Bite of the Best

What it is: A stand mixer that—with some of their attachments—also grinds meat, slices veggies, rolls pasta dough and makes ice cream How it comes: Various models Where it is: Housewares stores and at KitchenAid.com Who it's for: Anyone who cooks Suggested retail price: $239 to $545 Nutrition notes: NA Category: Kitchen Counter, Drawer & More

Bonnie: We each have some kitchen appliances that stay on the countertop at all times. Others get put away, often never to be seen again.

Did someone say bread machines?

My KitchenAid stand mixer has been on my counter ready for use since I got it. I use it often, as–with all its attachments–it’s versatile (some come with, others you need to buy separately).

Before getting my stand mixer—when I was young, single and living in Manhattan—I used a handheld electric one that I bought at a going-out-of-business sale at a store on 23rd Street. The mixer was cheap. Seriously cheap. The box had been opened and the store owner just wanted to get rid of it. I remember thinking it would be worth the couple of bucks if it held up for a few uses.

That mixer worked well for over 20 years. I gave it away (donating it, as it still worked well), only because I got my KitchenAid and a new fancy handheld. I use either to whip cream and egg whites.

By the way, I have so many tips on making Whipped Cream that I want to share. Here goes:

Place a metal bowl and your beaters in the freezer to chill for about 20 minutes so the heavy cream whips faster. Be sure the bowl is deep enough for the amount of cream used to double in volume. Start the beaters at low or medium to prevent splatters, then slowly increase the speed as the cream begins to thicken. Once it starts to thicken and holds soft peaks when you lift the beaters from the bowl, then begin to add sugar (superfine or confectioners’ preferred) and/or liqueur or vanilla.

Be careful not to overbeat, or you can turn your cream into butter! Not to worry; if that happens, gently whisk in some additional heavy cream one tablespoon at a time.

Back to my KitchenAid uses. I use the mixer to make cakes, frostings and bread dough; those are no-brainers. But I also use it when I’m making a paté, as I attach their meat grinder and process the cooked liver and caramelized onions through that.

When the boys were growing up, I placed them and their ingredients by the KitchenAid, and, with careful supervision, allowed them to operate it. With those fond memories of them as toddlers beginning to cook, I also have recollections of batter splattered on cabinets when they accidentally turned the mixer to high. That’s when I realized the most necessary accessory when cooking with kids: the splatter shield.

As I sat down to write this I remembered that I’ve already given you most all my favorites cakes/icings in the July 18, 2007 review of Eagle Mills All-Purpose Flour Made with Ultragrain®. Do go back and try one of them using your KitchenAid mixer.

So I’m turning the tables and asking you to share a favorite recipe with us that requires a mixer.

Bryan: There are few things that will survive us all: cockroaches, Twinkies and KitchenAid Mixers are among a select few. It’s true; these mixers will outlast your car and any other machine in your life. What can you say about a machine that is the standard? It’s useful, it’s reliable, it’s ergonomic, it’s even stylish nowadays … baking without one just isn’t the same experience. I’ll leave the usage details to Bonnie and simply say that if you need a mixer, get a KitchenAid (what else is there?).

Eric: I was, and still am, the baker of the family. During my youth I was trained in the “arts” of manual whisking, folding, beating, mixing and whipping. I loved it. I always thought that there was something so special about taking a bowl with one hand, a utensil with the other (whether it be spatula, whisk, wooden spoon, scraper), and using my own labor to create a base to bake from. Then, when I hit early adolescence, I was introduced to my first KitchenAid Stand Mixer. To explain how perfect of an appliance this is to a non-baker would be like trying to explain the importance of a fire to a caveman; the comparison is simple. We’re all living in the age now where time has become a precious commodity and where the simple pleasures of cooking and baking have been replaced by the microwave and pre-prepared brownies. As for the KitchenAid mixer, I think it’s an appliance meant for any kitchen, but I still prefer to mix my cookie dough batter by hand.