Do you love your Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer?

[sage611]

I'm getting one for Christmas and I'm sooooo excited! I have wanted one for years, but because I have limited kitchen space, I never asked for one.
Do you have the attachments? Do you use it often? What's your favorite thing to make with it?
I just want to talk about it.

[Hammster]

I really do like mine. Especially the meat grinder attachment as I prefer to make my own sausages and grind my own beef.
It gets put to use nearly once a week or at worst once a month beating batters for cakes, muffins, or cookies or for making ground meats. I usually use an electric hand mixer for whipping egg whites or cream as I usually don't whip a lot of either of those at a time. I keep mine down in the cupboard as I don't have room to leave it on the counter full time.
I should add that mine is the Artisan model so it isn't real tall or heavy and so is easy to store in, and retrieve from, the cupboard.

[psims2000]

I DO love my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. It is a monster but it's great. I have the grater attachment which is good when doing large batches of shredded cheese or onions to carmelize. Have fun with it!

[mkc]

After 24 years I still love my empire red KSM90. It gets used at least once a week for pizza dough, and often for other things as well.

I have almost every attachment, since I got them as Christmas presents. Until last Christmas, when DH got me a Cabela's meat grinder, the meat grinder/sausage stuffer was the most-used attachment because I grind my own burger and sausage. We found that for the quantities I do, the KA attachment was not quite enough grinder, but then I'll do 12-15 pounds of pork butt for fresh kielbasa or twice that in ground brisket for burger at a time.

Now I would say it's the pasta roller, but I only use that a couple of times a year. Oh, and I love my smaller (3 qt) bowl because that's what I make my pizza dough in. The rest of the attachments haven't come out of the cabinet in years, and that was to pack them for our last move.

Michelle

[Beth]

I love mine. I use it mostly for cookies and cakes, but originally for bread doughs to help me knead since I have problems with my neck that can make it harder to work with my arms and hands. That has been great, but it took me years to discover how nice it is to mix meatloaf without getting my hands all messy and so COLD. As far as attachments, we use the pasta rollers and cutters more than the others.

[Natasha]

How exciting for you!

I think I got mine in winter 2005. We use it very often. My husband uses it for crepe batter a couple of times a week, and I use it to knead bread dough when I don't feel like doing it by hand. I also use it when I make cakes, and occasionally for other things.

When you get it, let us know all about it ... what colour, what you decide to name it, all those good things

[LakeMartinGal]

I use mine a LOT! I finally got one, after being married for 30+ years... Can't believe I've had it 10 years, and it's still doing great! I have a lot of attachments that I never use , but last year I bought the self-scraping beater, and use that all the time! The best "attachment" I have, though, is the cover with a pocket to keep the beaters in, and keep the KA covered!

[leebee]

I LOVE mine. I have a cobalt one & her name is Francoise. I have made 4 dozen cinnamon rolls this weekend with her. I also love to make cookie dough & quick breads with it. I made a LOT of homemade angel food cakes this summer. I do keep it out on the counter, mostly 'cause she's so darn pretty! Enjoy!

[sage611]

I'm getting the new cinnamon color, and I think I'll name her Julia . I have been driving my poor husband crazy, because he won't say one way or another if it's a definite...but I can tell by that glint in his eye.
Isn't there an ice cream maker attachment?
I want to make Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls and learn to make phenomenal pizza crust.

[Alleycat]

I love mine too! I use it primarily for cookies, cakes, frosting, and mashed potatoes. I have several attachments, but don't really use them. I think I'll make that a resolution for 2010

I wish I had room to have them in seasonal colors

[heavy hedonist]

i'm getting into mine slowly. i wasn't really ready for it when i got it, but i can tell you this-- i wouldn't make a pavlova without it!
what's so great too, is that every KA mixer has that universal plug-in for attachments-- i got a pasta maker for Christmas last. i look forward to making Dark Tuscan bread with it too-- too hard to do with hands without losing your wrists and arm strength for a few days!!

[mkc]

Originally Posted by sage611

I want to make Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls and learn to make phenomenal pizza crust.

The latter is easy if you enjoy a cooking journey. Join us other pizza fanatics over at the pizzamaking.com forum. Choose your style and learn from all the great folks who hang out there (like Pete-zaa, JerryMac, Flagpull, Loowaters, BTB, Essen1.....)

I have a 5-day Flagpull cool rise that had a 20 minute autolyze to start in my fridge.... Big fan of NY style here. And then there's the sauce. The cheese. The toppings. The journey grows ever more interesting and enlightening.

Michelle
(just a tad obsessed with pizza...)

[MaryMac]

I inherited my step-dad's when he passed away in 1986 and I think it was 10 years old then. I loved it! Three years ago it started to get really hot when I would use it, so I got a new one for my birthday that year, in red. I use it most for cookies, cakes, etc., but it's the best for making homemade marshmallows which have to whip for 15 minutes at a high speed.

[Leonard]

I have had my Kitchen Aid stand up mixer for 17 years and love it just as much as the day I got it. It was a Christmas present from my Husband. I use it on average 3 times a week and it has never failed me. You will love your gift. Happy Cooking!

[Gloria Bonde]

I love my Kitchen Aid - It is a Professional 6 - my step daughter gave it to me as a gift. I never put it away. I use it with the dough hook at least 3 times a week to make sourdough bread. I also have a smaller Cusinart Food Processor - I wish I had bought the bigger one. My husband calls these my "power tools"

[heavy hedonist]

Originally Posted by Gloria Bonde

I also have a smaller Cusinart Food Processor - I wish I had bought the bigger one. My husband calls these my "power tools"

I have an 11-cup-- it really changed my life, i admit it.

[Jazzmatazz49]

I love my Ka but would give my next free Clinque bonus to have my mom's. It has more character somehow. I don't use any attachments other than the beaters. Mine is an Accolade 400, which I think was a Williams-Sonoma model that I have not really seen anywhere else.

[GayeC]

Love it! Use it all the time! I only have the paddle and the dough hook - would like to have the grain mill attachement.

[vabelle35]

I love mine!

I got my first one, a little one, in 2001 and just upgraded to a bowl lift big daddy last spring when QVC had it as a TSV on 6 easy pays.

Get the biggest one you can afford because you will outgrow a small one very quickly.

I use mine every day. It sits on my counter. If I have to mix something be it eggs, pancake mix or whatever, I mix it in there. I have to wash a bowl anyway, so it might as well be that one.

[Chocolate Rose]

I've had my KA for almost 30 years (oh, man, I can't be THAT old)! I went through a period of time (several years) where I made all of our bread. I have the grain grinder attachment and ground our wheat and rye. The grain grinder is the attachment that got the most use. I also have the pasta attachment, but haven't used it in years. I need to dig it up and make some fresh pasta again. I also have the grater attachment, but once I got a food processor didn't really use that attachment again.
Yes, I do love my KA! I can't imagine cooking without one. We've been through a lot together.

[drewberry4]

I got mine as a high school graduation gift. I am a nerd. I couldn't even use it for a couple years, until I got an apartment! It's sky blue and is a tilt-head, which is starting to loosen a little because I work it to death making breads and cookie dough and marshmallows and such. Eventually I'd like one of the professional ones that is a little sturdier, but this one is just so pretty!

I've never used any of the attachments but I do recommend getting two mixing bowls because it's nice for make big batches of things without having to wash the bowl and re-use it.

[Gecko]

Snow White and I have been together for 15 years now . We have a lot of fun baking together and she never lets me down. She came with a dough hook, paddle beater, and whisk. The only new thing I have purchased is a beater blade. I have looked a various attachments for such things as ice cream and pasta, but I have yet to justify buying them. Have fun with your Christmas present.

[testkitchen45]

Originally Posted by Beth

I love mine.

And didn't you just get a new cobalt-blue one, to coordinate with your remodeled kitchen?

Originally Posted by Alleycat

I wish I had room to have them in seasonal colors

I have actually considered whether it'd be possible to have my 22-year-old white one, still going strong, repainted in bright red (maybe by an autobody shop?). I love my KA!! But oh, how I wish it were red . . .

Mine is the most powerful one that existed years ago; it's 5 quarts & a lift-bowl style. I never got into the habit of using my attachments, but I will break out my meat grinder with l/o T'giving turkey so that I can make turkey meatloaves. Tried the juicer; was very painful to push sideways instead of straight down as with a standard juicer, so I took that att'mt back. I have a hand-crank pasta maker so I never got the pasta att'mt; tried the white-plates pasta att'mt & hated it, but would love the metal-roller att'mt if I didn't already have a pasta crank. My opinion on the ice-cream att'mt is that it's really cool but not a good value, b/c for less money, you can get a Cuisinart ice-cream maker with TWO freezer bowls. Despite my sketchy history with KA attachments, I really like the huge variety of attachments to choose from, depending on what equipment you have already & how you like to cook. I think it's good to have all those choices available, & I suspect I'd have gotten into the habit of using them if I had received attachments when I got the mixer, instead of accumulating other kitchen appliances over the years & then getting the att'mts later. I love my KA for all sorts of things, though: typical mixing for cakes, muffins, etc; bread dough & kneading; whipping/whisking (homemade marshmallows are coming right up in a few weeks); & all that.

Never named my mixer, though. Maybe I should.

[SallyCC]

I really love using the Kitchen Aid mixer. We got it about 6 years ago and we named ours "Lucky". It's a white one but now that we have remodeled the kitchen I would love a copper one...I just can't go there yet! I think you are going to be surprised at what it can do and how quickly bread doughs come together. I tend to use it in spurts but with the holidays coming, I'm sure it will be up on the counter. I do need to get another bowl....that would make things so much easier. I have the dough hook, paddle and whisk and use them all. The KA manual and there is a cookbook that is a nice intro...but the information from the people on this board is even better. I hope you enjoy your new mixer!

[SandyM]

Originally Posted by testkitchen45

Never named my mixer, though. Maybe I should.

Here's an old thread that was pretty funny - at least, to us Kitchenaid lovers.

http://community.cookinglight.com/sh...ad.php?t=34341

[DeeK]

I do like my KA, but I wish I had kept my Sunbeam too instead of selling it at a garage sale.

KA does some things well. My Sunbeam did some things better (thinking mashing potatoes here).

[lizzieb75]

Yes!!! It was a wedding gift and my fave by far. The only extra I have is the ice cream freezer and its attachments.

[granolagirl]

I've had mine for 8 years and love it. It's a 4.5 quart model, black. I don't have any attachments because I figured that I wouldn't really use them. I love using it for bread, rolls, cakes, whipping cream, etc. Have fun!

[Beth]

Originally Posted by testkitchen45

And didn't you just get a new cobalt-blue one, to coordinate with your remodeled kitchen?

No. I thought I might get a cobalt one, but when it came down to it, I thought the cobalt was a little too much with the rest of the kitchen. I got nickel pearl. I also toyed with the idea of painting the white one.

[vabelle35]

Both of mine are white, too. I spent the entire day watching QVC looking at the rainbow of colors but couldn't commit. I was afraid I'd have the avocado green equivalent 30 years from now.

I forgot to mention attachments.

I have both types of pasta attachments, the stainless steel set with the rollers and the hard plastic for your tube pasta and spaghetti.

I love them both but being single I don't often make fresh pasta for myself. Last Christmas I was home and so I made fresh raviolis. When I was done, I realized why my mother always went to the Macaroni Store to buy the raviolis for the holidays. It is back breaking.