kathleen@ihuxw.UUCP (K. S. Romanowski) (11/04/83)
Thanks to everyone who responded to my request for information about food processors. I bought a DLC-7E Cuisinart and am now interested in finding out more about how to use it. The recipe booklet with the machine is interesting, but it would be more fun to experiment with if I had some other ideas. Any specific books recommended? How about classes for Cuisinart operation? How about food processor recipes for Thanksgiving and Christmas? Please post recipes to the net; send book recommendations or class info to me at ihuxw!kathleen. Thanks again to all of you who responded to my original request. Katie
hoekema@stolaf.UUCP (David Hoekema) (11/05/83)
After much agonizing, even soul-searching, my wife and I made the same decision about a year ago and bought a Cuisinart DLC-7E. A major reason for buying Cuisinart instead of a cheap imitation, and the larger model instead of a smaller one, was its ability to make substantial quantities of bread; but that has been the biggest dis- appointment as far as I am concerned. Every book has a different method (mix dry ingredients first, then the liquid; mix a starter first, then add flour) which is probably a clue that it's a little chancy. Neither my wife nor I have ever produced a loaf in the Cuisinart with as fine a texture or as high a rise as our old standby, whole wheat bread following the TASSAJARA BREAD BOOK instructions (with many variations). We still try it from time to time when we're in a hurry, but half the time we end up pulling the gooey mess out of the processor bowl and kneading it by hand anyway. I will be happy to receive suggestions from others who have had more luck. On the positive side, the Cuisinart makes mayonnaise and a variety of otherwise complicated sauces in no time, and between the chopping, slicing and shredding blades takes away 75% of the tedious work of preparing a number of kinds of dishes. In particular, it makes Chinese and Thai cooking much easier--garlic and ginger minced finely in 10 seconds, vegetables perfectly sliced (we bought a 6mm slicing disk) in 10 more--and opens up all sorts of possibilities for vegetarian dishes that would take all day with a knife and cutting board. (I expect on our next visit to Thailand to find a Cuisinart sitting next to the charcoal-burning stove in every village kitchen.) Rather than provide recipes I'll recommend the single best book we have found: Paul Szilard and Julianna J. Woo, THE ELECTRIC VEGETARIAN. Excellent recipes, helpful tips on efficient use of the machine, and plenty of things which wiil interest carnivores as well as herbivores. I haven't made anything like a thorough survey of the available books, but one that I find useful at times is Jane Salzfass Freiman, THE ART OF FOOD PROCESSOR COOKERY. It has a number of very elaborate dishes, and some of the snobbishness of all the Cuisinart books (if you can't think of how to use up all those truffles and expect the Ambassador to tea, they are right up your alley), but it also includes very specific and helpful suggestions on machine techniques. One quickly learns to adapt any recipe to the processor (brownie mixes, frozen peas, TV dinners--just throw it all in and turn it to grey mush). The biggest change is the shift in the amount of time spent inn various steps of preparation--it takes 15 minutes to peel the carrots you can slice or shred in half a minute, for example, and in general takes far longer to get food ready to slice or chop than to cut it up. (PS to Katie: I've posted this for general reading, but since this is my first try at posting anything I'd appreciate a note indicating that I did it correctly and it reached you.) --David Hoekema St. Olaf College, Northfield MN