Sunday, March 11, 2012
My favorite Cookbooks!
As you all know, I love to collect cookbooks! I have featured a few of my favorite selections and researched the cheapest price I could find on them!
I love my kitchen aid mixer. If don't have the mixer, you must save up. Amazon has it at a much better price than I paid for mine locally!
If I were to rank each attachment on usefulness, I would probably rate them in the following order: 1. RVSA - Slicer/Shredder 2. FGA - Food Grinder 3. FVSP - Fruit/Vegetable Strainer Buying this bundle means you get everything that comes with the attachments if you were to buy them separately. I will review each one... First is the (RVSA) Roto Slicer w/ Shredder. With this attachment, despite it's bulk of the attachment itself, you also get a metal shaft (for attaching your cones), 2 shredding cones and 2 slicing cones. The two different cones for slicing/shredding are basically used for how finely (or coarsely/thick) you want your food to be shredded or chopped. If you're working on a feast, the removal of the cones while the attachment is installed is a snap. All you do is twist the cone in the opposite direct that it turns (make sure the power is off of course) and it just comes off. I've not only sliced things like zucchinni, carrots, and cucumbers of varying thickness to test, but I've also shredded things various block cheeses. This thing is simply amazing! Based on other reviews, it has been mentioned that these cones are not stainless steel, rather but chromed steel. If the chrome ever comes off, then you will expose the steel. If you didn't know, regular steel WILL rust. So rather than taking a chance with my cones, I have been very careful and have throughly dried them after each wash. Proper care will go a long way. Other reviews say to use pliers to remove your cones (if they are hard to remove). DO NOT DO THIS. Despite making it easier, any metal on metal will scratch. Scratching your cones means you will remove the chrome. Removing the chrome means eventual rust and ruining your cones. Take proper care of your cones!! My second favorite is the (FGA) Food Grinder. With this attachment, you get the plastic stomper (for pushing the meat down into the grinder), a coarse grinding plate (for thicker grounded foods), a fine grinding plate (for thinner grounded foods). With a food grinder, you can grind meats, cheeses, breads (for breadcrumbs), and firm vegetables/fruits. I've always wanted to grind my own meats, as with grocery store ground beef, you never really know what type of cuts were used. So rather than waiting for ground beef to go on sale, I can just pick any cut that goes on sale and instantly turn it into ground meat. So I'm instantly saving money. Plus by grinding your own meat, you can choose the quality/cut and even add things directly to it like garlic gloves or seasonings and it will grind with the meat. I've already made several burger patties, which I then freeze for later use. Some good tips on how to grind well is to freeze your meat (if not already) for about 30 minutes to harden it a bit. The softer the meat, the more "mushy" the consistency will be. If the meat is slightly firm from freezing, it will grind much better. Also if you're grinding fatty meat, it's good practice to grind it twice just so you can make sure the fat is well ground and distributed throughout your batch. One caveat to the food grinder is that you need to try and avoid meats that have really big chunks of fat. I tried it on several occasions and they just don't grind that well. The fat gets tangled in the plate and then it backs up the actual grinding process itself. Last but not least is the (FVSP) Fruit Vegetable Strainer. DO NOT confuse this with the (FVSFGA) - Fruit & Vegetable Strainer & Grinder (MSRP $119.99, Amazon Price $99.99) KitchenAid FVSFGA Fruit/Vegetable Strainer and Food Grinder for Stand Mixers. They are essentially the same BUT the FVSP are the pieces that you attach to the FGA to strain your fruits & vegetables. If you do not have the FGA, then you cannot use the FVSP. You will need to buy the FVSFGA which is a combo pack of the grinder & strainer in one box. I think the KitchenAid model numbers have a terrible numbering/lettering scheme and this makes it so much more confusing... Personally I've only used this attachment once as a test to make applesauce. Apples were 79 cents a pound at my local grocer, so I thought why not test it out. Making the applesauce was a cinch. I was actually surprised at how quickly this thing ran through the 4 apples that I bought. Quarter the apples, slightly cook them, dump them into the strainer and the juice comes out one end and the remains come out in the back. It is somewhat messy, but it does the job. I heard you can make your own tomato sauce, which I haven't done yet... but I love Italian food and that will be my next project. Again... I think this attachment pack is an EXCELLENT value. It gives you everything you need to grind/chop/shred/strain, which gives you that much more of a dimension of use for your KitchenAid mixer. Highly recommended.
If I were to rank each attachment on usefulness, I would probably rate them in the following order: 1. RVSA - Slicer/Shredder 2. FGA - Food Grinder 3. FVSP - Fruit/Vegetable Strainer Buying this bundle means you get everything that comes with the attachments if you were to buy them separately. I will review each one... First is the (RVSA) Roto Slicer w/ Shredder. With this attachment, despite it's bulk of the attachment itself, you also get a metal shaft (for attaching your cones), 2 shredding cones and 2 slicing cones. The two different cones for slicing/shredding are basically used for how finely (or coarsely/thick) you want your food to be shredded or chopped. If you're working on a feast, the removal of the cones while the attachment is installed is a snap. All you do is twist the cone in the opposite direct that it turns (make sure the power is off of course) and it just comes off. I've not only sliced things like zucchinni, carrots, and cucumbers of varying thickness to test, but I've also shredded things various block cheeses. This thing is simply amazing! Based on other reviews, it has been mentioned that these cones are not stainless steel, rather but chromed steel. If the chrome ever comes off, then you will expose the steel. If you didn't know, regular steel WILL rust. So rather than taking a chance with my cones, I have been very careful and have throughly dried them after each wash. Proper care will go a long way. Other reviews say to use pliers to remove your cones (if they are hard to remove). DO NOT DO THIS. Despite making it easier, any metal on metal will scratch. Scratching your cones means you will remove the chrome. Removing the chrome means eventual rust and ruining your cones. Take proper care of your cones!! My second favorite is the (FGA) Food Grinder. With this attachment, you get the plastic stomper (for pushing the meat down into the grinder), a coarse grinding plate (for thicker grounded foods), a fine grinding plate (for thinner grounded foods). With a food grinder, you can grind meats, cheeses, breads (for breadcrumbs), and firm vegetables/fruits. I've always wanted to grind my own meats, as with grocery store ground beef, you never really know what type of cuts were used. So rather than waiting for ground beef to go on sale, I can just pick any cut that goes on sale and instantly turn it into ground meat. So I'm instantly saving money. Plus by grinding your own meat, you can choose the quality/cut and even add things directly to it like garlic gloves or seasonings and it will grind with the meat. I've already made several burger patties, which I then freeze for later use. Some good tips on how to grind well is to freeze your meat (if not already) for about 30 minutes to harden it a bit. The softer the meat, the more "mushy" the consistency will be. If the meat is slightly firm from freezing, it will grind much better. Also if you're grinding fatty meat, it's good practice to grind it twice just so you can make sure the fat is well ground and distributed throughout your batch. One caveat to the food grinder is that you need to try and avoid meats that have really big chunks of fat. I tried it on several occasions and they just don't grind that well. The fat gets tangled in the plate and then it backs up the actual grinding process itself. Last but not least is the (FVSP) Fruit Vegetable Strainer. DO NOT confuse this with the (FVSFGA) - Fruit & Vegetable Strainer & Grinder (MSRP $119.99, Amazon Price $99.99) KitchenAid FVSFGA Fruit/Vegetable Strainer and Food Grinder for Stand Mixers. They are essentially the same BUT the FVSP are the pieces that you attach to the FGA to strain your fruits & vegetables. If you do not have the FGA, then you cannot use the FVSP. You will need to buy the FVSFGA which is a combo pack of the grinder & strainer in one box. I think the KitchenAid model numbers have a terrible numbering/lettering scheme and this makes it so much more confusing... Personally I've only used this attachment once as a test to make applesauce. Apples were 79 cents a pound at my local grocer, so I thought why not test it out. Making the applesauce was a cinch. I was actually surprised at how quickly this thing ran through the 4 apples that I bought. Quarter the apples, slightly cook them, dump them into the strainer and the juice comes out one end and the remains come out in the back. It is somewhat messy, but it does the job. I heard you can make your own tomato sauce, which I haven't done yet... but I love Italian food and that will be my next project. Again... I think this attachment pack is an EXCELLENT value. It gives you everything you need to grind/chop/shred/strain, which gives you that much more of a dimension of use for your KitchenAid mixer. Highly recommended.
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