Well, I checked and they never tested the model you are considering. The most expensive currently available model is the Breville Sous Chef at 399.99. They liked that except for the fact that it chopped so fast that it was hard to stop in time when dicing food and they sometimes got mush. They liked a discontinued model of Kitchenaid ((the old 12 cup processor) the best of any they tested. Of current models thay liked the Cuisenart Custom 14 cup best. But it didn't handle dough as well as some and had a short feed tube. The latest Kitchenaid they evaluated was the 299.95 13 Cup with ExactSlice system. It was slow at most tasks and hard to clean up. Sorry, but that's all the help I have.

I did a lot of reading about mixers this summer, spending waaaay too many hours on the 'net :) Frankly, IMHO, the bottom line is all brands do a good job with cakes, icing, cookie dough, & whipping & creaming. Read the reviews online, visit the forums & it's the same story: most people love their mixer brand; a few people who bought the brand got a lemon & will tell you different. It's when you start kneading multiple batches of stiff bread doughs that a few brands stand out. The Cuisinart has a timer & a fold feature that sounds nice. A caveat I read about is that the bowl is tall & narrow, so when you fill it to its professed capacity, the batter is over the top of the beater.

cookie, sometimes just changing the order and how you add things can help. I would chop the dates a bit first by hand, then pulse the coconut with the nuts in the processor, then pour that mix over the dates to coat them, in a bowl and toss a bit, then into the processor again. Pulse and add everything else. I recently wanted a speedy quick last minute salsa and knew better but put a few things in without a 2 sec pre-chop. The shallot stuck to the blade, grr, and by the end of it all, way over blended. Had coarse shallots, so i added a few more cherry toms, (cut in half) and more cilantro, yada, not so speedy after all... Dates are snotty glue. I still have a ton and have been using them allot lately as a sugar replacement. Mine are still on the stems and need to be pitted so i do that chore on a pile of a dry ingredient. In my case it was some blended granola and coconut... similar recipe but mine also has some puffed rice. Not really an extra step, but chopping a bit on the granola "flour' to coat did help avoid sticky date snot.

Just last year my Step-father bought a $300 Harmony all in one remote for his entertainment toys. The battery died and he went to buy a new one at Future Shop and Best Buy and they don't sell that model or battery anymore!!! If you will Google Battery for xxxx (insert brand and model # in place of the xxxx) you may very well be able to find a replacement battery. On my cell phone I did that and found a battery supplier (Ebay) that sold the batteries for just $1. Another time I got one for a neighbor and it was just $5, probably still cheaper than buying the original equipment cell phone battery. Sue