This Cuisinart food processor has changed my culinary life. (And doesn't it ever look sinister?)I love putting things in here and saying to my machine friend, "Okay, just do your thing now."
And by "thing," here's what I usually mean.
1. Cut butter into flour. I do enjoy the laborious process of doing these kinds of things by hand, but I really, really like watching things happen quickly. Watching the dough transform from oatmeal consistency to pea-size clumps, and later to roughly held-together large clumps is hugely satisfying.
2. Emulsify. Perfect consistency for salad dressings and sauces.
3. Puree. As much as I like my blender, there are many things I would never trust it to do. Like mutilating an entire lemon with a bunch of sugar for this Whole Lemon Tart.
Other things I could do, but don't really:
1. Salsas. I prefer chunkier varieties, which I wouldn't recommend undertaking with a food processor, but I bet a salsa verde recipe could inspire me.
2. Slice. Come to think of it, I have never used this feature. Probably because I don't like the fact that you are still left with a large hunk of onion (or whatever you're slicing) at the end because you couldn't push it through the blade. I think a mandolin slicer is a safer bet.
3. Grate. Because I never need THAT much cheese that I couldn't just grate it by hand. But I'm available for parties. I have attempted hash browns with sad results. They shredded perfectly, but cooked up horribly. But blame that on my recipe and lack of patience for letting them fry up in the pan to the proper crispness.
And by "thing," here's what I usually mean.
1. Cut butter into flour. I do enjoy the laborious process of doing these kinds of things by hand, but I really, really like watching things happen quickly. Watching the dough transform from oatmeal consistency to pea-size clumps, and later to roughly held-together large clumps is hugely satisfying.
2. Emulsify. Perfect consistency for salad dressings and sauces.
3. Puree. As much as I like my blender, there are many things I would never trust it to do. Like mutilating an entire lemon with a bunch of sugar for this Whole Lemon Tart.
Other things I could do, but don't really:
1. Salsas. I prefer chunkier varieties, which I wouldn't recommend undertaking with a food processor, but I bet a salsa verde recipe could inspire me.
2. Slice. Come to think of it, I have never used this feature. Probably because I don't like the fact that you are still left with a large hunk of onion (or whatever you're slicing) at the end because you couldn't push it through the blade. I think a mandolin slicer is a safer bet.
3. Grate. Because I never need THAT much cheese that I couldn't just grate it by hand. But I'm available for parties. I have attempted hash browns with sad results. They shredded perfectly, but cooked up horribly. But blame that on my recipe and lack of patience for letting them fry up in the pan to the proper crispness.
Would that Whole Lemon Tart recipe perhaps come from a little Parisian baking book? I used such a recipe for the New Years before last. :) I actually thought it would turn out a bit more tart than it did.
ReplyDeleteYay for the new blog! :)