What a great thread - I have the original white, lift bowl Model K 5A. And I have to confess that many times over the years I've been tempted by the siren call of those glorious cobalt, pistachio and and chrome machines. But I have a strong sentimental attachment to my Kitchen Aid and I still remember the day my husband and I purchased it. While waiting to have the tires changed on our 1971 Plymouth Duster we wandered across the parking lot to a Best Products store. He spied me eyeing the mixer and encouraged me to buy it. I thought it was too extravagant - we were living on one income and he still had 2 more years of med school. But we had been scrimping and watching every penny and DH was working in the lab on weekends so he bought it for me. I still have the receipt, I use it as a bookmark inside my Joy of Cooking. That was 11/20/1976 and I paid $164.89 for it. And it's also the first thing I look for when I check a bridal registry - it's my favorite gift. Maire

I know! It's difficult! I used to sell Pampered Chef and "earned" my white one for free about 12 years ago. I admit I purchased the yellow today : ) With the $30 back and the free extra attachment, and 5 easy payments plus only $10 shipping I couldn't resist! Plus I used ebates and got 2.5% off that way. There's a free subscription also to Food and Wine Magazine or some other Travel magazine when you do the rebate. Unfortunately there was tax but still was a good deal : ) Good luck!

I have had a KA for years and just love it. However, I am one of those folks who like the workout by kneading by hand. I can really feel the dough and see what stage it is at by doing so. Yes, I am also one of those fools who won't make pie crust in the food processor or mixer (even though I have tried it and it is much faster). I do it by hand. I like to get a feel for the dough and not have it be overdone. So, that being said, the Cuisinart 5.5 just was reviewed in Cooks Magazine in their Holiday issue. They liked it over the KA Pro 600. That was their favorite (Cuisinart 5.5). They did state the KA has recently redesigned their dough hook and it kneads een better and flatter. Best of luck. You probably can't go wrong with either. What a sweet boyfriend! Sounds like he is a keeper!

As an unrepentant kitchen gadget person, I tried to tell myself life wasn't worth living without a Kitchen-Aid. Years ago I had a Sunbeam stand mixer which went to appliance heaven after a horrible kitchen accident, and frankly, it was a blessing it went. It never was any good at yeast breads, which is what I purchased it for. After I won an International Recipe Contest for low-glycemic recipes and a nice cash prize, I kept looking at KA mixers to blow the winnings on. All the lovely colors - what's not to love. Then I was watching Emeril Lagassee one day on TV. His comment about how many KA mixers they burned up in the kitchen made me face reality - not that I shouldn't buy one, but that I really didn't need one. I do just fine with a hand-held electric mixer (like rhizo). My favorite mixers are a rotary OXO mixer (hand-powered) and a Danish Dough Whisk. I can whip egg whites faster in a stainless steel bowl with a whisk than the mixer. As a foods judge at fairs, I found when the popularity of Kitchen-Aid mixers went up, the quality of the baked goods went down substantially. They are great for creaming fat/sugar, but too many people over-mix quick breads, cakes, and other baked goods that don't require a lot of gluten-development. They were full of tunnels and holes, and had tough crust and crumb. Stand mixers are easy to use, but also easy to OVER use. Batters are really best mixed with a Danish Dough Whisk, not an electric mixer of any kind, taking care not to over-develop gluten. Even yeast breads are compromised because the KA tends to aerate the dough too much. A Zojirushi Bread Machine has been developed for making yeast breads, and has been shown, through side-by-side tests, to be superior to stand mixers. King Arthur Flour uses Zojirushi Bread Machines for making bread dough in their test kitchens. -Grainlady