Place dish towel fold in half and put under the mixer , when you want to use the mixer pull on the dish towel it will slide on the counter and when done just slide it back to the corner, replace or wash the towel when it gets dirty of course, works for me

I do keep mine on my counter in the corner. I love it. Most kitchen tasks are miserable in the corner, but I use my mixer on the diagonal. One side is counter level window so it's really nice, and great to have the wrapping counters on each side.

I think to a certain extent you just get used to the weight, but also the little rubber feet might slide better on my tile than they do on a slicker surface like stone where they can make one of those perfect suction things we were talking about in another thread. You could certainly put it on a small try or something, but it would rattle, so maybe line the underside of the tray with thick felt, cork or something. You'd still have to pick up the mixer to clean whatever it's sitting on, so I don't think you'd gain from that, though. It might be that just not-newness will get enough wear into the feet that they don't stick so much.

You're getting a lot of motor in that heavy head. :)

Just wait until you want to whip a dozen eggwhites into stiff peaks. :) You'll love love love your mixer then. :)

Thanks for the quick responses. Yes, those rubber feet and like suction cups!

I could try just a towel or a wipeable placemat? I'm sure Dh would not mind lifting it replacing the towel or whatever once in a while. With my schedule right now I would probably be only using it once a week.

Egg whites... I have never been able to do them and simply don't make them!

Mine stays on the counter next to the FoodSaver. I keep the cheese grater attachment on it because I use that frequently - much more than I use the mixer as a mixer. I also use the meat grinder attachment and ice cream maker. If it were not for the cheese grater attachment, the mixer would not stay on the counter, but the grater makes it worthwhile. I highly recommend getting that attachment, if you grate a lot of cheese. I use the fine grater for Parmesan, and it makes quick work out of what would otherwise take three times as long with a Microplane grater, which I use more for zesting, although I will use it for grating Parmesan at the table.

I use the meat grinding attachment when I want to make chicken or turkey salad, although I bought it originally to grind meat for hamburgers and meatballs. I very seldom grind raw meat with it anymore, however.

Lars

My SIL also gave me a meat grinder attachment. It is not new but came with her older KA mixer and she never used it. She thinks it will work on my new one. The only time we grind meat is when we are butchering a deer. I didn't like DH using my OSTER for that as I think it was a little hard on the motor. I may try using the KA grinder for chicken or turkey in just small amounts. I will donate my OSTER to Dh for venison.

I will now need to get a blender. My Oster is an all in one but the blender has not worked well in years. The oster has been great and is almost 30 years old.

I had not thought about the cheese grater attachment. Right now I just buy grated cheese in bulk and freeze it. Hand grating is just too much.

edited: I just looked at my list of available attachments and there is no cheese grater listed. It does say to use the meat grinder for hard cheeses.

This post was edited by debrak2008 on Fri, Apr 18, 14 at 18:15

Mine also stays on my counter, not the perfect place because it has to go under my cabinets and it's just a bit too tall. I can't slide it out, because it hits the front edge of the cabinet, although it fits into the recessed bottom of the cabinets with just about 1/8 inch to spare. So, it doesn't get moved often.

When I do move it, I have it on one of those plastic "disposable" cutting mats. It's clear, although you could get colors to match your kitchen if you like. The plastic mat slides easily on my counter and does not scratch and makes pulling out and pushing out of the way ever so much easier.

I just used the grinder attachment to grind pork fat for lard rendering, it worked like a charm and it renders much more quickly than fat just cut into cubes. I slid it into several different places on my counter (limited electrical outlets) on that plastic mat, just grab the mat and pull instead of pulling the mixer.

Mine was a gift from Nancy/wizardnm, back when there was absolutely no way I could have ever afforded it, and I use it a LOT. It's made every wedding cake in the family, including my own!

Annie

Do a search of "kitchen aid grater attachment" and you might find one that will fit your model - which model is it?

I've read some of the reviews that say that the grater is not good for grating soft cheese. However, to solve that problem, all you have to do is store the cheese in the freezer for an hour or so, and then even mozzarella will grate just fine.

I would not use the meat grinder for any kind of cheese, and it certainly will not grind nuts - it turns them into powder. I bought a manual nut chopper for that.

Lars

Just pulled out my at least 30 year old KA (before reading your post). I was thinking how it's never failed me. Six or seven cups of flour for bread - no problem. Double batches of chocolate chip cookies for my kids' teams - child's play. One item that I bought is an additional bowl. This came in handy today when I mixed batter in one bowl, changed to the clean bowl and whip attachment to whip the egg whites, then popped both into the dishwasher. It is my understanding that the attachments that fit into the front of the mixer head are fine in any model.

I have a lift bowl model not a lift head. I usually pull it a bit toward me on the counter to work on it, but I don't have to pull it entirely clear of the cabinets because the head doesn't lift.

The attachment in Lars's picture is the rotor slicer/shredder. I've not used it for grating cheese. I use it for shredding potatoes for latkas and for shredding apples for charoset. For the latter, I also pop in the nuts and it does a fine job of grating them to small bits.

For grating I pull it out all the way and turn it sideways. It just takes a bit of muscle. I don't notice the feet grabbing - perhaps the feet on mine started out a bit harder.

It is great for egg whites so if you've had trouble with them in the past, you might give it another try now.

I did the same as maid o cliff, I put felt pads on the bottom of mine. I used the same felt pads that I use for the legs of chairs. They are about the same size as quarters. They've been there for about 6 years now with no problem. Makes it very easy to slide the mixer in and out of the corner.

I love my KA mixer. In addition to everything else mentioned, you can also shred cooked meat with the paddle attachment.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Shred Meat with Your Mixer

I am looking forward to trying my newly inherited ka Hobart by making meringue cookies. Like Annie, mine sits on a clear plastic cutting mat which can be easily pulled out from under the cabinet.

I am looking forward to trying my newly inherited ka Hobart by making meringue cookies. Like Annie, mine sits on a clear plastic cutting mat which can be easily pulled out from under the cabinet. I do slide it to and fro.

Thank you all for the posts. I can't wait to try it out more than just pizza dough.

DH put the mixer on a clear flexible cutting mat. I can pull on it and it will slide around. Time will tell if that will work in the long term.

Get the pasta attachments (see link below). BEST homemade pasta ever!

Here's some we made for dinner - 2 pounds of pasta noodles with homemade tomato sauce and meatballs. Heaven - sheer heaven.

Here is a link that might be useful: KitchenAid Pasta Roller Attachment Set

This post was edited by LKZZ on Fri, Apr 25, 14 at 17:20

No need to fall in love with it, just use it when you need to.

Mine sits in the corner on the counter. It's too heavy to lift out of a cabinet. We don't use it a lot, but when we do, it's because it's exactly what we need and does exactly what we want it to do.

Enjoy

I don't love mine and may never. It does some things very well and so glad i have it, but it lives in the pantry. I recently put in a new shelf and re-arranged so that it is easily transferred from counter-height shelf to counter. Great for my brown rye bread that needs an 8minute run and have the meat grinder that works like a charm and quietly.
Adding some wooly chair feet pads would be good. Mine does leave a few black marks, but easily comes up with BarKeepers.
I'm not much of a baker, but if i ever do, i have a tool to make what i want.

I found a pretty tray at T.J. Maxx (think tray size like you would use in a cafeteria) to set mine on. Moves easily out from that corner!

I found a pretty tray at T.J. Maxx (think tray size like you would use in a cafeteria) to set mine on. Moves easily out from that corner!