Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

In short, I come down firmly on all sides of the issue.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

The willow is too close to the house.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / My Open Thread Is Better

My Open Thread Is Better

by | 166 Comments

This post is in: 

Since my delicious dinner was last night described as “someone’s scalp next to a pile of barf, with a sad green garnish on top,” I’ll be damned if I share what I am having tonight with you all. In fairness, if I were an independent judge, I would have probably given myself negative points for plating.

Still fighting an internal struggle as to whether I should get a Breville or KitchenAid mixer.

Reader Interactions

166Comments

  3. 3.

    AliceBlue

    KitchenAid. Mine is 22 years old and still going strong.

    My dad gave one to my mom for Christmas in 1948. It finally quit running in 1985. Besides, they come in so many purty colors!

  6. 6.

    harlana

    Dueling blog posts, eh? So you’re thread is better than Tim’s, where’s your pet pic, then, hmm?

  9. 9.

    trollhattan

    KitchenAid looks good on Formica.

    It’s a one-time buy and they have all sorts of kewhl accessories. A slam dunk, this decision.

    (Have a Breville pannini grill a.k.a. George Foreman and it’s nice and all, but no way approaches KA quality.)

    Also, too, beige food is the hardest to photograph. Jess sayin’.

  11. 11.

    A Mom Anon

    I vote for the Kitchen Aid too. I’ve had mine for 10 yrs and I love it. I have the meat grinder attachment so now I make all my ground beef out of single cuts of meat. There’s so many nifty attachments and stuff,it’s worth every penny.

    Mine is black,my son put flame stickers on the sides and a dragon skull sticker in the center front,lol.

  13. 13.

    hawestile

    KitchenAid all the way. In a thousand years when humanity’s been wiped off the face of the earth, all that will remain will be a bunch of roaches, Keith Richards, and a KitchenAid mixer Keith can use when he’s feeling gourmet.

    I personally recommend the slightly pricier Artisanal model.

  17. 17.

    LTL-FTC

    Love my KitchenAid. Plus I think it’s good to buy American goods when they are exceptionally well made, in a non-nativist, non-isolationist sort of a way.

  18. 18.

    David in NY

    @lamh34: Oh, come on. The only Bedazzled to see is the Peter Cook-Dudley Moore version. Not to mention Raquel Welch as Lust.

  20. 20.

    aimai

    Kitchen Aid, if you are talking about the Mixer? I have the big model. Its going on 15 years old and still going strong. I’d like to get myself a new candy red one, to gowith my kitchen, but I can’t see spending the money when my old white one is still doing so well.

    I haven’t loved other kitchen aids, though, like the blender or the food processor. Still cuisineart for that.

    aimai

  22. 22.

    The Worst Person In the World

    Dear, sweet John.

    When, oh when are you going to come out of the closet? It has got to be awfully dank in there, what with sharing room with Mr. Bachman and all…

    SP&T and I will still love you.

  23. 23.

    keestadoll

    John, I’m sorry your dinner pic got slammed so poetically considering that most of the “what I’m having for dinner” posts from fellow Juicers are so heartbreakingly poseur as to make The Iron Chef laugh. Tell the cooking elites to shove their crepe pans right up their bottoms.

  26. 26.

    jl

    I said it looked like a botched pizza.

    Too bad some big shot around here doesn’t appreciate compliments, ain’t it?

  27. 27.

    K488

    @David in NY: PC and DM, absolutely! “Hot toast, or Buttered Buns?” And KitchenAid – my mom’s is going strong, and is more than half a century old.

  28. 28.

    numbskull

    Having gone down the path with KitchenAids and several others, my vote is still KitchenAid. They’re not as good as they used to be, but they’re still better than the competition.

    The BEST solution is to find an old KA that’s seen little use.

  30. 30.

    General Stuck

    I know how our progressive masters hate anything like good news for democrats, but here is another poll, along the same lines as several others in recent days, showing some marked changes in the overall public perception of republicans.

    I am as cynical as anyone when it comes to hoping for, or expecting the white majority voters souring on the GOP for about any reason, at least for very long. But something is happening, that hasn’t happened in recent times, and it cannot be denied with so polls saying the same thing.

    To summarize, even larger numbers want rich people to be taxed, along with spending cuts. And HANDS OFF entitlement program bennies.

    And a curious finding as well was this

    48% of registered voters say President Obama is neither too liberal nor too conservative. 36% perceive the president as too liberal while 7% think he is too
    conservative    .

    Tells us what we already know. The blog world is lala land, but a lot of fun.

  33. 33.

    David in NY

    Had not seen last night’s dinner, due to adblocker. Green plate is the big mistake. Makes just about anything look weird.

  36. 36.

    Martin

    KitchenAid, but don’t get the tilt-head, get the Pro or better yet Commercial line. Much better motor, less breaky, more accessories.

    If you’re going to stick it under cabinets, measure the height above the countertop, usually they fit with no more than an inch of clearance unless you have 10′ ceilings.

  37. 37.

    gogol's wife

    I thought last night’s dinner looked fine. Not everything can be all styled to a faretheewell.

  39. 39.

    ThresherK

    My KitchenAid is only 15, and has survived the store it was purchased at (Lechmere).

    Plenty of attachments, but choose carefully. Do you really need an ice cream maker, or is it just an enabling device?

  42. 42.

    Redshift

    I made quiche again last week, and will be making another one tonight or tomorrow. It is yummy. Someday my “make more from scratch” project will build on this success and go on to making some other dish.

  43. 43.

    Comrade Scrutinizer

    KitchenAid is the best, and the best KitchenAid is the Commercial line (although I’ve owned/used ’em all since around 75, and have never, ever had a problem.

  44. 44.

    Martin

    Oh, and my KitchenAid Pro is 18 years old without a hitch. It’ll work brioche for half an hour straight and then handle whipped cream when turned up to 11. We grind meat, grate cheese – it gets used constantly.

  45. 45.

    Corner Stone

    @gogol’s wife:

    I thought last night’s dinner looked fine.

    I still haven’t recovered my appetite after viewing that hot mess. It’s been forcing me to imbibe all my caloric sustenance.

  49. 49.

    Julie

    Get a monster food processor and a good set of beaters. I think the giant KitchenAids just get in the way and take up a lot of counter space. I have a Cuisinart from 1980, and I love it, but they don’t make them like they used to.

  52. 52.

    David in NY

    @Julie:

    I have a Cuisinart from 1980, and I love it, but they don’t make them like they used to.

    Glad I can still get parts for my old one.

  53. 53.

    Martin

    @TaMara (BHF): Quiche is easy. Just like making a pie. Once you get a feel for how they set up and how the flavors go, it turns into something you can just scavenge from leftovers out of the refrigerator. Good use for bits of vegetables and whatnot not large enough in quantity to do much on their own.

    Use Julia’s savory pate brisee recipe and store the dough in the freezer. It’ll keep for a few weeks so you can make the dough twice a month and then just pull one out into the refrigerator the night before.

  54. 54.

    Svensker

    @TaMara (BHF):

    I have never made a quiche, is it difficult?

    Simple as pie :) Specially if you buy the pie crust.

    I made gazpacho meself the other day when it was hot and sticky out. Nothing more refreshing than cold gazpacho. Since the hubster’s restricting carbs I didn’t add any bread, but cut back on the water so the pureed veg did the trick of making it have a nice texture. Did make some fresh garlic croutons that were a fun bonus as a garnish.

    KitchenAid all the way.

  56. 56.

    Hunter Gathers

    @General Stuck: Ssshhhh. They’ll hear you.

    Why do you hate the Professional Left so much? You trying to put Digby, Steve M., Kos, Hanoi Jane, the idiots at AmericaBlog and the rest of the Emo-Prog Cutter Caucus out of a job? Why so much hate for small business people?

  57. 57.

    Redshift

    @TaMara (BHF): No, it’s really easy; that’s why I picked it to start getting into cooking (at least if you buy the crust; I’m not quite ready to make that yet.) I used the recipe from Joy of Cooking, and other than learning that scalding milk means “heat it just short of boiling,” it’s just chopping, mixing, and put it in the oven.

  58. 58.

    nancydarling

    @hawestile: Well, you need to add chiggers, ticks, and Mexican fan palms to the hardy survivor list.

    I’m all the way with KitchenAid. I got the ice cream freezer bowl attachment recently—homemade ice cream in 1/2 hour (freezing time). I’ve got a ton of frozen yogurt, sorbet, and ice cream recipes to try.

    I’m looking for the perfect peach ice cream recipe if any of you BJers have one.

  59. 59.

    J.W. Hamner

    Bah, mix it by hand you big baby! I honestly don’t get why anyone (except those of you making heavily enriched dough like croissants and brioche) would even want a mixer. Kneading is fun… and it’s not like nobody made bread or cookies before electricity.

  60. 60.

    lamh34

    @David in NY & @Redshift: Oh, I’ve seen that one too. I like it as well, but I don’t own it on DVD. So “updated” Bedazzled it is :)

    Oh and the producer gave a shot out to the original in one of the beach scenes Liz Hurley’s Devil interrupted a tender moment between Brendan and his love interest with 2 rottweiller named “Peter” and “Dudley”…an homage…;)

  61. 61.

    David in NY

    @TaMara (BHF):

    I have never made a quiche, is it difficult?

    Well, no. Harder if you’ve never made a pie or tart crust, though you can buy frozen: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/19/dining/it-s-ok-to-buy-a-crust-really.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm . Otherwise it’s basically a custard (eggs & milk/cream) with additions like cheese, onions, spinach, or what-have-you. If you add veggies, make sure any excess water in them is cooked out first and don’t overcook the quiche (when done it will look done except for the very center, which will jiggle just a touch, don’t go beyond and overcook).

  63. 63.

    Julie

    I forgot to mention that I like your food and dog pictures. Two of my most favorite things in life. How could you go wrong? I made croissants, chocolate and plain, last Saturday to Sunday, from scratch. They were picture perfect, delicious as well. Was glad I hadn’t lost my touch. Anyhoo, I love the pictures. Don’t let the haters get you down.

  64. 64.

    ThresherK

    @TaMara (BHF): Guilty, nothing.

    For me, Brendan Frasier has that certain something that really clicks in a movie like that (and my wife didn’t mind watching him galavant around in it either.)

    The feel of the original animated source was preserved. If that absurdist silliness were so easy, everybody could do it (compare the CGI/live action “Rocky and Bullwinkle”.

  65. 65.

    WaterGirl

    @Corner Stone: I’ll see your $4600 14 SEER rating and raise you with my $5,100 16 SEER rating (after rebates i got because it was 16 SEER). This was in june – AC went out on the first of multiple 97 degree days.

    And no, I have no idea how many tons mine is, which is probably what matters. Full disclosure: I don’t have a large house so it is certainly way smaller than 4 tons. But still, lots of folks win arguments all the time, just using the facts that are convenient, so I thought I’d try it. :-)

  68. 68.

    Joe

    OK – My recommendation is not to get either but to check out Vitamix. It’s what the pros use and does what ordinary blenders can’t. It’s made in the good old USA (Cleveland!) and comes in a variety of models. If you don’t get a Vitamix, get a Breville.

  69. 69.

    Corner Stone

    @dan:

    How about, oh, I don’t know, a GIRLFRIEND?

    Why? I’ve enjoyed cooking more than any woman I’ve had a relationship with.
    Not saying that’s indicative. Just sayin’.

  72. 72.

    Jane2

    Any elitist who posted that hot mess after using the word “chiffonade” on Twitter deserves all the grief he gets.

    And KitchenAid all the way.

  73. 73.

    David in NY

    @Redshift: Pie crust is really pretty easy, though do one first for yourself, not company, just to feel confident. I use one of those old fashioned pastry cutters (wires curved from end to end of a short wooden handle), which I think makes it easy. Try it with Crisco first — butter is trickier. Actually half butter, half Crisco is not hard. It’s fun if you’re not in a hurry.

  74. 74.

    WaterGirl

    @David in NY: I think your ad blocker is doing it wrong if you can’t see photos that are posted on the blog. I have safari ad blocker (sorry john, just couldn’t take the jumping alligator or whatever the hell it was) and I can see all the photos.

  75. 75.

    RossInDetroit

    I hate to go contrarian but mechanization inhibits learning. Doing things by hand is the easiest way to develop skills. Do your mixing by hand – a lot of it – until you get the feel. Then when you know what’s going on with the ingredients let a machine take over. If you never get familiar with the process you won’t know what the mixer is doing right or wrong. Sounds esoteric but this is how culinary arts schools teach, and it works.

  76. 76.

    kindness

    KitchenAid. Major good shit there.

    C’mon John, you know you really need the 6 quart 575 watt monster too.

  77. 77.

    Josie

    @Corner Stone: Save your paperwork. I paid a similar amount for a new unit last year and got a $1000.00 tax credit because it was an energy saver. You might check to see if that credit is still available for next tax season.

  78. 78.

    Paula

    Ah dinners…well I can completely understand. I cook Monday thru Thursday, and sometimes on the weekend. Every so often I make a dinner that I have made a hundred times and it turns out not so good. Last night was that night.

    Frankly, I don’t remember cooking, I mean from preparing the salad, to searing my chicken, deglazing and making a sauce, I don’t recall much. Oh, I do remember the avocados (delicious), and noticing that my knife needed to be sharpened, which I remedied today. But perhaps the most humiliating thing of all was ruining the rice! THE RICE!! Evidently, my proportions were off. My son came in and made the rice.

    So as a good daughter of a Savannahian, I set the table knowing that I was about to serve some crappy, but eatable, food. Not a proud moment as this is my biggest contribution to my husband and son, well that they recognize. Now, I know that as many husbands know, that my husband was going to eat it and find something to compliment me on (he is wise). He asked if I bought new olive oil (he uses oil and vinegar on his salad). Bless his heart! I looked at him and said thank you with my eyes.

    My son (20), however, knows as all sons do, that he has more wiggle room on this. He asked if I was about to start my period. Of course my husband stopped chewing and looked at me.
    ******
    I recommend the Kitchen Aid and I got a link from America’s Test Kitchen – they have never steered me wrong!

    http://www.americastestkitchen.com/equipment-reviews/detail.php?docid=27094

  79. 79.

    David in NY

    @WaterGirl: It was odd, and other people had the same problem, but just with the one picture. Everything else, even the doggy picture in the same post, was no problem. Somebody else figured out that Mozilla’s adblocker wouldn’t let it through.

  80. 80.

    Allen

    I don’t remember my Mom having a mixer other than a KitchenAid. Just one. And I’m 60. But my Dad had a Hobart bench mixer, what a monster.

  82. 82.

    Redshift

    @lamh34: Yeah, I liked the Mummy movies a lot (except the last one, which was just okay.) I’d really like to see a movie of the WWII adventures of those characters, which they hint at in the third one, and which sound a lot more interesting than the story they actually did.

  83. 83.

    Corner Stone

    @Keith G: No, you only think I’m a serial drinker.
    The facts are that I’m just not a nice person. Thankfully for you, you haven’t met my twin brother. That dude’s a real asshole. And he doesn’t play nicely with others like I do.

  85. 85.

    RandyH

    John-

    From what you write lately, you sound a bit too fat to get through a doorway (fatter than Tunch.) Go for the Lean Cuisine and pass on the mixer. I know you think you love to cook. Maybe you need a girlfriend (or boyfriend – that’s definitely okay if you’re gay John) and not a fantastic 5000 calorie meal. Get the treadmill out from the basement, start using it and stop cooking so much. Eat light. You won’t regret it.

  87. 87.

    Keith G

    @Corner Stone: Nothing wrong with a nip from Earth’s bounty – a notion shared by my all-Irish granddad. In fact, I am debating choices for my next “sipping” bottle.

  88. 88.

    abo gato

    Kitchen Aid all the way! I love my machine and have tons of the attachments. The meat grinder means I never buy pre-ground beef; got the sausage stuffer and my husband makes Italian sausages. I have both the flat pasta rollers and cutters as well as their pasta extruder. All the pasta is easy to make and is SO good. It is a workhorse and I use it for kneading pizza and bread dough, for whipping egg whites or cream. You just cannot go wrong with these things.

  89. 89.

    JCT

    I’ll join the chorus for Kitchen Aid — go Pro or Commercial.

    And Martin is dead-on re: Julia’s savory pate brisee recipe. One of my favorites. Julia is the way to go for learning pastry. She can make you look like a pastry stud.

  91. 91.

    RandyH

    But if you absolutely have to get a mixer, Kitchen Aid is proven to be the best around. Go for the professional model where the bowl lifts up/down by turning the handle thing on the side. Not the cheapo one where the mixer head lifts off of the bowl. And the larger (6 QT?) model is better than the smaller one, though the accessories are a bit different. And the meat grinder attachment is AWESOME.

  93. 93.

    Cat Lady

    So, maybe my comment was a bit harsh, but hey, was I wrong? I really shouldn’t talk – last week I had a bowl of corn flakes and a glass of white wine and it wasn’t that bad. My inner food slut has been getting a workout since I’ve been mostly living alone. I’ve had Kraft dinner two nights in a row, and I’ve even got a KitchenAid. It only gets a work out at Christmas, but it’s beautiful to look at.

  95. 95.

    Uncle Clarence Thomas

    .
    .
    @Corner Stone:

    I’ve enjoyed cooking more than any woman I’ve had a relationship with.

    Wha? How you make nachos with a 4 ton 14 SEER Amana?
    .
    .

  96. 96.

    khead

    Breville or KitchenAid mixer

    Both. Too many people have already pimped the Kitchen Aid Mixer. I will simply add that – when operated by Mrs. Khead – it makes great chocolate chip cookies.

    As for the Breville, I swear I never had any interest in a Breville machine until my bro-in-law hooked us up out of the blue last Christmas. Now that Sam’s sells Nantucket Blend, Donut House, and Caribou… you can have that machine when you pry it from my cold, dead, coffee-less, fingers….

  97. 97.

    Dee Loralei

    Kitchen Aid all the way. And John, they have a pasta attachment for another $150. It will roll your dough and cut it. So you could actually have fresh pasta without an extra pair of hands helping.

  98. 98.

    Maude

    I have a Sunbeam that I got at a yard sale. It is silver and it has worked for years. I think I paid $5.
    I also have a hand mixer, whisks and wooden spoons. No blender or food processor.

  99. 99.

    David in NY

    @Martin: @JCT: I’ve made Julia’s, but I wouldn’t tell a beginner to cut the butter into the flour with fingers, as she does. That way lies potential problems. (Years ago, I had a beginner’s crust that had the exact texture of linoleum tile.)

  101. 101.

    Dee Loralei

    @abo gato: Kitchen Aid has a pasta extruder? Oh my, I’ve been lusting for an electric pasta maker with extruder dies and found one on Amazon but had never heard of the brand. I looked at kitchen aid, but all they had was the flat cutter and I don’t like flat pasta as well.

    Yes John, get the Pro Kitchen Aid or the commercial one, not the ones they make for housewives who just want a pretty gadget.

  103. 103.

    Uncle Clarence Thomas

    .
    .
    @offal:

    “4 ton 14 SEER Amana?” What the fuck does that even mean?

    Please learn to use your browser’s Find on Page command, pipsqueak. Comment 12.
    .
    .

  105. 105.

    David in NY

    @TaMara (BHF): And if you are interested in making your own crust, there’s a great section in Jeffrey Steingarten’s (Vogue food guy), “The Man Who Ate Everything,” on making it. He worked with Marion Cunningham (the most recent Fannie Farmer) and tested out a lot of things. His basic conclusion — use more fat.

  106. 106.

    Cap'n Magic

    Mixer: Kitchen Aid all the way.

    Breville for everything else (seriously looking at their Toaster Oven, especially since it can handle a 12″ frozen pizza and I have a 20% off coupon from Bed Bath and Beyond!)

  107. 107.

    David in NY

    Oh, and if anybody’s paying the least attention, I just got some leaf lard from the local pig farmer and made my first crust out of it (smelled just like grandma’s kitchen). Was pretty good, but I’m not sure if it was markedly more flaky than crusts with vegetable shortening. Pretty good blackberry pie, however.

  108. 108.

    RosiesDad

    @dan:

    Hmmm, a Breville or KitchenAid mixer. How about, oh, I don’t know, a GIRLFRIEND?

    Just what I was thinking. Nothing better to do than debate stand mixers = needs to get a life.

    BTW, my Kitchen Aid is over 20 years old and still going strong. Love the meat grinder/sausage maker attachment. (Ground my own beef for years; no E.coli for my gang!)

  109. 109.

    JCT

    @David in NY:

    but I wouldn’t tell a beginner to cut the butter into the flour with fingers, as she does.

    Good point — the less touching the better. I thought I had my oldest properly trained in pastry-making, until she came home from a stint in Morocco where the more you massage the cous cous the better! Talk about a tough habit to break.

  111. 111.

    RandyH

    @Cap’n Magic:

    Cuisinart makes a lovely Toaster/Convection oven thing that can handle large stuff like the 12″ frozen pizza. Nice Stainless Steel, looks good. Saw it at Costco. really nice. Consider it.

  112. 112.

    Cain

    @Redshift:

    @lamh34: I love Brendan Fraser, too, but I still won’t sully my memory of the glory that is the original Bedazzled by watching the remake.

    Last night I saw the mess that was “Clash of the Titans”. Talking about L.A.M.E.

  113. 113.

    The Spy Who Loved Me

    Definitely Kitchen Aid for the mixer. Its a beast. And an 80’s Cuisinart for a food processo, if you can find one. I got both as wedding presents in 1986, and they are both still going strong 25 years later.

  114. 114.

    Roger Moore

    @J.W. Hamner:

    I honestly don’t get why anyone (except those of you making heavily enriched dough like croissants and brioche) would even want a mixer.

    They’re very helpful when mixing very wet dough. You can get away with just using a spoon if you want it to have a coarse texture, but it requires a lot of kneading if you want it to have a finer texture. That’s almost impossible with a really wet dough, though, because it sticks to your hands and the kneading surface.

  115. 115.

    YellowDog

    It depends on what you’re going to do with the mixer. I have a KitchenAid mixer and it works best at slow speeds. Bread dough is easy to mix (I prefer to do the kneading by hand). At higher speeds, the mixer has a tendency to go on walkabout, but it’s not a serious problem. if I had to replace mine, I would go with another KitchenAid because of my investment in the attachments. Otherwise, I might go with the Breville. That doesn’t help you choose, but it may help ease any buyer’s remorse after you finally make a choice.

  117. 117.

    trollhattan

    @The Spy Who Loved Me:

    Cuisinart is one case where the original French edition is way, way better than the Chinese-made disposamatics of today. Ours (inherited from mom) died an untimely death when the center bit that held the blades split apart. A shame to ditch it but nobody would repair the thing. The motor was a monster, while today’s are light as a feather and just as long lived.

  118. 118.

    WaterGirl

    @RandyH: Have you even looked at some of the meals cole has talked about? Fish, tomato and cucumber salad, etc.

    Edit: Oh, and “I know you think you like to cook” – how condescending is that!

  119. 119.

    stephen benson

    my kitchenaid is over 20 years old. last year the transmission housing went out. it cost $25 dollars to replace it. i did the work myself.

    works fine now.

    i loves me some kitchenaid.

  120. 120.

    Uncle Clarence Thomas

    .
    .
    @offal:

    I guess that means you and Corner Stone are the same pudgy bald guy in Louisiana, the latter of which tried to hit on me. Repeatedly.

    Yes, of course my dear, that follows like 3 follows -4 when counting to purple.

    But I don’t think that demonstrating your ignorance in public view is going to attract any men as you imagine it will. Besides ABL, it goes without saying.
    .
    .

  121. 121.

    WaterGirl

    @opal: Apparently you haven’t joined the ranks of the rest of us who have had to replace air conditioning systems this summer. You don’t want to know.

  122. 122.

    Cain

    @khead:

    $125 million for the 2010 version of “Release the Kracken!”

    No shit.. they changed the story, but the acting was bad. Wooden acting! I really just didn’t give a shit about any of the characters. The whole Man Vs God thing didn’t strike a chord with me at all. Hades and Zeus going at it.. yeah whatever..

  123. 123.

    Cap'n Magic

    @RandyH: Yeah, I remember seeing that there in one of my last visits there. Might not fit where I want to put it, though. Also have to check the model number to see if its one of the CR’s recommended models.

  124. 124.

    Steeplejack

    @Cole:

    KitchenAid. The America’s Test Kitchen crew can be tediously obsessive–someone once described them as “a cottage industry run amok”–but I’ve never gone wrong on one of their recommendations. And KitchenAid it is, according to them.

  125. 125.

    Elie

    I have been lusting for Kitchen Aid mixer for a while. On my wish list for better times… till then, there is my hand mixer or my grandma’s elbow grease and a whisk or wooden spoon… Lord, I remember her creaming butter and sugar by hand for her pound cakes… it wasnt Sunday without her butter pound cakes or apple cobbler…

    Grandma Emma took the secret of her fried chicken to the grave with her. Both my Mom and I thought we had it, but neither of us could do it like she did…Those sunday dinners with her fried chicken and various home baked desserts are what I think of emotionally as HOME…

  126. 126.

    shortstop

    I don’t feel like cooking. Someone bring me something nice to eat. No meat. Everything else is double-plus good. Thanking you in advance.

  127. 127.

    Steeplejack

    @Redshift:

    The Brendan Fraser Bedazzled is actually very funny. Just try to think of it as a completely different movie, not a remake.

  128. 128.

    J.W. Hamner

    @Roger Moore:

    No, you just keep your hands wet and wet doughs won’t stick (much). There is literally nothing that you can make in a stand mixer that can’t be done by hand… they didn’t invent ciabatta in 1950… though like I said, it’s easier not to have to worry about the warmth of your hands break the butter out of an enriched dough.

  132. 132.

    Elie

    @J.W. Hamner:

    but you know, there is more of the artisan in that…

    when I learned to cook from my Mother and Grandma, I was taught to judge ingredients and the process by observing, smelling, feeling things. A cake was “done” when it pulled from the sides and had a couple of bubbles in the golden top. “Good” cakes smelled a certain way. Biscuit dough needed to “feel” a certain way… you mixed things until they felt thicker or lighter or whatever. You turned fried chicken by how it looked and smelled…

    The techniques that we are losing touch with make the difference between delicious and outstanding and reflect our separation from the details and quality of our food — to my mind anyway…

  133. 133.

    susan

    Chocolate-Mayonnaise Cupcakes with Caramel-Butterscotch Buttercream Frosting (with 2T of bourbon) is tomorrow’s dessert.

    My KitchenAid will be doing all the work.

    Love that machine!

  134. 134.

    J.W. Hamner

    Regardless of my anti-stand mixer evangelism, since Cole won’t play…

    Here is what we’re having for dinner: tomato sandwiches. However, before anybody gets all angry after clicking and seeing tomato sandwich sacrilege, it is not the traditional southern “white bread and mayo” kind of tomato sandwich… but a Mediterranean riff by David Tanis.

  137. 137.

    taylormattd

    someone’s scalp next to a pile of barf, with a sad green garnish on top

    That is pure win, and I love whoever wrote it.

  138. 138.

    Elie

    @J.W. Hamner:

    Have Mercy! This rocks….

    Would consider adding a little mozarrella du buffalo — but this is superfine as is…The anchovies I would think, are key… thanks so much for sharing… gotta try this like tomorrow!

  142. 142.

    J.W. Hamner

    @Elie:

    Absolutely. I’m merely a novice bread baker… so I don’t want to be putting on airs here.. but I’ve found real value in knowing what gluten formation feels like, as opposed to setting the timer for 8-10 minutes and letting the KitchenAid do its work. Though truth be told, no-knead breads have shown that you don’t even really have to worry about gluten formation at all if the rise time is sufficient… but I mainly just think its fun to knead bread, and doing things by hand is one of the main joys I get out of cooking… so I can’t even really imagine wanting to just push a button and get kneaded bread. Obviously opinions differ here, and I don’t make desserts (though my girlfriend does and is also anti-stand mixer).

  143. 143.

    Steeplejack

    @trollhattan:

    Yes, there’s something for everyone in that movie. The supporting actors are good too, and I had forgotten that it is directed by Harold Ramis.

    Again, avoid the urge to compare it with the sacred original.

  144. 144.

    RandyH

    @J.W. Hamner:

    Hand-kneading is cool if you’re making a flat bread dough or something. But try making a brioche with all that butter thrown in – by hand. Forget about it. A mixer is required.

  145. 145.

    ThresherK

    @Elie: Losing touch, today?

    Growing up, the three of joked that a good cake from my mom’s hands was one that didn’t need leveling out with frosting.

    Looking back, I’m surprised I waited til college to learn me some cooking.

  146. 146.

    Corner Stone

    @opal:

    I guess that means you and Corner Stone are the same pudgy bald guy in Louisiana, the latter of which tried to hit on me.

    I’ve seen guys in LA drunk enough to fall down puking in the streets, and/or whip their unit out and start whizzing against a mounted policeman’s ride.
    But I doubt I’ve ever seen one drunk enough to have considered hitting on you, you withered old goat sack.

  148. 148.

    Roger Moore

    @J.W. Hamner:
    Keeping my hands wet may keep the dough from sticking to my hands, but it won’t keep it from sticking to the board I’m kneading it on. I’ve worked enough with very wet doughs by hand to know they’re a pain to work with, which is why traditional recipes like ciabatta tend to use minimal kneading. Mixers make it practical to knead a wet, sticky dough as much as you’d knead a very dry one like bagel dough.

    And, of course, stand mixers can be used for a lot of things besides bread. I know it’s possible to whip egg whites or whipping cream by hand, but I’d really rather not. And, as plenty of people have mentioned in the course of this thread, a good mixer like the Kitchen Aid models can be used for a lot more than just mixing. The main thing that’s kept me from buying the ice cream maker accessory for mine is the worry about what it would do to my BMI.

  151. 151.

    Roger Moore

    @J.W. Hamner:

    Absolutely. I’m merely a novice bread baker… so I don’t want to be putting on airs here.. but I’ve found real value in knowing what gluten formation feels like, as opposed to setting the timer for 8-10 minutes and letting the KitchenAid do its work.

    Maybe that’s the difference. I’ve been making bread since I was in elementary school, so I know perfectly well what gluten formation is like and when a batch of dough is sufficiently kneaded. Sometimes I enjoy the process of bread making and do things by hand. Other times I just want to make some bread so I’ll have something to have for breakfast, and it’s very convenient to be able to turn the grunt work over to a mixer.

  152. 152.

    quannlace

    Well, then. I’ll share my dinner menu. A nice poached egg on a bed of arugula. The arugula has been fantastic this year. Usually, once it starts putting out it’s first leaves, it’s already trying to go to seed. I spend more time cutting off the flower stalks. But not this summer. Everyday I’m cutting an abundance.
    Oh, and on the side, yellow zucchini stuffed with mozzerella and basil, grilled under the broiler. Hafta grow this variety again. It’s almost sweet.

  153. 153.

    Corner Stone

    @opal: That was all the way back in June. You’ve really gone down fucking hill since then.
    I’m sorry if you’re still obviously hung up on me. It never meant anything to me.

  154. 154.

    moonbat

    @J.W. Hamner: I very much favor kneading yeast breads by hand because it really is the only way to tell if the gluten is built up and “knit” properly. And kneading is so satisfying/relaxing in a weird kind of way. That said, I also own a KitchenAid stand mixer and I use it regularly for all the mixing jobs with less soulful appeal, like creaming butter and sugar and mixing cookie doughs which can be really stiff and not at all rewarding to attack with a wooden spoon.

  155. 155.

    andy

    Since I am at work, dinner will be pea soup re-heated in the microwave and a slice of my home made bread. And hate.

    Get the Kitchenaid- but be sure and get the one where the bowl goes up and down- NOT the model with the tilting head. That pivot point is a major structural failure point on an otherwise bulletproof machine.

  156. 156.

    Julie

    @trollhattan:

    The center thing is called a spindle, and if you call the company you may be able to order a new one. They are very easy to install. If your machine is too old, as mine from 1981 is, they may not carry the part, but I have compared the newer spindles with the older spindle, and they look identical to me. If mine ever goes bad, I am going to order a new spindle using my sister’s Cuisinart numbers and try it. I have nothing to lose. I wouldn’t buy a Cuisinart that was made after 1985, when I believe, the Conair company took over Cuisinart.

  158. 158.

    waratah

    John the scraper mixer attachment on the Breville looks neat.
    Seems like that would help not having to stop and scrape. The bowl also looks like it is flat on the bottom which I like as my small KitchenAid has a groove on the bottom that stuff does not seem to get mixed and I have to stop and scrape up to mix. The mixer sits on my counter top ready to go, and I do not think the professional KitchenAid will fit. I have been trying to decide which one to get too. I do like the idea of the meat grinder attachment as my husband likes all his meat rare.

  159. 159.

    The Other Chuck

    Even the “cheapo” kitchenaid with the swing-up head is built like a damn tank, weighs nearly that much, and just blows the doors off everything else around. If you’ve got the scratch for the pro or commercial models, go for it, but they don’t make a bad model of those things.

    Then again a lot of people are going on about the meat grinder (which I don’t use, not being a big fan of cleaning those things) and that might be the one accessory that my lowly plebian non-pro model might not have the oomph to deal with. If you’re powering a pasta roller, you don’t need a hojillion foot pounds of torque.

  161. 161.

    beergoggles

    I would highly recommend the Electrolux DLX Mixer (http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/magic_mill_dlx_mixer.aspx) instead of either of the ones ur thinking of. My parents had theirs for decades and so far we’ve had ours for one decade with many breads and cookies mixed from it.

    It’s got an open top so u can add stuff to it easy without the messes other mixers have and it will knead dough with no issues while the kitchen aid is spewing smoke from overwork.

  162. 162.

    FlyingToaster

    KitchenAid Pro.

    We have a ~6 year old bowl-lift stand mixer with the attachments we need (meat grinder and ice-cream bowl, I have a 3-year-old daughter). It’s stood up to HerrDoktor who breaks everything except my 30-year-old appliances [HamiltonBeach 14-speed blender and Sunbeam handmixer) and his 30-year-old Cuisinart.

    Do check the cabinet heights; we have a newish house and everything fits, but it wouldn’t have in several of my old apartments.

  163. 163.

    Anne Laurie

    @lamh34:

    Watching Bedazzled! I love Brendan Fraser.

    Now that nobody’s looking, I’ll admit I prefer Brendan’s BEDAZZLED to what I remember of the original… which was just mean, and soul-stunted. Fraser’s been in some truly barftastic movies, but when he’s given the chance, he proves GODS & MONSTERS wasn’t all good direction and a strong star (not that those things aren’t helpful).

  164. 164.

    David in NY

    Got home late. Nobody here, but three fresh garden tomatoes, summer squash, peppers (hot and sweet). Made fresh tomato sauce for pasta (chopped tom’s with onion, basil, olive oil, a little vinegar, salt and pepper), and a sautee of the squash and peppers with a little fresh oregano and cumin. Great. And my lovely wife arrived to share it, a bottle of wine, and a review of the ups and downs of the last 30 years. Altogether a successful dinner and evening.

  165. 165.

    guachi

    Kitchen Aid. Comes in colors. Lots of attachements to buy (waste money on)

    However, I’m sure the Breville is great. Bought my wife a Breville toaster oven to fulfill a lifelong dream of hers, and it’s a great piece of workmanship. She loves it.

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