We bought this built-n Bosch mixer instead of the counter model. There is no danger of it walking away anywhere no matter how unbalanced a load you end up with. It was risky because the concept models are discontinued but not having to give up any counter or cabinet space for a bulky drive unit made it worthwhile. So far we are happy with it. It serves as a food processor (not a great one, it's on the small side and it doesn't autopulse like my old Braun multisystem, but it's okay) a slicer/grater/Julienner, a mixer, including a very heavy duty all-steel dough hook, a blender (superb performance out of that), and a stone grain mill. The pulser on the thing is kind of awkward, requiring you to twist the spring loaded knob to the left, and it only pulses to high speed, which can get messy when you are dealing with liquids, but overall, it works out great and saves me a lot of room in the cabinets. Again, this is discontinued and probably more for the appliance geek, but since you are posting on here all the time, asolo, I am thinking you ought to at least know about it.

Here's a recipe with comments and photos that I posted a couple of years ago on January 5th. I haven't made a roscón myself so LindaC is the expert there, but I'll repost the entire paragraph as it was written previously: ..."Tonight, January 5th is the traditional night of the arrival of The Magi or the Three Kings (Los Reyes Magos) in Hispanic countries. Gifts will arrive on the backs of camels and will be put under the Christmas trees, where the children will find them tomorrow morning January 6th, a national holiday in Spain. A traditional round doughnut shaped sweet yeast bread called the Roscón de Reyes is made everywhere. It contains orange flower water and rum and usually a surprise which is baked inside. Often towns or villages will make a gigantic roscón, weighing many kilos and divide it up amongst the townspeople in a festive celebration on January 6th. In private homes, whoever receives the piece of roscón which contains the surprise becomes the king of the house for the day. This morning at the German bakery shop where I went to pick up our daily bread rolls and baguettes I saw they had on display two magnificent examples of this sweet bread ring. Placed in the centre of each was a little gold crown. I ran home to get my camera and this is the result: Roscón de Reyes This one had been split crosswise and filled with whipped cream. And here is a recipe: The "roscón de reyes", Epiphany crown, a sweet bread baked in the form of a crown is eaten on January 6th, and always contains a trinket or coin, assuring the one who finds it of a year's good fortune. ( A similar cake is served in Mexico, where the one who claims the trinket must give a party on Candlemas Day, Feb. 2nd, and in France, where the one who finds the bean or charm is king or queen of the day's festivities). Epiphany crown "Roscón de Reyes" ----------------------------------- 20 grams pressed yeast 4 tablespoonswarm milk 1/2 kilo flour 3 whole eggs 1 egg, separated 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon dark rum 1 tablespoon orange flower water (agua de azahar) 1 teaspoon grated orange rind 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind 100 grams butter, softened 50 grams almonds, blanched, skinned and slivered Candled fruit, orange peel, etc. for decoration (about 100 grams) 1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk with 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Add 50 grams of the flour and mix to make a soft dough. Cover with a damp cloth and set in a warm place until doubled in bulk. 4. Put the remaining flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre. 5. Beat the eggs together with the egg yolk and pour into the flour with the salt, rum, orange flower water and the rest of the sugar. Add the grated orange and lemon rind. Work the flour into the liquid with the hands. 7. Add the yeast dough and mix very well until the dough is no longer sticky, adding flour as necessary. Divide the butter into 4 parts and sprinkle it with flour. Divide the dough into 4 parts. On a lightly floured board work a piece of butter into each of the pieces of dough, then knead them together again. 10. Knead the dough until very smooth and elastic. Lightly butter a bowl. Put the ball of dough into it, turn it to coat lightly with butter, then cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let set in a warm, draught-free place for an hour or more. 11. Punch the dough down, turn out onto the board and knead again. 12. Insert a trinket or coin or bean (no plastic objects that will melt) into the dough. Form the dough into one or two balls and flatten them slightly. 13. Shape into rings by inserting a finger into the centre and very gently easing the dough outward to create a hole in the centre. Either stuff the hole with crumpled foil and place or a buttered oven tin or set the rings in lightly buttered ring moulds. 14. Cover and set in a warm place to rise again The dough will not double in bulk but will rise substantially during baking. 15. Lightly beat the remaining egg white or a whole egg and brush the cake with it. Sprinkle on the slivered almonds and stud with pieces of candied fruit. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and bake in a medium-hot oven until nicely browned, about 35 minutes." SharonCb

rhome410 - The soup is really good - never made the bread with pumpkin beer, but I think I am going to have to give it a try. The recipe is from Rachel Ray (the link is below). I have never used the chopped chives and depending on my mood, leave the curry out : Ingredients 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan 1 medium onion, finely chopped 3 cups canned or packaged vegetable stock, found on soup aisle 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained 2 cans (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (found often on the baking aisle) 1 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 palm full 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1/2 palm full 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, eyeball it in the palm of your hand Coarse salt 20 blades fresh chives, chopped or snipped, for garnish Directions Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add oil. When oil is hot, add onion. Saute onions 5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, black beans and pumpkin puree. Stir to combine ingredients and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in cream, curry, cumin, cayenne and salt, to taste. Simmer 5 minutes, adjust seasonings and serve garnished with chopped chives. Here is a link that might be useful: Black Bean Pumpkin Soup

Here is the recipe I used, Ellen. It came from Taste of Home and I used King Arthur Flour Baking Mix, not the flour, but the biscuit/baking kind of mix. Gluten Free Apple Pie Donuts Taste of Home 2 cups gluten-free biscuit/baking mix 3/4 cup sugar 1 package (1/4 ounce) quick-rise yeast 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°) 6 tablespoons butter, melted 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, room temperature 1 tablespoon vanilla extract GLAZE: 1 cup apple cider or juice 1 tablespoon butter, softened 2/3 to 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar Directions 1. In a large bowl, mix the first eight ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the water, butter, applesauce and vanilla until blended. Add to the dry ingredients; stir until blended. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. 2. Cut a small hole in the corner of a food-safe plastic bag; fill with batter. Pipe into a 6-cavity doughnut pan coated with cooking spray, filling cavities three-fourths full. 3. Bake at 325° for 11-14 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter. 4. For glaze, in a small saucepan, bring apple cider to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced to 3 tablespoons. Transfer to a small bowl; stir in butter until melted. Stir in enough confectioners' sugar to reach glaze consistency. Dip each doughnut halfway, allowing excess to drip off. Place on wire rack; let stand until set. Yield: 10 doughnuts. Annie