plllog, will the Breville Peel and Dice FP shred raw potatoes (for hashbrowns)? And will it shred cheddar cheese? I ask because you mentioned cheese, but I can't ever get my ancient FP to shred cheddar - I suppose because it's softer, than say, parmesan. And if the answer is yes to all those questions, I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from commenting on any more kitchen items, LOL! Seriously, it was on my wish list, but I'd read reviews that it couldn't actually peel potatoes. If it does, and you said it did, so it does, then it's a dream come true for a person married to a 'tater lovin' fella!

2Many, my old Cuisinart does a fine job of grating cheddar, and even as soft as mozzarella. The problem is the size of the bowl, 11-cup. All the shreds land in a small area next to the chute and stay there, so it has to be taken apart and emptied several to many times per block. I think the bowl on this model Breville is 16-cup, so it accommodates more to start with, and the cheese seems to fling farther, though that may be just from being wider. It still needs to be opened once during a big block of cheddar, but the disk comes off the top of the spindle, whereas the Cuisinart spindle is locked to the bottom of the disk. Taking the spindle out leaves all kinds of room for mess. With the Breville, just lift the disk, push grated cheese to a less full (not completely empty) part of the bowl, then drop it back on and go back to grating. I don't know if new Cuisinarts have closed bowls and/or detachable spindles. Mine is from 15-20 years ago. My mother's 1965 Nu-tone had no problems grating cheddar either, nor carrots. I can't remember about potatoes.

I think I also grated potatoes on the Cuisineart. The grating of the cheddar comparison above would hold for anything. Grating potatoes of any kind, and sweet potatoes, is a dream on the Breville. FWOAM! With my old Cuisineart, you have to push. Not muscle-y, but if you don't use some downward pressure on the pusher, the disk will go round bumping the potatoes but not shredding them. The pusher on the Breville is heavier plastic, and has three, rather than two parts (i.e., another form of more weight), so that might make a big difference. I do hold the pusher, but I think the potatoes go faster than I can push. That's why my lingering impression is "FWOAM!"

N.B.: I don't make hash browns, but do use it to make latkes for the multitudes. The holes seem equivalent to my old box grater, but I think they're a little smaller than on my dish with lid grater. I don't know if exact size of the grated matter matters to you. So far, there aren't any add-on disks. The grater disk has big holes on one side and little on the other, which works very well. The little holes will do fine strings of parm. I think it's about the same as they use for those bags of tiny strings of grated cheese at the store, I still prefer the powdered, for which you need a rasp. As I said, I'm keeping the old Cuisineart just for that. Other people want it too, going by comments on their site (i was hoping to find the disk had been added, but will take the comments).

An issue may be that the whole shebang--all the accessories including the main knife--fit in a beautifully fitted housing. The initial peel and dice kit, which is an add-on to the Sous Chef (which you can also buy without it) is fitted into a tray that connects under the main housing. The extra two dicing kits (a separate purchase), have their own fitted housing. If they add more disks, it'll probably be a set with their own storage box, to match. And I don't know what else it could do. The rasp is the only side of the box grater that isn't covered. The slicer is adjustable so you don't need extra sizes. Maybe another size of julienne? A second grating disk with holes in between the current ones and giant on the other, like for shredded lettuce and cabbage? I'd buy and use that set, not just to get the rasp. But I don't know if it would sell well enough to be worth their while.

I'm sorry about your budget, and I don't mind if you skip my posts. ;). Re the peeling, it's not perfect. I don't know if it's true, but I read somewhere regarding this that the standard size potato in the antipodes is much smaller and rounder than ours, and that's what the peeler is for. It is not suitable for fries, unless you're making matchsticks, nor for any time you want a pretty whole peeled potato, but if you're making hashed browns, mashed, latkes, scalloped, diced or any kind of dish where they're cut up, it does work. There are often a few little spots of skin to clean up, and it won't get into the concave bits where the potato grew around a stone. Plus all I said above about how they get beat up, and you do lose as much as with a too good manual peeler. It's totally not perfect, and I'd never bother for one potato.

For dozens of latkes, I get the bags of smaller potatoes from Trader Joe's which need only one or two cuts, if any, to work, and hand 'em over to the peeler. It works best with three or four chunks/potatoes at a time, so I clean up the first batch while the next runs, and the whole bag is done in half the time or less, and with much less actual work or fatigue.

"Sleevendog, where did you get the Cuisinart with the continuous output chute attachment?"

First one was a wedding gift. Not many years later we realized it had been discontinued. Minor panic we picked up a spare via e-bay. Then another. Both around 60-70 including shipping. A beast of a motor base and purrs like a kitten. (I do have a mini-prep that is junk but works fine for the barn prep/bbq/garden harvest). No comparison. With the side shoot and small footprint I can blast through veg for salads, fermentation krauts, switch blades without emptying a bowl....nothing about it is fragile including all the plastics, unlike the newer made delicate parts.

Rarely on e-bay these days but looked and I see new-in-box pretty often. One today has all the parts but without the box. (seller is in Wilmington Delaware). Cuisinart little Pro Plus. So wish good motor bases had more uses. Like the stand mixers with all the add-ons that have bad reviews...even a food processor available and grinder and grater.

Thank you! I'm going to see if they ever made a side chute accessory that fits my model of Cuisinart. eBay to the rescue!

I have one of these

https://www.kenwoodworld.com/uk/products/food-mixers/multi-one/multione-khh321si-0w20010036

And I can do mostly everything I need. Like you, I mainly cook for 2, but we eat everything fresh so its everything from pizzas, bread, cakes, soups, veggies, meat processing....... men don't think twice before having good tools, kitchen tools are just as important!

plllog, thank you for going into detail. I can always count on you for that, which I so appreciate. You've got me convinced to replace my 40+ year old FP with the Breville sous chef. I'll wait a month because I've recently purchased a toaster oven, an ice cream maker, a bamix immersion blender, a meat slicer, and several odds and ends for the new kitchen - it adds up! I completely understood the FWOAM too : ) Jewish German ancestry... but never grew up with Jewish cuisine so I've had to wing it. I've made, unsuccessfully, latkes, but stopped trying. Where I live now 'potato cakes' so similar to latkes are popular. DH wouldn't know the difference I think! I would. I'm revisiting latkes when I've more time and will call on help here if needed : )

Kool Beans, plllog made some comments above that struck a chord with me. I've an old, cheap, 40 year old FP which I do love and use frequently, but I remember my 2nd FP was a Cuisinart which I relegated to dog food making (liver disorder, special diet) until I put hot liquid in the bowl and it cracked. My old Cuisinart was powerful, but the blades were on the bottom, which I hated when it came to removing food. I also found food tended to clump more, and got stuck between the blade and bowl. I'm sure they've improved them now! Yes, I'm a gadget lover, but only keep mine if I find them useful on a regular basis. I've a pizelle maker I've not used in 8 years, but it doesn't take up much room and someday (I keep telling myself). Other than that, all gadgets must make something easier or they get tossed/returned! I cook for 2 only, but often in quantity, for freezing. I wouldn't want to ever be without a FP : )

Mine is a KitchenAid. I don't use it a lot, but I know it'll last forever. My Braun lasted 20 years and when the kids were small I used it a lot. Now that it's just my husband and I, I don't have much use for it.

Oh, Islay, I would love to have something like that, especially since it's not gigantic like 99% of what's available here.

2Many, I have a mix of Ashkenazi and Eastern backgrounds, and foodwise more Eastern. I grew up with hummus and borekes--and blintzes. While I had an aunt who made latkes with my mother's best silver spoon, that's the sum of my memory of latkes at home from childhood. I started making them a few years ago. :) They're pretty easy. The main thing is don't be scared of using a lot of oil--I use safflower which has a high smoke point and no flavor--and don't be scared of onions. I don't do the onion in the oil thing. I think it just waters down the oil. It's important in the latke though.

The bestest recipe for the superdedooper best ever latkes is Andrew Zimmern's Killer Potato Latkes. Sometimes it's worth using a recipe. :) This is one of those times. One kind of potato for mashing (the forum approved potato ricer is key for large quantities--mine is marked currently unavailable, but this Norpro looks like the exact same thing). A different kind of potato for shredding. Totally awesome!

I don't have a recipe for regular shredded latkes. Just use your new FP (in its own time) to grate up some potatoes and grate, chop or mince an onion, add some seasoning, an egg or two, and a small handful of flour or starch or matzah meal. Eggs and floury stuff equals glue. Pat a glomp between your hands so it's latke shape and dump it in a pan with oil. The oil should come up about half way. It doesn't matter if these form into actual stuck together pancakes, just make them and drop right in the pan--as they crisp up the bits will mostly stick together. If little pieces fall off, no biggie. Just fish them out so they don't burn. You can nibble on them, but they're oily so don't eat them all or you could get a stomach ache (voice of experience!). Once the bottom solidifies and the edges start to brown, flip them with a solid turner (slots let out oil but also cut the shreds) and continue to cook just until the new bottom is crisp and starting to brown Drain on absorbent paper (I like the old style Viva paper towels that feel like spongy cloth). Transfer to a baking grid to dry out and cool if you're not serving/eating immediately.

To freeze, use a wide, flat container like for cookies, and make single layers separated with parchment paper. Or, you can freeze them on a baking sheet then vacuum seal, but that always sounds like a big bother to me. I did it once with a small batch of meatballs and containers seem to work just as well for me.

From this, you can do any variation. Zucchini takes more glue (extra egg and flour) because it doesn't have its own starch. I like to grate the onions (in the FP of course) for these. A favorite for the whole family is sweet potato with red onion. Again, same method as above, but I try to get the longest strings (lay down the sweet potato to fill the chute) and do a large chop--like a third of an inch--on the red onion. They look really cool and taste great. I don't like carrot latkes and haven't tried turnip. Turnip chips with sharp white cheddar are fantastic, so I think maybe microplane some cheddar on top just before it's ready to come out.

There are also mashed potato (only) latkes, but I've only made that from a mix in my youth when I was without a proper kitchen. The Osem mix wasn't bad for what it was.

"Thank you! I'm going to see if they ever made a side chute accessory that fits my model of Cuisinart. eBay to the rescue!"

Nope, you will not find a side shooter attachment for any other model. They seem to want to sell separate countertop appliances for different tasks. The master plan unfortunately. Sell more crap. (or more stuff).

Last weekend, like 50% of our prep, I just used my manual drawer of tricks. Quick pickles, kimchi, more pickles, salads. Easy.

I do like having all the options but weekly/daily just some knife/mandoline skills is fine. Simple and fast.

plllog, you are a dream! Thank you so much (and Kool Beans, I'm sorry to hijack your post! Hope you don't mind too much...)

I just copy/pasted your entire post to print with the Andrew Zimmern recipe, and I love the idea of sweet potato and red onion latkes! Clearly I'm latke deficient, ha ha. Much as I love carrots, no that doesn't sound appetizing as a latke. I'd never have guessed Yukon's for the mashed, not ever. Or even mashing. And I have never used enough oil - your instructions are so clear, and thank you for the freezing instructions! I'm so excited to try these! Last night I unpacked a few more boxes and found my matzo meal... very expired (but then, most everything I packed has expired, and I think it was you or Sleevendog who told me my spices and herbs would be expired by the time I was ready for them). I have to order it online as I can't find it here (yeah, really). No biggie, as I do have to wait to order the Breville. The Norpro ricer? That's the one I have! I do love it and actually sent back another as it was just too small and fiddly.

The mashed potato latkes are also one I've never tried as they are just so similar to potato cakes made, and mine were never anything to write home about. Now you have me thinking... I may have to see if DH will eat fry bread and corn pone (from my Cherokee heritage). My heritage is a strange mix! Maternal Grandfather was German, Paternal Grandmother was Cherokee. Again, thank you for your very kind help, plllog : )

Hah! I knew it! Not enough oil. :) It took me a long time to loosen my grip on the oil. :) I suppose I shouldn't tease you, but you know it's in fun, and you know that I know what an able cook you are. I have friends who hand grate the potatoes on the rasp side of a box grater. There's a word for them that starts with an "m" (meshugana). :) I haven't tried it, but it occurs to me, now that I think about it, that the small holes side of the grating disk might work just as well as the ricer. :)

Yeah, that was me who warned you about your stored staples--and probably Sleevendog as well! Do give them a good smell before you toss. Your matzah meal might be fine. If it's dry with no clumps and doesn't smell rancid, it's fine, especially for cooking/baking. But you don't need to order new. Put matzah in the FP whirr whirr done. (See! We're still on topic!) And right this very minute, put a few sheets of matzah in a zip bag with the seal open half an inch. Cover with a thick or folded towel. Attack with your rolling pin (or empty wine bottle). Roll hard back and forth, side to side, whack (not with glass), stomp. The towel is there in case the bits poke holes in the bag, so they don't fly all over, and it helps distribute the force a bit too. Instant Matzah meal.

Care to share your fry bread knowledge? (Maybe a new thread unless it's an FP method?) It's not my ancestral heritage, but I grew up with the Navajo version and would love to be able to duplicate it, or at least come close. I'm guessing Cherokee isn't very different? There's some essential knowledge I don't have and is assumed by the recipes. :)

Please don’t apologize, I honestly don’t believe in thread hijacking, this is all part of the fun.

Oh no. I just typed a response to both plllog and Kool Beans, complete with fry bread recipe and a bit about my Grandma Bird, but I left it unfinished (cabinet makers are here), and came back to find it blank : ( Now I have to go out. I'll get back here next Monday - forgive me! I'll post the Oklahoma Cherokee Fry Bread recipe Monday. Dang.

I ended up getting the same machine my DD has (and that Maire Cate recently bought). I got it from Amazon along with a 2mm blade and a blade holder. Between an Amazon gift credit I had and the cash points from one of my credit cards, it didn’t cost me a dime out of pocket which is a bonus in itself. It will be here tomorrow.

Matza meal has no fat and should not get rancid....stale? yeah. but not rancid and stale can be combated by a ride in a low oven.

"I ended up getting the same machine my DD..."

Congratulations, I think you will be pleased. Even the finely diced/minced basic mirepoix for the saute beginning of soups will take seconds on pulse.

And the price was right!

Kool Beans, many congratulations!! Excellent shopping savvy. Use it in good health and may you be renewed.

Linda, I know exactly what matzah meal is. Commercial matzah meal can smell rancid when it gets old. I don't know if it's the natural oils in the wheat (flour itself gets rancid a lot faster, being uncooked. I had to throw out all my flours after my kitchen remodel because they stank of rancidity), or something in the way it's made or packaged. It may not actually be rancid when it smells, for all I know, but that's the smell. Matzah meal can hang around for years and be fine, but sometimes it isn't and it smells rancid and there's no saving it. Putting stale in the oven only helps while it's warm. Stale is when the starch strands tighten and warming loosens them. They tighten back up again when cool. I can't see how that would help matzah meal. It's cheap. Throw it out if it's not good. Even if you have to order it through the mail.

2Many, I forgot a point in the freezing of latkes. You can pick up the layers of latkes by the parchment paper and set them paper and all on a baking sheet to reheat.

I know, it's not Monday. I must be tired these days : )

Kool Beans, thanks for allowing the sidetracks, and I agree, it’s part of the fun : - ) I’m so glad you got a FP! I think you’ll find it very useful, and it’s like Sleevendog and others have mentioned… for those larger tasks they are amazing, while the smaller tools are better for quickie things. Oh Yay! Someone else uses an Amazon credit card! We never travel so I don’t want air miles… I put as much of our remodel expenses on my Amazon card and thus far have a Cuisinart Steam Toaster oven, a Bamix immersion blender (my first immersion blender), an ice cream maker, and other odds and ends… all FREE! I just adore free, don’t you?! Truthfully, I also had gift card cash from DH’s company and some from my own work. Just be sure you remember to use it! I’ve done that, had a big task, started using my knives, then suddenly realized halfway through I coulda been done with prep so much faster!

plllog, what is it with being afraid to use enough oil? Ha! I did that with something else too (can’t remember what it was just now). It was such a ‘Duh’ moment. You never have to explain a jest or joke to me, I think you and I ‘get’ each other by now : ) Hmmm… in order to make matzo meal I have to have matzah. Can’t find it here. Can’t get hoisin here either. Lamb is never around, and bok choy is rare. We have an Aldi’s I need to investigate, further away, but the day I have time for an extra trip I’m going to see if they have anything I ‘can’t find’ typically. Yep, my matzo meal smelled. Not sure what the smell was, but one whiff and it went into the trash. It was old, and it’s sub-tropical where I live so pretty much everything I packed is going in the trash, which is such a waste. I had to toss all my flours too. That was not fun… dumping a huge bin of flour (several, actually) into the trash can… flumph! Covered in white powder, and billowing everywhere. Sigh… just added to the remodel dust! “You can pick up the layers of latkes by the parchment paper and set them paper and all on a baking sheet to reheat.” – and again, I thank you : )

When I’ve more time (and eventually open the box with my cast iron skillets!) I’ll start a thread on my Grandma Bird and her fry bread and other dishes – with photos, but for now, of course I’ll share with you! I think fry bread is the same for most Indian Nations, but some use milk or powdered milk. Grandma Bird didn’t. They are much like sopapillas… which makes you wonder, which came first ; ) Grandma Bird was full-blooded Cherokee, and ironically, of the Bird Clan. Makes me a quarter Cherokee, but with pale skin and red hair, I think my German Grandpa left more of an imprint on my genes!

Grandma Bird’s Cherokee Fry Bread:

(I cut this in half because she always made so much!)

• 2 cups all purpose flower
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 to 1 1/2 tsp baking powder (I use 1 ½)
• About 1 to 1 ½ cups warm water
• Lard (I use vegetable oil) for frying

In a big bowl mix all ingredients except oil with a wooden spoon or your hands. Add enough water for a sticky dough. Cover the bowl and let it rest 1 hour. It won’t rise. Cover your hands with lard (I use veg oil) and pull off round balls of dough, pulling and stretching until they are round and very thin and about 6-8 inches around. They don’t have to be perfect. Set aside on dough sprinkled sheet pan and continue until the thin rounds are formed.

Heat in deep cast iron skillet with 2 inches of vegetable oil (or lard) until 350 F. Gently drop one fry dough into the hot oil. Turn with tongs when it’s golden, and when both sides are golden place on paper towels.

Best way to eat it… tear a hole in one of the bubble pockets, pour a bit of honey in while rotating the bread to spread it around. Yum.

plllog, thank you for bringing this up and expanding upon latkes. You made me realize I want to learn more about both sides of my ancestral cuisine. I'd never really thought of fry bread as a particular cuisine, but it is.

Thanks for the great advise and congrats. I’ve already got it sitting on my counter and will be using it this weekend. :c)

2ManyDiversions, you don’t have to thank me for anything. I have no interest in confining the direction a thread takes, this has been so fun, I feel as if I’m sitting around the kitchen table with friends, it’s wonderful!

Thank-you, 2Many! And your Grandma Bird as well. After the birthday desserts of August have passed, I'll give it a try. Indeed, I do think we get each other, but given the tone issues of the 'net, I do want to be sure you and everyone else know when I mean to be funny. :) It's probably the freckles. Do you have freckles to go with the rest? I do...but just a sprinkling, not full on appaloosa. :D

Now that I've learned more about frying during the last number of years, it doesn't look hard. :) I'm sure you're right about the kinship to sopapillas. You know the first thing I did was look it up, but no serious research. :) My feeling, based on who serves what around here, was that sopapillas were Central American and flattish. Then the first picture I found, along with often repeated information of the everybody is copying each other and I haven't found a seminal source variety that they started in New Mexico, was a picture of a total puffer puff. (No, I have no interest in reworking that sentence. It's grammatical, if stylistically abhorrent.) That reminded me of the puffidypuffpuff ones at the Pima-Papago center in Arizona, whereas the Navajo is more bubblyubbly than puffidypuffy. And the sopapillas I've been exposed to are much less puffy or bubbly, and not served with honey, though it seems the New Mexico ones are both puffy and bubbly as well as served with honey. And there are lots of pictures of Mexican triangular ones which are puffy.

Which brings us to beignets. I've never been anywhere near Louisiana, unless you count downtown Houston, but there was this Cajun guy who sold them here when I was in my 20's, and they were yellow, cut into rectangles with a zigzag pastry wheel, and all puff. On TV, they always seem to be balls with a doughy interior, but in Google images, they're mostly rectangles which look layered, a few puffed rectangles an triangles, and a good number of balls which may be are may not be puffs. I've made sonhos (Brazilian/Portuguese fried puffs) several times.

In the Southwest, fry bread is often served as bread--savory with hot sauce, or chili or as a taco shell--rather than as a pastry. But I only know what happens in food service, and that's driven by sales rather than tradition.

I'm late to the thread, and haven't read it through, but I have an Oskar that is around 30 years old and I will be very sad if it dies. I use it to chop veggies & fruits for soups recipes and salads; to make my fruit/yogurt "ice cream", to quickly make nut or oatmeal flour, and to mix up oatmeal/apple/nut biscuits quickly. I've used it in the past to puree pumpkin for pumpkin butter also -- in fact, that is why it was given to me by my mother, when I was struggling with an Oster blender to do that (it could do the job but was much more awkward and slower)

I also have a Nutribullet that I use for smoothies and pureeing soups. It could possibly do some of the Oskar tasks, but I am used to the speed and techniques of the old gadget.

Two winters ago I got a stick blender because it was on sale for cheap, but so far I've only used it twice. I just forget that I have it. It would be more convenient to puree with it though, and to mix puddings also.

For stick blender, I would wait for a rechargeable cordless one.

If you have been to construction sites, you will notice workers all use cordless tools.

The advance in Lithium battery technology and brushless motors used in construction tools would make stick blenders very powerful, portable and long lasting.

You can get them now, but I would wait a couple more years.

dcarch

We have the Cuisinart FP and it does a great job. However, for grating cheese, this cannot be beat.

I've had my Salad Shooter for 20 years and it still runs strong. Shredding cheese takes seconds. And they're easy to clean & takes up little real estate in the kitchen.

Oakley, I also have an old Salad Shooter and it still works great, I just grated up a bunch of cucumbers for sweet relish with it, nothing does it just exactly like that.

I also have a Kitchen Aid food processor which I used a couple of days ago to grate 30 pounds of cabbage for sauerkraut, and it gets used a couple of times a week to make hummus. The Vita Mix just doesn't do the job as well and is a pain to clean. The food processor also is my tool of choice when I'm slicing garlic to dehydrate, I pour all those little individual cloves in the tube and they're sliced in an instant.

I have a mandoline for smaller slicing jobs, like potatoes or zucchini for a single gratin, a stick blender that I nearly never use, and the grandkids think the Vita Mix is the greatest thing ever for smoothies. .

I have some really good knives and I use them more often than I use anything else, since I'm cooking for two and they are a snap to clean up. Elery likes gadgets but still hauls out the knives for his kim chee.

The Kitchen Aid mixer is, of course, used for mixing, LOL. I also have a Zojirushi bread machine that does all my kneading for me, although I bake in the oven.

Yes, my life is just full of mechanical helpers. (grin)

Annie

I rarely use my food processor (like I can't remember when was the last time I used it). I have a bigger one and a smaller Cuisinart that is still in the box. I do use a mini chopper occasionally.

Can you wonderful cookers tell me specifically what you use your food processors for? I guess I am afraid of making pureed mush and maybe really don't know how to use them!

RN, the trick is not overprocessing--the pulse button is your friend--and only expecting it to do that which it can do. I used the small interior bowl and knife on mine yesterday to make puree of a head of garlic, but it was more like itty bitty minced. I think the garlic was dry and it cut rather than squished, but it was worth the try. I was too tired to press all of it.

OTOH, when I make meatballs, I whizz up carrots and an onion for flavor, and some matzah for a coarse binder that absorbs the water released. I've been baking with almond flour recently. If you run it and the sugar through the FP, you don't need powdered or superfine sugar and you don't need to sift. Although my very best pie crust is made by hand with time and love to get it just so, quite good crusts and doughs can be in the FP in no time.

The grater makes a half hour of hand grating go by in a couple of minutes, for anything from cheese, to carrots, to zucchini, to coleslaw. If precise cuts aren't needed, the slicer blade is another great time saver, for salads, casseroles, and anything in between.

Basically, it cuts stuff up. It can also do basic mixing tasks.

the real trick is to know when to use it. It has to be a big enough saver of time or effort for a particular task to be worth the clean up. Sometimes when I'm staring down a deadline, I use it for small tasks, the time saving being worth the wash time and water, from being able to defer cleanup until later.

RNmomof2, just off the top of my head: When I make veggie soup I make a huge stock pot and separate for winter meals, freeze. The FP chops onion, slices carrots wonderfully for that. Scalloped potatoes if I don't care about 'perfection' as my old FP will slice, just a bit unevenly. I make a sweet green tomato relish that pretty much requires the FP, and freeze batches in plastic bags for hot dogs, side relish. We love carrots, so whenever I make minted carrots - or even without mint, I use the FP slicer blade for those, dump them into a large skillet with water and cook until tender crisp, then remove most the water, add butter, and cook down. Add mint or not and serve. Pasta dough (with the dough attachment is easy. Any recipe that calls for fine chopped. Before I got an immersion blender I used the FP for blended (pureed) soups (acorn squash, carrot, butternut squash). Just have to wait for the veg to cool down, then re-heat after blending.

"It's probably the freckles. Do you have freckles to go with the rest? I do...but just a sprinkling, not full on appaloosa. :D" plllog, I laughed out loud, more than once! "Full on appaloosa", LOL! Nope, I'm sprinkled too : ) Yeah, we get each other, and yep, it's the freckles ; )

Most the sopapillas I've eaten were either full on puffers, but some were bubbly and puffity. None were ever just bubbly. And I know you know what I'm saying. I can't stop reading that post, I just crack up every time I read it!

You had to bring up beignets, didn'cha? I dated a coon-ass (that's what he called himself, although it was the only self-depreciating bone of humor he had in him), but he couldn't cook to save his life, though he owned and sold baked goods (just don't ask). Loved the patois, but he had issues... I digress. The only beignet I've eaten was at {gasp} The Olive Garden. Yeah, and they didn't call it that, but it had to be tailored after a beignet at the least, or that's what I think. Doughy and puffy, warm and covered in powdered sugar, served with chocolate sauce (that was too much). So you've got me there!

"In the Southwest, fry bread is often served as bread--savory with hot sauce, or chili or as a taco shell--rather than as a pastry." Yes! Grandma Bird (she passed away when I was very young) called them tacos. Flat for tacos, though. But yes : )

dcarch, I agree, battery technology just keeps on improving - and DH would heartily agree, but I prefer corded as often the batteries (though improved) still add too much weight. But I'm a weak person, perhaps : )

Now I'm laughing about you laughing with me. :) The Olive Garden dough balls were probably supposed to be zeppole, struffoli, frittelle, or something. There are a bunch of versions of fried dough balls in Italy with different names, unlike the beignets which is a bunch of different fried dough shapes/recipes with the same name. :) I'm endlessly fascinated with how many different things the same basic doughs can make. :) So interesting about the sopapillas and how different what we're used to are, even moreso than the beignets. :)

Oh for crying out loud. I feel so dumb. Yes, they were called zeppoles. I remember now. Geez. I mean, I know the Olive Garden is supposed to be Italian, but I just thought they were fudging! Good gosh, do you know every type of fried bread there is? Loan me your brain so I can download it.

I agree, how wonderful and yet confusing that so many breads are so similar, and some identical except maybe just a twist of the dough. Just when you think you at least know (but surely can't have made) every bread there is, someone mentions another. But did you have to end again with beignets? I'm so hungry for something I thought I'd eaten but actually have never eaten. Every time I post back to you (on any thread) I'm going to end with "beignet". And someday, I'll make them. Or a close facsimile.

Ok, since we got so off topic... I'm tossing this out here so I don't feel so naughty: Made pasta dough in my old food processor. See, Food Processor : ) Easy-peasy and so fast. Wait, this is the food processor thread Kool Beans started, isn't it?

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We still use our Italian Atlas Pasta machine for our noodles. For some reason DH finds it very satisfying to make his pasta dough by hand and then I help him crank it out.

https://www.amazon.com/Marcato-8320-Machine-Cutter-Instructions/dp/B0009U5OSO

For Kool Beans - I just ordered a 6 mm slicing disc for the Cuisinart FP. It comes with a 4mm which is a little too thin for scalloped potatoes or cucumbers for salad.

Ooh crud.....I have a 2 mm already on its way!!! It’s even my 2nd attempt because the first Amazon sent was the wrong size. Thank you for the tip though! I finally tried the new FP this past week-end. Even though I think the 4mm was a little too thick for mushrooms, I sliced a big Costco sized pack of the cremini’s, chopped fresh garlic and diced a huge onion in less than 10 minutes! I’m sold!

I was just getting into pasta when I stopped eating white grain, then all grain, but now I'm eating some white and no whole, so I think I should get back to pasta this Fall. I can't remember the brand, but I have a hand crank machine like Maire-Cate posted. I do have a drying tree though, because one must have tools, right? So I would appreciate it if you'd share your FP recipe. The dough isn't an issue for me. My great-aunt taught me to make "one eggs noodles", which are the ragged looking Jewish egg noodles for soup, and the basic method for pasta is similar, but I need to practice with the machine to get proper sheets and cuts, and I think that would be easier with a nice FP recipe. :)

Re all the doughs, I don't know them. I know words. I did look up the spellings, just now, because I'm dreadful at that. Words just stick to my head. I never got sucked into the bread thing because before I started baking "interesting breads" (I grew up baking challah and basic bread), I read about a baker who was studying bread at a German bakery, where it was agreed she'd never really get the hang of it, as if it were playing a violin, because she'd started too late in life. The bakery made a different kind of bread every day, too. That's every day of the year, not week. So given that daunting image, I'm able to manage my aspirations to what's manageable and I remain a contented person. :)

The only fried Italian dough thing I've made is sfingi, which is a fried ricotta pastry. According to Marcolo, that's a spelling of how it's said not the correct spelling (which I forget), and it's specifically for St. Joseph's day in Italy. All over the world, Jews borrow fried food ideas for Chanukah, especially sweets. I've done sonhos a couple of times. Sufganiot (Israeli "jelly doughnuts"). This year I might try to duplicate the cajun guy's beignets.

maire_cate, that's the one I have, although it was called the 150 Wellness at the time. I just use the FP for dough making. Love my Atlas.

Kool Beans, that's a bummer! Darn. OTOH, cremini mushrooms? Wish we had a Costo close by, or a grocery that sold creminis. What did you make with them? So glad to hear you're liking your new FP!

plllog, those hand crank pasta machines are my favorite - not so much the electric ones. Yes! Of course I'll give you my T&T Food Processor Pasta Dough recipe! I'm so grateful to have it as I can now make it almost blindfolded, and it makes the perfect pasta to roll out in a machine of any kind...

A few notes: Don't skip a step. Seems silly, but that's important. Add only enough flour for your slurry first, then the ball, then continue with the recipe. I skipped going slow with the flour couple times and accidentally went too fast, bypassing the slurry and barely doing a ball, and it made too dry pasta. Some did not knead in the machine, some did but broke apart as it dried on the tree.

Love this recipe because A) it's fast and easy, and B) you can put your flour away when the dough is made. No mess, no adding flour or water or oil. The dough is silky smooth and perfect, ready to roll.

ETA: Making too many spelling errors, typos, and wrong words - corrected now.
Basic Pasta Dough

Ingredients: (This is enough for 1-2 servings. I typically freeze what I don't use)

• 1+ plus cups all-purpose flour (sometimes I use less, sometimes more)
• 1 egg, room temperature or thereabout
• 1/2 tps salt (to preference, some prefer not to use salt)
• ½ Tbls olive oil
• ¼ Tbls warm water
• Optional: ¼ Semolina flour, Fresh basil leaves, Fresh Oregano leaves (see notes below)

Directions:

1) In a large food processor with the plastic dough attachment, add room temp egg, salt if using, olive oil, and warm water. Run processor to mix.

2) Begin adding flour a bit at a time, running processor as you go. First make a wet slurry, then add enough flour to form a ball as the processor runs. Continue to add flour a little at a time – it will initially separate, crumble, and balls will form. Initially bit smaller than peas. If needed, add more flour or water as you go.

3) When it's just a bit smaller than a pea, stop and test the pasta by pinching it between your fingers. If it holds together without being sticky, it’s ready – it may appear dry but that will leave as it rests.

4) Collect the pasta, form a ball, and wrap with saran wrap. Let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to allow the flour to be hydrated and the gluten to relax.

Once the dough has relaxed, unwrap, roll into a ball and pull off pieces to roll out (keeping the remaining dough wrapped). Hand flatten a ball and run through pasta maker on thickest setting. Do this, folding the dough in half each time, 3-4 times. The dough should now be kneaded. Continue rolling using smaller settings as desired. You should not need to add oil or flour, making it easier to wipe off your pasta machine.

Notes on adding 'Optional' ingredients:

Semolina - I'd make just plain dough first, it's the easiest. I've never added more than 1/4 parts semolina, and when I do, it needs to rest a good 45 minutes - and I will only add enough flour to make full pea sized balls in the FP. I add the semolina first. Semolina is courser, and will add some bite. You can use all semolina, but I never had success with keeping my dough together unless making hand rolled, hand formed pasta.

00 flour: will make the silkiest pasta : ) But frankly, plain old AP makes lovely pasta.

Fresh herbs: Some people just toss in chopped herbs just before the pasta reaches the smaller than pea stage. I find when it's boiled some of the herbs float off. I do not notice any flavor changes. For herb pasta I prefer to add the chopped herb (not too much!) into the FP with the egg, water, and oil, whirring to blend. Then the flour. This colors the flour, depending on how much you use. I find basil pasta to be lovely with a simple brown butter sauce (sometimes garlic added in, and someone I know has this neat-o uber thin garlic slicer!).

Toasted Flour, aka Grano Arso: Be still my heart! So lovely with a simple sauce, brown butter or a nice tomato sauce. Perhaps a bit of julienned basil over the tomato sauce, and yes, even a beurre blanc, or that with scallops or a a very mild poached fish. But you don't want to hide the Grano Arso flavor too much : ) I toast my flour in a wide saucepan - using a flat wooden spoon (or a whisk) stirring constantly over medium heat (I use a titch higher than medium), until it's golden brown. You can go darker, I don't like the flavor. This removes the starch, so it's not good in doughs that are put through a pasta maker. Like the semolina, I put the toasted flour in first (only a little if putting through the machine) then add uncooked AP flour and process to the pea size stage - but I don't think the end flavor is that improved. Otherwise, I'll use all toasted, in the FP, same ratio as with un-toasted AP flour, to the pea size, rest well (never in the fridge!), and make handmade pastas, though I've only made orecchiette myself.

Ok, last note: When making for chicken noodle soup, I let my pasta dry on a cookie sheet on which I've sprinkled (using a sieve so it's not too heavy) some extra flour. Next day I dump all in a baggie and freeze. The extra flour gets dumped in the stock with the noodles - not enough to thicken at all really. Your preference of course

There ya go!

Now, about those Sufganiot... do you have a recipe and advice to share? I've never made donuts, let alone these! I found This One on Epicurious, but not sure about it.

I'm not at my computer, but I'll dig out the sufganiot later. Thanks for the FOOD PROCESSOR pasta recipe and all the tips! I've never used grano arso, but I assume it's a lot like matzah cake meal. :) I'll put the real deal on the to-do list, but wouldn't it be wonderful to do a version for Passover?

kool beans - that size disc may work out just fine for you. DH has been making dinner more often now that he's retired and he usually uses one of his many knives when he preps. When the FP came he looked at the 4mm disc and said he'd rather have the 6 for potatoes - but the 4 works for other foods.

This is not about a food processor, but it is about mincing onions. I needed a very small amount of minced onion for slaw for two. I usually use onion powder, because my husband hates to see the onion. The onion powder was old and the only onion I had was already diced and would of been almost impossible to grate, and that is even usually to big.

I used my Oxo garlic press with two or three cubes of onion and it was perfect! I am going, well duh........ I have no idea why I never thought to use the garlic press on anything but garlic.

Tigereye, you just converted a single-use tool into a multi-use tool!!

The garlic press is because he hates garlic pieces also! Now is guess I just need to see if the celery will go through it! The flavor is fine with him in dishes, but not the chunks, no matter how small.

2Many, my DH looooves mushrooms and eats them as one of his primary proteins. The dish I made is just something I conjured up by hap chance one night and it quickly became my DH’s favorite.

I saute the sliced creminis along with a diced onion and garlic to taste. When browned, I set that aside in a bowl and toss a healthy portion of frozen stir fry veggies (from Costco again) in the pan. I toss them until they’re half way thawed, add the mushroom mix back along with some PF Changs Mongolian BBQ cooking sauce and a bit of water. Mix it up good and let it cook until the veggies are soft but not over cooked and serve it over rice.

The mixed veggies have carrots, broccoli, summer squash, red bell pepper, green beans and a few other goodies. It’s a great healthy one dish meal, that I have no name for! LOL

Maire cate, I used the 4mm to (also) make home fries this weekend. It’s been years since I made those, talk about yummy! I would love to have all three sizes so I have options. I may just have to splurge and get the 6 mm while it’s still available.

Kool Beans, yes, go for it! Now that you have the FP, having all the tools you might ever use is important. Make that machine work for you!

Sorry, so late to this again! Tigereye, great job at being creative, I'd never have thought of that. Kinda got me wondering if my big old ricer would juice an onion (my least favorite form of prep)?

Kool Beans, that sounds so tasty, but anything with mushrooms does, and creminis, well that's a given! I'm so glad to see you've been using your FP for all sorts of things. I think that's the best way to get used to something new and to continue using it - not forgetting about it like I sometimes do!

Amazon has it on sale for $120.90 - at the moment....

https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DFP-14BCNY-Processor-Brushed-Stainless/dp/B01AXM4WV2/ref=pd_bxgy_79_2/135-5836081-4258662?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01AXM4WV2&pd_rd_r=c52bf6c4-b44f-4a5e-9d2b-5c1f177eb3d2&pd_rd_w=OQH8y&pd_rd_wg=0zUsl&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=756FD8TPVP0QYTEEF2NS&psc=1&refRID=756FD8TPVP0QYTEEF2NS

plllog, you said

"The only fried Italian dough thing I've made is sfingi, which is a fried ricotta pastry. According to Marcolo, that's a spelling of how it's said not the correct spelling (which I forget), and it's specifically for St. Joseph's day in Italy."

Who is Marcolo?

Marcolo is a very interesting person who was a member of Kitchens and Cooking for some time. I would have thought you two would have crossed paths. ETA: The original discussion was remarkably easy to find. ETAA: Aha! I knew it! Here's a thread where you and Marcolo did indeed cross. Funny. I keep thinking you and he were friends. Must have been someone else.

I wondered if that was the same marcolo. Are you in touch with him?

I used to see him when I went to Boston on business. Usually meant going to his house after work, eating and drinking until the wee hours, and taking a taxi back to the hotel at 4 am wondering how I was going to get through the next day. Haven't seen him for at least 7 years though.

The kitchens forum was so fun. Back then I was traveling for work half the time, living in airports and hotels, always jetlagged but unable to sleep, and having that forum helped make it bearable.

Phew! I was sure you two had visited but you asked who he was! We e-mailed occasionally, but not recently. Yeah, I know what you mean about the old KF. When they changed the weights at Google and it started coming at the top of a lot of searches, it started to change, then the merger killed what was left of it. I'm sure the current group do fine with their kitchen planning, but there was something special there for awhile.

I'm glad to hear that all that travel is in the past tense! I used to do 4 times per year, for a total of about 5-6 weeks passage of time, and now that I don't have to go, people have a hard time prying me out of my house. :)

"there was something special there for awhile. "

yep, it sure was. I don't think it is anymore. it's been taken over and the little people get beat down. I've been off of it for a good number of yrs and checked it out some time back - wow! it is so changed. there were a few rude 'professionals' on there back when but they were such a small part of it. now there are so many. I wouldn't want the advice of any of them - well, there's one or 2 who are from the old days and probably would still have good advice. I really just wanted to post outright that they were beyond rude. they'd never get my business. but then, I wouldn't want to live in a space someone else designed. pointers yes, take it over - not. and so many there now are the 'take over' kind. I did learn soooo much on that forum!