I have a Cuisinart custom 11 that i have to hold to work, the lid is cracked alittle so I bought a new Cusinart 14 cup but didnt open it. Does anyone think the newer one is superior to older one....thinking I should have just gotten replacement part.

Someone posted a tip about putting plastic wrap between the bowl and the top of the processor so that the top doesn't get dirty. This works for most of my applications (at least for when I just purée, and I'm very grateful for it. I have neither Cuisinart nor Kitchenaid because when I bought mine I was on a very strict budget. I'd like to replace the cheaper one I bought, but I don't use it enough to justify it, especially since I now have less time for cooking anyway. I've gone back to using a mandolin for a lot of things I might use a food processor for, and my FP works fine for puréeing. I use my KA mixer for doughs. Lars

OK, I'll toss in my recommendation for KitchenAid. I don't use it for pastry, but it's great for Jessica's Lime Chipotle Marinade. I don't use it to chop vegetables because I can't seem to get it right, but it was wonderful for shredding all that cabbage for sauerkraut and for chopping pork for sausage. Elery was chopping pork a couple of weeks ago and the blade broke. I called KitchenAid to order a new blade. The very nice girl on the phone asked if the blade broke in the food, I told her yes. She put me on hold, then came back and told me they'd be sending me a new food processor, although mine is less than 2 years old. It's a "safety issue" if the blade breaks in the food. They sent a new processor (with a new one year warranty) by FedEx, I packed the old one in the box and sent it back. They paid shipping both ways. They even expedited service because it was just before the holidays. Now THAT'S customer service. Annie

For all the specialty tools I have and love, I really do use a knife most of the time. About 80% with my 8" chef's knife, 10% with a paring knife, and 10% with a specialty knife or tool. This is the Kyocera paddle mandoline. It should be great for slicing table vegetables. I generally just use my knife if there are only a few of us, though I have to concentrate to get even slices. Usually, a V-slicer is better for tomatoes than a straight edge, but the angle of the Kycera's blade helps with that. And it's sharp enough to think nothing of turnips. I can definitely recommend it. Plus, it fits right in the knife drawer, can go in the DW, and is easy to clean by hand. There's a rod at the back that turns to select thickness (.5 mm 1.3mm, 2mm, and 3mm). The hand guard doesn't mash the veg, and moves back and forth easily. I've never cut myself on this one (my usual complaint with mandolines), even though the ceramic blade is supersharp and won't get dull as fast as steel. If you don't need a julienne, the Kyocera is top quality and excellent performance for $25 or less. The $10 kind (I've used one several times) has julienne blades but the deck is narrow and it's harder to slide back and forth on it, the handguard isn't as good, and many of my veg are too big for it. I was using it in a crowded kitchen and looked away, hit a bump and got a chunk out of my thumb (not serious, but still). The OXO looks like a very nicely designed V-slicer if you want the julienne blades. A lot of traditional, steel mandlines on the market have beds that are too narrow and mechanisms that are hard to clean. The DeBuyere V-slicer was a gift--very expensive and really not necessary if one isn't catering. I haven't cut myself on that either but the pusher--far more of a mechanism than a mere hand guard--is the size of a small spaceship. It's not horrible to clean, like some are, but it's awkward and heavy. I really love it, but it's overkill for most purposes. Be careful in choosing a mandoline. A lot of them aren't well designed for either safety or cleaning, or both. I agree with you about the apple culls. Salvaging them takes so much personal attention that you might as well peel and slice while you've got each in your hand. And it's nice to be able to hear the birds. In my laundry list above, I totally forgot choppers! I have an old fashioned multiblade chopper and chopping bowl (though my mezzaluna seems to have wandered off...) and a spring mechanism flat chopper. I don't think I've used the former since I got the Cuisinart (which is why I haven't gotten a new mazzaluna). I might for a small amount of apple sauce, though (or something similar), since I prefer the hand cut texture. I always make my hummus by hand (with a metal grid potato masher). The spring chopper is great for being lazy. Throw in a few cloves of garlic or nuts and go bash bash bash and one doesn't actually have to work at cutting them. It's delayed work, actually, because then one has to take apart the chopper and clean it, but that can be put off a few hours. I also have a food mill that was given to me as I was packing up the old kitchen. Soup season is upon us so I'll be seeing if I like using it soon! Most of the time I'm happy with slightly rustic and the immersion blender is perfectly fine, but supposedly the mill is the way to perfect purees. We'll see...