You were right about the food processor

[Fisher's Mom]

Here's another huge thing I've learned here at DC. I kept reading about how so many of you depend upon your food processors (especially you, ChefJune). I thought, what's the deal? I have good knives now, thanks to all of you. Wouldn't this be just one more thing to clean? But I decided to take the plunge and bought one.

Wow! I'm shocked! The first thing I did was slice 15 lbs. of potatoes for mashed potatoes. Not only was it soooo much faster, but the potatoes got done so much faster because the slices were thin and uniform. Then, I shredded a bunch of carrots for just a simple carrot salad. It was unbelievably fast and no scraped knuckles like when I used a grater. Amazing! Tonight, I'm going to try making french fried sweet potatoes. I gotta say, this thing is fantastic.

If anyone would like to chime in about the things they use their food processor for, I'd love some suggestions.

 

[Corey123]

Guess who's coming to dinner? Haha!!

Ok, if you don't have a meat grinder, you new toy will suffice nicely. Grating parm? No problem! Salad dressings and mayo? Piece of cake! Kneading dough? Easy. Mincing garlic? Simple.

I also use it for pesto sauce, chopping whole canned tomatoes for spaghetti sauce and marinara. You can even make batter for cheesecakes and whip cream with it. The possibilities are endless!

 

[GB]

I love using it to slice consistent and even slices of potatoes or cukes or things like that. I also use it to shred cheese. I do not use mine very often, but when I use it I find it invaluable.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Cabbage Slaw....

 

[Katie H]

I love using my food processor to make pastry/pie crust dough. Sooo easy and quick.

Also, to make cleaning easy, I keep an empty plastic pill bottle or 35mm plastic film canister to put over the center hole so I can fill the processor bowl with hot soapy water and not have it leak out while it's soaking.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Guess who's coming to dinner? Haha!!

Ok, if you don't have a meat grinder, you new toy will suffice nicely. Grating parm? No problem! Salad dressings and mayo? Piece of cake! Kneading dough? Easy. Mincing garlic? Simple.

I also use it for pesto sauce, chopping whole canned tomatoes for spaghetti sauce and marinara. You can even make batter for cheesecakes and whip cream with it. The possibilities are endless!

I'd be honored to have you, Corey! And thanks for your tips. I have a question though - what discs or blades do you use for whipping cream or making mayo? And do you use the blade thing for grinding meat? The owners manual was not particularly detailed.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

I love using my food processor to make pastry/pie crust dough. Sooo easy and quick.

Also, to make cleaning easy, I keep an empty plastic pill bottle or 35mm plastic film canister to put over the center hole so I can fill the processor bowl with hot soapy water and not have it leak out while it's soaking.

That's on my list for sure, Katie. I have never made my own pie crust before but I will now. I love the tip about soaking the bowl. I'll be looking for the perfect little bottle today.

 

[ChefJune]

I'd be honored to have you, Corey! And thanks for your tips. I have a question though - what discs or blades do you use for whipping cream or making mayo? And do you use the blade thing for grinding meat? The owners manual was not particularly detailed.

Metal blade for mayonnaise. for whipping cream, you will have to go over to ebay and try to find the now extinct whisk. I have whipped lots of cream and egg whites with that little sucker!

Yes, you use the metal blade and the pulsing action for chopping meats.

Did you buy a Cuisinart? The owner's manual for mine has TONS of info. (oops, I forgot! Mine is 24 years old. different owner then)

PS. I used to do 4-hour demos without washing the workbowl. One of these days, I will have to post how.... but "breadcrumbs" is a magic word.

 

[ChefJune]

Cabbage Slaw....

Uncle Bob, I have never forgotten the day I was making cole slaw at a demo in Boston, and a man stood there with his mouth open just watching me for the longest time. Finally after I had put the slaw in a bowl, he said, "I guess I need one of those. I make 50 pounds of cabbage into sauerkraut for Christmas every year, and so far I do it all by hand." (It was my turn to have my jaw drop. I replied, "I don't think I would consider doing it any other way than this!" 50] pounds! Yikes!

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Metal blade for mayonnaise. for whipping cream, you will have to go over to ebay and try to find the now extinct whisk. I have whipped lots of cream and egg whites with that little sucker!

Yes, you use the metal blade and the pulsing action for chopping meats.

Did you buy a Cuisinart? The owner's manual for mine has TONS of info. (oops, I forgot! Mine is 24 years old. different owner then)

PS. I used to do 4-hour demos without washing the workbowl. One of these days, I will have to post how.... but "breadcrumbs" is a magic word.

No, I didn't get a Cuisinart. I didn't know if I would use it enough so I got a Kenmore Elite on ebay for $60 shipped. It's has a 14 cup bowl, a 600 watt motor and it came with 6 grating/slicing/julienne discs, a dough blade and a metal blade. No whisk. (Of course, I'm hooked now so if I burn out this machine because it's of lesser quality, I'll be getting a Cuisinart I'm sure. ) But the manual is very, very basic. I forgot that I also made fresh breadcrumbs for stuffed shrimp the day I got it and they were amazing! And I did notice the bowl was very clean after using it. Hmmmm - maybe I need to make breadcrumbs after every use?

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Uncle Bob, I have never forgotten the day I was making cole slaw at a demo in Boston, and a man stood there with his mouth open just watching me for the longest time. Finally after I had put the slaw in a bowl, he said, "I guess I need one of those. I make 50 pounds of cabbage into sauerkraut for Christmas every year, and so far I do it all by hand." (It was my turn to have my jaw drop. I replied, "I don't think I would consider doing it any other way than this!" 50] pounds! Yikes!

I had that same jaw-drop moment when I sliced 15 lbs. of potatoes! And I swear, my first thought was "I really owe June big time for convincing me I need one of these".

 

[QSis]

Terry, one of my favorite sandwich fillings is ham salad, which I make with leftover ham.

Use the food processor to grind up the ham, onions, pickles, and maybe a hard boiled egg or two, and, if you must, celery. Whizzz ... add mayo and you're done!

Lee

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Terry, one of my favorite sandwich fillings is ham salad, which I make with leftover ham.

Use the food processor to grind up the ham, onions, pickles, and maybe a hard boiled egg or two, and, if you must, celery. Whizzz ... add mayo and you're done!

Lee

Ohhh, ohhh, I actually have a fair amount of leftover ham! This sounds perfect. And I have some big croissants, too, so I can make some lovely sandwiches. I can add some soup and I think I have dinner tonight. Thanks, Lee.

 

[Corey123]

I'd be honored to have you, Corey! And thanks for your tips. I have a question though - what discs or blades do you use for whipping cream or making mayo? And do you use the blade thing for grinding meat? The owners manual was not particularly detailed.

The metal chopping blade - the same one that you'd use if you wanted to chop meat for burgers, etc..

 

[Corey123]

No, I didn't get a Cuisinart. I didn't know if I would use it enough so I got a Kenmore Elite on ebay for $60 shipped. It's has a 14 cup bowl, a 600 watt motor and it came with 6 grating/slicing/julienne discs, a dough blade and a metal blade. No whisk. (Of course, I'm hooked now so if I burn out this machine because it's of lesser quality, I'll be getting a Cuisinart I'm sure. ) But the manual is very, very basic. I forgot that I also made fresh breadcrumbs for stuffed shrimp the day I got it and they were amazing! And I did notice the bowl was very clean after using it. Hmmmm - maybe I need to make breadcrumbs after every use?

Most of the FP's motors are thermally protected - meaning that if the motor gets too hot, it's built-in circuit breaker will shut it down, allowing it to cool down before being able to use it again.

Mine came with an egg white whipper that can also be used to whip heavy cream.

 

[GotGarlic]

I use mine to make hummus, as well as several items mentioned above.

 

[BubbaGourmet]

I resisted the urge to buy a food processor for years. What finally won me over was collard greens. We have a local producer who produces the absolutely, most beautiful collards I have ever seen. About 1 week after the first frost we get the call...how many bunches do we want? It started out as 3. The next year 6. Now we are up to 10 bunches! I used to do them by hand and suffer for days after! Now, I tear the greens into fairly large pieces, cook them by my favorite method (a post for another day) then place them into the food proceesor and whiz them down to the perfect size in mere seconds. Need 10 pounds of slaw? Whip the food processor out! Need a gallon of fresh salsa? Through everything in and let it go! I now love mine and would hate to be without.

 

[Corey123]

You can also whip up pizza sauce in the processor, since it doesn't need to be cooked first.

Chop up the onions and fresh herbs, then throw in the canned tomatoes along with spices. Pulse several times until it has the desired consistancy that you want, and voila, you've got pizza sauce for the kids to make their own pizza!

 

[corazon]

after I make a batch of pesto, I throw in a few chunks of bread and process that. I Don't waste any pesto from what's leftover after scraping the bowl and you get some great pesto breadcrumbs!

 

[ChefJune]

after I make a batch of pesto, I throw in a few chunks of bread and process that. I Don't waste any pesto from what's leftover after scraping the bowl and you get some great pesto breadcrumbs!

Corazon, you can get all the pesto out without crumbs, if you want to.... after you've scraped out all you think you can get, put the bowl back on the base, replace the metal blade, lock the lid in place and hit the pulse about three times. When you open the lid, you'll find the remaining pesto/duxelles/hummos/whatever clinging to the sides of the bowl, where you can scrape it into the waiting container. (another tip from a former "food processor teacher!")