just peeling, coring, and slicing the apples myself.

[BikeBookBread]

What is a Clif bar? (Should I hang my head in shame for asking this?)

 

 

NO! No shame! Clif Bar is the brand name of an an energy bar filled with grains, nuts, dried fruit, etc. They used to only be sold in health food stores or sports shops (people took them hiking, biking, camping, etc.), but now they are at grocery stores. The man who developed them named them after his Dad, Clif :)

[Spy Car]

Cuisinart with a steel blade for Stage 1 of kneading 100% Semolina flour and eggs for pasta. Most "cookbooks" will say this can't be done at home, and that you need to use "white flour" or a mix when making pasta at home (but they are wrong).

 

I do a little hand kneading after, but it makes pasta making fast and easy. And Semolina is much better than white flour IMO.

 

Bill (whose brain was jogged by Mrs Mungo)

[BikeBookBread]

Cuisinart with a steel blade for Stage 1 of kneading 100% Semolina flour and eggs for pasta. Most "cookbooks" will say this can't be done at home, and that you need to use "white flour" or a mix when making pasta at home (but they are wrong).

 

I do a little hand kneading after, but it makes pasta making fast and easy. And Semolina is much better than white flour IMO.

 

Bill (whose brain was jogged by Mrs Mungo)

 

OOOOHHHH... linkie to a recipe????

[Snickerdoodle]

I use mine a lot to grind up meat to make hamburger or ground meat for meatballs.

[Spy Car]

OOOOHHHH... linkie to a recipe????

 

I'm a good cook, but lousy for recipes since I cook by eye and my feel. And even things like atmosphere can effect the rations.

 

But basically, if memory serves, it's 2 eggs and two cups of semolina flour.

 

Place it in the food processor with a steel blade. Process. It will go though a stage where it forms tiny lumps, then it will start clumping into larger balls. Don't over do it, but it should start to feel velvety and elastic.

 

Then remove from the food processor, and hand knead a little (or work with a pin. The dough should be resilient. Somewhat softer than Play-Do, but something like that.

 

I then form into balls, and then let "rest" under a slightly moist tea towel (less moist or dry if humid) so it doesn't crust.

 

Then roll with a pin (not me) or a hand cranked Italian pasta machine (what I use).

 

If the dough is not stiff enough a trace of white flour can rectify this. If it is too crumbly a trace of olive oil or hot water can help. But be careful here. As a tiny amount is usually enough and you don't want the dough to get gummy.

 

It's pretty easy. Roll the pasta. Cut it. I hang mine on a broom handle covered with a towel. Best to dry in a non-humid room if possible (a really steamy kitchen can make the pasta stick, but in dry California the kitchen is what I use).

 

Homemade pasta cooks really fast. Really fast. Test a small portion first to get a feel. After a few times it gets to be second nature. I can have past made from scratch in less time than a sauce needs to cook.

 

And boy are these noodles velvety and delicious.

 

Bill

Edited October 12, 2009 by Spy Car

[BikeBookBread]

i'm a good cook, but lousy for recipes since i cook by eye and my feel. And even things like atmosphere can effect the rations.

 

thanks bill!

[Cera]

Where do you get semolina flour? We use that same basic recipe with white flour for our pasta (so much better than store bought) but semolina sounds divine.

[Michelle in MO]

I think I tried homemade pasta once years ago, but couldn't get it right. However, if truly well-made homemade pasta is like the difference between a store-bought tortilla and a homemade tortilla, then I think I would never go back to store-bought pasta!

[BikeBookBread]

Where do you get semolina flour? We use that same basic recipe with white flour for our pasta (so much better than store bought) but semolina sounds divine.

 

You might try the bulk bins at Whole Foods; we have a local chain called Sunflower (Colorado, Arizona, Nevada) that has good prices on bulk dry goods, and I have seen semolina there.

Edited October 12, 2009 by BikeBookBread
grammar

[Spy Car]

Where do you get semolina flour? We use that same basic recipe with white flour for our pasta (so much better than store bought) but semolina sounds divine.

 

The Semolina flour (which is what all commercial dried pasta is made from) is made of hard durum wheat. The "tooth" of this pasta is a great improvement over softer white flour. It's also prettier, as Semolina naturally has a yellow color.

 

We get ours either at a local Italian grocery, or one of several super-markets that cater to an "ethnic" customer base. Stores like Whole Foods also carry Semolina.

 

I think I tried homemade pasta once years ago, but couldn't get it right. However, if truly well-made homemade pasta is like the difference between a store-bought tortilla and a homemade tortilla, then I think I would never go back to store-bought pasta!

 

A good home-made pasta is just very different from a dried pasta. Much more special IMO. But there are times when the firmer quality of a good dried pasta has its place.

 

There have been attempt to sell "fresh" pasta (Contadina brand comes to mind) but these are extruded (forced under pressure though slits) rather than rolled, and lack the special quality that fresh rolled pasta has.

 

Some purists even object to hand-cranked pasta machines and insist on a wood pin. But that's where I draw the line of convenience vs quality.

 

Every cookbook I've read says you can't use Semolina at home. Too difficult. I know this advice is dead-wrong if you do the initial kneading with a steel blade in the food processor. It is difficult to do on a counter by hand making a flour "well" with eggs in the center, as one can do easily with white flour.

 

But the Semolina is a huge improvement. And with the food processor its even "easier" and cleaner than the counter method, and the results really are superior.

 

Once one gets the hang of it it can be fun to puree small amounts of (well-squeezed and drained) spinach, or beets, or carrots, or cooked winter-squash (such as butter-nut or pumpkin) and incorporate these into the semolina dough for color and subtle flavor and texture. It only takes a small amount.

 

Have fun!

 

Bill

Edited October 12, 2009 by Spy Car

[Carol in Cal.]

1. Soups--Love the soups in the Sunset Magazine French cookbooks. And they all need to be pureed to some extent. FP works much better than a blender for this, and the food can be put in hot.

2. Scalloped potatoes--same cookbooks have the BEST recipe but it calls for so much cutting.

3. Pesto--I make mine with lemon juice subbing for most of the olive oil. It's lower fat, lower cal, and tastes really good. The garlic and basil dominate, so it doesn't taste lemony at all, much to my surprise.

4. Butter--OMGosh, this is SO good! Just take heavy cream and run the processor until it's butter. Then drain briefly. I don't know why this is so much better than store, but it is. You can also use the FP to flavor it with roasted garlic. The whey is great in cream soups as part of the liquid. Especially when you're using canned soup that needs a little boost anyway.

[LauraGB]

I have the processor. I use it for making peanut and almond butter, hummus, sometimes pizza dough and bread dough. I use it for slicing if I have to slice a lot of veggies; carrots, potatoes, onions, peppers, etc. Used to make butter when we used to buy raw milk. I think that's it, really. I originally broke down and bought it so I could make my own almond butter and skip the crazy price at the store.

 

Am seriously considering the stand mixer, though :-)

[ladydusk]

I use mine to shred block cheese and (almost) never buy pre-shredded anymore. (I also use my box grater if I only have a little bit [smile])

 

I use mine to make cake-decorator icing ... the steel blade ... no sifting powdered sugar, no powered sugar clouds raining down on my kitchen.