Cuisinart Classic DLC-XPBC 20-Cup Food Processor, Brushed Chrome

“Cooking Rule... If at first you don't succeed, order pizza.”

Our family is growing with inlaws and grandkids growing up so I've got to cook more and with it comes more chopping, grinding and mixing from soups and salads to bread doughs. I have had a small Cuisinart chopper for many years and it has served me well even when I've abused it by overloading it with way to much stuff to chop.  So I decided to look into the Cuisinart Classic DLC-XPBC 20-Cup Food Processor reasoning that it would be big enough for us many years to come.

I discovered very quickly that a food processor was going to be one the most expensive small appliances in my kitchen so it was important to me to get one that had a good track record and would last for years to come.  The Cuisinart made the grade.

Simple device
The food processor is really very simple in design. A spinning blade mounted in a round mixing container chops, or “processes” food inserted through the lid-mounted chute. The base contains the motor and controls, and sits securely on your counter with rubber feet minimizing movement and absorbing sound.

Appearance
This unit is impressive the first time you set eyes on it.  It's brushed chrome settles right into any kitchen decor. You may want to reach over and hug it.

The Bowl
This workhorse comes with a 20 cup or 5qt or 4.73lt work bowl.  That's almost enough space to take a bath! It's a perfect size for catering or restaurant use.  I don't plan to use it that way but it will get a lot of use making doughs, chopping cheeses and vegetables.  A food processor's capacity is based on how much it can hold in dry ingredients. Liquid capacity is about half that of dry.   The bowl and attachments are dishwasher safe.

Feed Chute
An extra large feed chute allows for whole fruits and vegetables to get pushed in for shredding saving time to do other things that must get done in preparation for your gathering or party.  If you want french fries just put the whole potato into the chute and “whala” - out come perfect fries every time. Just cut a cabbage in half and shove into the chute for perfect cole slaw.

Motor – the guts of the thing
Just like a beautiful woman it's what's on the inside that counts. Not only is this unit a good looking addition to any kitchen it is built like a tank to do virtually anything you will ever want to do in the kitchen.  It doesn't wash dishes but it does everything else with speed and power to spare. The Cuisinart home page describes the motor as a "direct drive 1-1/2 horsepower induction motor." That's power!  It is also rated as 780 volts/watts of power.

Size
Size matters.  This unit measures 12 inches long by 8 ½ inches wide and 17 inches high with the work bowl or 30.5 cm by 20.5cm by 43cm.
This is no lightweight.  It's a powerhouse that has weight to it.  It comes it at 30 lbs or 13.6 kg.

Attachments
The more things a food processor can do the more versatile and valuable it becomes.  Here's a list of the basic attachments that come along with it that are enough to get most anyone going.  This list comes from the amazon site.  The reason I looked there is that they are perhaps the most reliable supplier of goods and information.
Stainless steel thin (2 mm), medium (4 mm) and thick (6 mm) slicing discs
Stainless steel medium shredding disc
Chopping/mixing blade
Dough blade
Small and large pushers
Detachable disc stem
Spatula
Cleaning tool
Instruction/Recipe book
Full 5-year motor warranty and a limited 3-year warranty on entire unit
Here are some things users say about it


“It will quickly mix 5 pounds of bread or cookie dough. It’s very sturdy and the only replacement needed was a new cutting blade after about 10 years of use – pretty good!”
“I have owned this machine for 20 years and love it. I use it daily to process everything from cake batter to bread to grating cheese.
“This thing is amazing. I love it. It was a gift and what a gift!!!”
“The options of use are staggering. We love the discs and the bread blade. It makes difficult tasks into simple processes that take under a minute.”
“I get exactly what I want every time I use this food processor!”

This Cuisinart Classic DLC-XPBC 20-Cup Food Processor will make a great addition to my kitchen.

Kitchenaid Artisan Series 5 Quart Mixer

“College bred is a four year loaf, using dad's dough, coming out half baked, with a lot of crust.”

I have an old Braun machine mixer that's on it's last leg, hanging on by it's toes actually, which I will have to replace soon.  They haven't made that thing for years already so I've been looking elsewhere. My son purchased a Red Kitchenaid Stand Mixer  and he swears by it.  So I thought I'd look into it for myself since he's not to keen to let dear old dad use his mixer, did my due diligence and this is what I found about the Kitchenaid Artisan 5 qt Mixer.

Appearance
She's a beauty. The sleek, shiny metallic chrome sits pretty in any kitchen decor. There's Candy Apple Red, Empire Red, Metallic Chrome, Tangerine, Ice, Onyx Black, Cornflower Blue, Majestic Yellow, Green Apple, White, Bay Leaf, Gloss Cinnamon.  I'm partial to the candy apple red.  It's the color of the sports car of my dreams.

The Bowl
I like the way they shaped the handle on the bowl. It is contoured to fit the hand which makes lifting the bowl more comfortable.  I hate making a mess on my counter when I'm mixing stuff so I appreciate the pouring shield on the bowl that prevents splash over when mixing flour into the batter. It has a chute to make adding ingredients a breeze.  What I really like is the tilt back head feature that make is easy to get to the beaters to change them or to add more ingredients.

Weight
“She's” don't like to talk about weight but this one's OK with it.  She weighs 26 pounds or 11.8 kg. That's like the weight of 2 bowling balls for Saturday night's tournament. With that kind of weight you probably won't wipe it down and set back into the kitchen cabinets. But you won't want to because her appearance makes a great impression on your counter top.  You can also purchase a cover for her but who wants to cover up her good looking features.


Size
This unit measures 14” high  by 8-2/3” wide by 14” long or 41.4 cm x 27.9 cm x 41.4 cm.  It fits nicely under the upper unit of your kitchen counter top.

Power
This mixer is a powerhouse of 325 watts of raw horse power and ten speeds that make kneading large batches of dough, creaming butter or whipping cream a breeze. The speeds range from stir to high. It spins the beater clockwise as the shaft spins counter clockwise all the while moving the beater to 67 different points around the bowl.  This makes for a thorough mixing of the ingredients and eliminates the need to rotate the bowl.

Beaters
Like a well dress lady this machine is accessorized to add to its functionality. It comes with 3 standard beaters that will beat or virtually everything you will ever need.
    * It has a flat beater for mixing cake batters and cookie dough quickly and thoroughly to mixing meat loaf and every texture in between;
    * a wire beater that makes mountains out of egg whites and infuses air into the batter for fluffier whip cream cream and angel food cake for those  special occasions;
    * a dough hook for mixing and kneading batches of yeast dough for breads and donuts.  This sure beats doing it by hand.  But doing it that way was a good workout.

I've used some mixers where attaching a different beater was a challenge.  Not here.  The beaters easily snap into place without having to push or twist hard to get them to stay.


Other Kitchen Aid Stand Attachments
You can greatly expand the versatility of this mixer with a few additions.  Accessorise it with attachments like
    * An ice cream maker that makes up to 2 quarts of delicious home made ice cream
    * Or a food grinder
    * Or a can opener
    * Or a ravioli maker
    * Or a pasta roller for pasta and works well rolling fondant for cake decorating.

Here's what a few users said about the unit.  (There are over 1700 reviews for this mixer.)

"It is simple to lock in the mixing bowl and it is also a breeze to clean. The different attachments are very easy to attach and remove. It would be impossible not to love it! Did I mention how easy the clean up is? I love it so much I bought the KitchenAid quilted cover for it. Once you use this mixer you will never want to use anything else! The Best!!!"


"I have wanted a Kitchen Aid for years, and finally purchased one. I am thrilled at how well it performs - exceeded my expectations."


"Add your ingredients, turn it on and it does the rest!"


Here's what one user reported about the quality of customer service

"My mixer was working reasonably well until I accidentally flipped the speed too high while mixing dough. Even though it was for a split-second, it caused some gear or bearing to break, so that it didn't work properly any more. I called KitchenAid customer support to find out how much it would cost me to have it repaired--after all, it was used, and it broke probably due to my misuse, not because of a manufacturing defect. I didn't hide any of the details of my use of the mixer, or that it was old and was a gift. Instead, KitchenAid sent me a brand new replacement mixer (same color), and it arrived within a week. They are paying for the return shipping on the old unit. They took some time to explain proper usage of the unit when making bread dough (five to six minutes maximum mixing time), but I didn't feel they were trying to blame me, just educate me on proper use. I'm blown away by that kind of customer care--they clearly want to make their customers happy and prove that they make quality equipment. And they've earned my brand loyalty because of this."


Possible problem with the mixer
A few people reported that the beater did not go down the bottom of the bowl resulting in unmixed batter in the bottom.  That is easily remedied. There is a beater adjustment screw on the mixer.  The manual has detailed instructions how to make a simple adjustment that will raise or lower the beater to the right spot.  The perfect height for the beater to be raised above the bottom of the bowl is the thickness of a dime.  So here's what you do.  Simply place a dime in the bowl, adjust the beater height screw, turn on the beater. The beater should just touch the dime enough to move it about ¼ to ½  inch at each rotation of the bowl.  You don't want the beat touching the bowl which over time causes wear on the beater and on the bowl.

This Kitchenaid Artisan 5qt Stand Mixer will be a great addition to my kitchen.  Maybe my wife will get it for me as a gift.  If not, then maybe a candy apple red sports car.  We'll see.

KitchenAid® 5 Speed Blender w/ Polycarbonate Jar -- Onyx Black

"Cabbage: A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man's head."

I'm the one that does a good portion of the cooking at our house and I've been thinking about buying a blender for our kitchen.  I want one that won't break the bank and do what I want it to do. I thought I'd begin with Kitchen Aid because my son had purchased a red Kitchen Aid mixer and he is very happy with it.  He does most of the cooking at their house too.  Like father like son I guess. I spent some time researching and here's what I found about the KitchenAid® 5 Speed Blender with a Polycarbonate Jar - onyx black.

The things you will see:
The color.  If you like color this unit won't disappoint you with its choices. The base is available in  9 different colors – white, empire red, onyx black, tangerine, silver metallic, metallic chrome, gloss cinnamon, blue willow, pear.  I'm partial to the empire red just like the sports car I dream about.

The pitcher. A clear, lightweight polycarbonate jar instead of the heavy glass ones I've had in the past makes for easy handling and pouring.  It's shatterproof  and dishwasher safe.  You can make a lot of silky smoothies or puree boiling hot soup at one time with this thing.  A 56 oz (1.65litre) or 7 cup capacity will keep your family or party going. A wide pour spout directs your delicious creations into the cup or bowl in a smooth pour.  Because of the power of this unit you can add 2 to 3 cups (475 to 710 mL) of your favorite ingredients at a time versus 1 cup (235 mL) portions of most other units.

The lid. The flexible lid has a strong seal to prevent any kind of leakage as it blends. A 2 oz cap in the lid allows for measured filling while the unit is running.  However, it is best to stop the unit before adding hot ingredients or when the blender is full.

The separate ice button. I like buttons on my gadgets so the automatic crush ice button caught my attention. With power enough to smash ice into smithereens from chunky to snow cone fine it makes for a great family and party machine. 


The controls. The smooth, seamless control pad wipes clean in an instant. There are no cracks or crevices to trap ingredients. I love this feature over the push buttons of my previous blender.  It was a pain to clean.

Variable speeds. Like a sharp looking sports car this unit has 5 speed push buttons plus a pulse capacity for increased power at any of the 5 speeds. They are stir, chop, mix, puree, liquefy, crush ice and pulse.  The crush ice speed automatically pulses at staggered intervals to make sure you get the ice as fine as you want it. A slow start feature starts the motor of a slower speed to draw ingredients into the blade and reduce the contents from splashing out the top when it starts. 

The base. This blender is solid. The base is made of solid die cast metal sitting on 4 rubber feet to resist slipping and help reduce noise. It also stores the cord so it is out of the way and out of sight. The way I wish my kids would be sometimes. 

The blade. This blade cuts. It has four large tines each positioned at a different level which makes for fast blending.  


The coupler. This coupler is strong.  It has 12 stainless steel reinforced interlocking teeth that provide direct transfer of power from the motor to the blade.

The size. The unit measures  38.1 x 17.8 x 22.9 cm or 7-1/4 by 9 by 15-1/5 inches so it fits comfortable on the counter top under the top unit.
The weight. 6 kg or 9-8/9 lbs.

Warranty.  The blender comes with a one year warranty.  From the research I've done people who returned the unit stated they received replacements in a timely, no hassle way.

The things you don't see – the guts of this unit:

The motor. If you want power you got it here.  A .9 horsepower motor makes it powerful enough to   crush ice without wincing, easily puree soup mixtures, and quickly whip up shakes or smoothies for your next party. Unlike the sports car this thing starts off slowly to prevent splattering, then it picks up speed as the mixture thickens.

Speed Control. Like a smart car the special electronics in this unit tell the blender to increase power as its needed to maintain an even speed even when new ingredients are added to the mix.

Heat Control. Overheating can be a problem for some appliances but that's not a problem here. An advanced airflow design keeps the blender cool during continued use.

Things it does not have:
This unit does not have a timer control nor does it allow for food processor attachments. I think that would be a nice addition. It doesn't have cruise control either.

Here are some things reviewers said about this unit.
"The clean up on this blender is easy. There are no parts to take apart,  just fill 1/3 of the pitcher with water, add a drop of dish washing liquid, and set it to the "stir" speed, then rinse. Very easy."

"It is a year and about 300 smoothies later and we still have this blender."

"The pitcher is huge so no problem with overflowing liquids. It makes a mean margarita because the ice crushing function is great. There are 5 speeds for all your blending needs, and plenty of power. Clean up is easy because the chassis is very streamlined with no protruding buttons to catch food and sticky liquids. I HIGHLY recommend it!!"

A few comments I came across reported that the unit leaked.  They also stated that Kitchen Aid had been quick to send a replacement.

All in all this KitchenAid® 5 Speed Blender with a Polycarbonate Jar looks like a great addition to my kitchen.  Maybe my wife will get it for me as a gift!  We'll see.

Click Kitchen Aid 5 Quart Mixer for my review of the Kitchen Aid 5 Quart Mixer