Cuisinart does have a couple of stand mixers for which you can buy attachments that run from its power-take-off port. Cooks Illustrated thinks highly of the stand mixers. (Equal to or slightly better than the longstanding Kitchenaid champs, according to Cooks.) The smaller one (5 quart bowl, I think) starts at around $350. I do not remember what the larger one (7 quart bowl) goes for. The attachments, which have to be purchased or ordered separately, into a power take off at the top rear of the machine. If I recall, the blender attachment has something like 40 oz. capacity, so it sits pretty tall. I saw it once and it seemed to blend soup reasonably well. Do not know about its performance with other functions. The food processor attachment I saw was small, maybe 3 cups capacity. More of a chopper. There might be other attachments. A lot of on-line and brick-n-mortar retailers carry these so you should be able to find prices and reviews on-line. You also might have been thinking of the Ninja blenders which can be had as part of a "kitchen system" which is supposed to combine several devices using the same power base. There are several versions of this, I recall that Consumer Reports thought highly of one version and not so highly of the others. Ninja used to ba QVC/Shopping Channel item but it has made the leap into brick-and-mortar stores. I saw one on offer at Costco a couple of weeks ago. Not sure which version it was but Colstco was charging either $100 (coupon) or $120. I also recall some detailed discussions of Ninjas in eGullet and Chowhound threads that also discussed VitaMix and Blendtec. Try searching there. (Just tried a search on "ninja" here at THS and turned up nothing, which seems odd.) The only Ninja I've ever used myself was as a blender at a friend's house. It seemed to be an excellent blender and ice crusher. Do a search for reviews. If you are not budgeting hundreds of dollars, Vitamix and Blendtec are probably out of the question because the least expensive models start at $400. To be sure, both are splendid blenders, absolute workhorses and durable enough for commercial use. By all accounts, they do an excellent job of making hummus. Don't recall seeing anything about pimento cheese, so don't throw away that old food processor. Vitamix offers several types and sizes of blender jars. When the largest one (64 oz. capacity) is on the base, the unit is 20 inches tall. From that comes comments about measuring cabinet heights. My recollection of the Cusinart mixer's blender attachment was that it sat even higher when assembled. If counter-to-cabinet workspace is limited, the Cuisinart blender attachment is not going to fit, either.

I don't think you can go wrong with a Cuisinart, but you're not really looking for a 16 qt model, are you? The 12 and 14 cup sizes can handle most home kitchen things and you can get a variety of discs for those sizes. Do shop around because prices vary a lot, especially with pre-holiday sales. If your wife really needs something with a 16 qt capacity (for large batches of dough, for example), then you should be looking at commercial mixers and not residential food processors.

Thanks to LindaC's & AnnT's recommendations I bought a food processor for making dough and used it successfully for a couple of years before getting a bread machine. I basically did what Linda outlined. Flour, yeast, etc. in the bowl and adding liquid slowly through the feed tube. Once it sort of came together (after about 15 pulses), I'd let it rest for about 10 minutes so the liquid could get fully absorbed. Then I'd finish off with another 15 pulses while checking the texture. If needed, I'd add more flour or liquid. Then plop the dough into a container for rising. I always used my metal blade and never used recipes with more than 3-1/2 to 4 cups of flour total. I think the FP is a great help when making a smaller amount of bread. I also use it for cutting in butter for scones & biscuits, but, like AnnT, I add the liquid by hand. I found a pretty good book in my local library about using a FP to prepare breads. It has good general techniques. Maybe you could find it too. The title is "The best bread ever: great homemade bread using your food processor" by Charles Van Over; Broadway Books, Publication date:1997.

Another stand mixer owner here. Like meskauskas, I have a Viking stand mixer. Santa (er, Mr. Marv) bought it for me for Christmas. It was a replacement for an old KA that went to mixer heaven. I researched many brands and models and decided that the Viking would fit my needs. I have the 5 qt/800 watt model, which is perfect for me. I decided that the 7qt. model would be overkill, since I usually bake quite frequently as opposed to large quantities (I find it very therapeutic) and there are only two of us at home. I bake alot of bread and do desserts at least twice a week, as well. It can handle a double batch of bread dough with ease, and makes quick work of cake batter, cookie dough, etc. King Arthur Flour/Baker's Catalogue is a good place to start if you have questions. They are very knowledgeable and use many products in their test kitchens. They will give you alot of feedback, answer questions and ask you questions (like how many times a week do you bake, what do you bake, how many people are in your household). I would suggest calling their toll-free number and ask to speak to one of their bakers. It might be a good place to start. One of the criteria for a replacement mixer was how much room it would take up, and how easy it would be to move. The Viking has wheels on the back, so it's very easy to maneuver around the countertop. I'm extremely happy with my choice. I also have a food processor, which I use for shredding veggies, pureeing soups, etc. I very rarely use it for baking ingredients, except for the occasional pie crust, where you need speed and little kneading. Here is a link that might be useful: Viking mixer