The Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer thread

[gladhands]

How often do you use yours? What attachments would you recommend?

Ours is used about 6 times a year, because we rarely bake. I'd really like to get the most of this device.

 

[foodguy]

i use mine a lot, sporadically. i'll occasionally use the meat grinder/sausage attachment, but most of it is the blade paddle. the only accessory i'd really buy for it is one of those after-market blade paddles with "windshield wipers" on the bottom to clean the sides. indispensible.

 

[Piobaire]

Now that I'm low carb, I bake much less. Used to use ours with the dough hook all the time. Best bagel dough ever. I use it every batch of sausage I make. Paddle attachment to do the "primary bind," i.e. after the grind(s) and before putting in the casing stuffer.

 

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Now that I'm low carb, I bake much less. Used to use ours with the dough hook all the time. Best bagel dough ever. I use it every batch of sausage I make. Paddle attachment to do the "primary bind," i.e. after the grind(s) and before putting in the casing stuffer.


I think I'd like to try my hand at sausage. *pause*

 

[kwilkinson]

Pasta attachment

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by gladhands

I think I'd like to try my hand at sausage. *pause*

You really should; it's quite pleasureable.

 

[foodguy]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

Pasta attachment

i bought one, got really excited and have used it exactly twice. there was a time when i was making fresh pasta 2-3 times a week. now it's that many times a year. i wonder why? it really is a great ingredient.

 

[Thomas]

I only use mine for bread and rolls. Pretty much anything else I handle manually. Mrs. T, however, will lug it out for a small batch of cookies.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by foodguy

i bought one, got really excited and have used it exactly twice. there was a time when i was making fresh pasta 2-3 times a week. now it's that many times a year. i wonder why? it really is a great ingredient.

Fresh homemade pasta and bread are the two things I miss indulging in at whim. The difference between fresh pasta and dried, particularly the lesser dried brands, is incredible.

 

[foodguy]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Fresh homemade pasta and bread are the two things I miss indulging in at whim. The difference between fresh pasta and dried, particularly the lesser dried brands, is incredible.

i do have to speak up in defense of dried, though. fresh pasta is amazing. good dried pasta is amazing. they're two different things. dried is not a "canned" version of fresh.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by foodguy

i bought one, got really excited and have used it exactly twice. there was a time when i was making fresh pasta 2-3 times a week. now it's that many times a year. i wonder why? it really is a great ingredient.
I love my pasta maker. I don't have one for the kitchen aid, just a hand-crank version, but I use it all the time. I've only heard good things about the kitchen aid attachment though, mostly from people I trust.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Fresh homemade pasta and bread are the two things I miss indulging in at whim. The difference between fresh pasta and dried, particularly the lesser dried brands, is incredible.
Word. Although they both have their places. There are some dishes I almost always make fresh pasta for and others that I prefer dried pasta for. It's not necessarily one is always better than the other.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by foodguy

i do have to speak up in defense of dried, though. fresh pasta is amazing. good dried pasta is amazing. they're two different things. dried is not a "canned" version of fresh.

True enough; they are almost two different beasts.

 

[gomestar]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

The difference between fresh pasta and dried, particularly the lesser dried brands, is incredible.

I always saw it as a matter of what is with the pasta rather than assuming fresh > dried. Oily sauces just makes fresh pasta turn to mush, same thing with a lot of the seafood pasta dishes we make. But with a bolognese, a basic tomato sauce, or stuffed, I much prefer fresh.


edit: y'all type fast. Or I type slow.

 

[foodguy]

it's really a texture thing. fresh pasta is silky; dried pasta is chewy. but i also think that a good dried pasta amplifies the sauce in a way that fresh pasta doesn't. on the other hand, for large shapes where you really get the mouthfeel (lasagne, pappardelle, fazzoletti, etc.) or for stuffed pastas, there's no substitute for fresh.

 

[gladhands]

Is the KA pasta attachment a pain ********** to clean?