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goodeats

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Mizen-Any beside me buy this Chefs knife via Kickstarter.  Serious Eats gave the knife a rave review, at $50 I bought three.

I bought one after Kenji's rave review. Glad I'm not going to be stuck with a grey or blue handle. I'm a little concerned about the softer steel and lifetime sharpening warranty, but at the price it's worth it for a great knife.

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I love the motor on the Cuisinart, but I despise the bowls.  The lids utilize a flexible plastic part to depress the safety mechanism and it gets brittle and snaps with age.  Mine snapped during Thanksgiving food prep, just before the recall on the main chopper blade came out.  We had an older bowl/lid assembly in the basement which managed to get us through the holidays but I can see that it is going to die Real Soon Now--it has a repair that was made years ago that is unlikely to last.

The cost of the top and bottom bowl assembly (there are problems with the bottom too) is nearly the cost of a full new equivalent to my DC-8.   While I have a ton of blades, I'm beginning to have real questions about why I keep buying a product that has so many design problems.  

Is anyone using an under $200 model of food processor that they adore?  Ease of cleaning (top rack dishwasher is preferred) and robust design is what I am seeking.  I need a grater that works well on cheese and a dough blade.  The Cuisinart rocks at "forking" butter into flour.  

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A tale of whisks.

On the left, a stainless wire balloon whisk from a retail housewares store.  Had it for ages.  Eight wires.  Probably slightly more expensive than either of the other two.

In the center, a generic stainless whisk from a restaurant supply warehouse.  Twelve stiffer wires.  Night-and-day...this sucker gets things WHISKED.  Lacks a hanging loop.

On the right, a medium-sized stainless whisk from a French supermarket chain.  Eight stiffer wires, same number as the much larger whisk, but working a much smaller volume.  Caveat: where the tines meet the handle, there is no conformal sealant as on the other two.  Don't know if sealing is an NSF thing, but it would seem like a good idea for sanitation reasons.

The diameter of the handle is somewhat proportional to the number of wires that can be anchored, so svelte means you won't be getting much whisking action.  Conclusion: skip the fancy stores and go straight to where the professionals get their working tools.  I should probably chuck the first whisk into the metal recycling pile.

dh-0098-134.jpg

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55 minutes ago, weezy said:

FYI, Groupon Goods today has refurb'd Vitamix blenders for $270 -- full 5-year Vitamix warranty.  I finally decided to pull the trigger.  That's the best price I've ever seen for them.

That's a great price! You won't regret getting one, we use it every few days. 

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On 8/3/2017 at 0:40 PM, Simul Parikh said:

What kind of things do you use it for?

Spring and summer are smoothies mainly with fall and winter's usage focused on soups. I like that it can warm the soups as well. 

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I make my own hummus, and now I use it for our marinara.  It really makes a great sauce emulsifying the oil and improving the overall taste, I have spoiled my kids.  But basically, I use it for soups,  sauces, and dips.  Think of it as a garbage disposal before all that produce/leftovers go bad.  It is pretty much the same equipment.  

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Happy to share, but like the marinara I do think the Hummus is improved by the Vitamix. 

I always use two cans of chickpeas, one can drained and one as is. Juice of one lemon. Cumin seeds, salt, and olive oil - all in quantities at least twice of what most recipes call for. Probably 3 oz of oil at least.

Then I rift, based on available resources in the kitchen. Leftover roasted veggies always get added, and never raw garlic like many recipes call for. Roasted garlic is wonderful, though. I like adding berbere, many times.

Finally, I often add homemade chicken stock for flavor and consistency, so that the blender doesn't struggle as much.  It is a pretty versatile recipe. 

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