If you’re like most people, you spend plenty of time in your kitchen making meals for you and your family. And in most of my friend’s kitchens, including my own, there is a counter TV or access to a television in the attached family room. Yes, they are great for watching ballgames or keeping up with your favorite soap while whipping up a batch of tomato sauce, but there are also a number of other benefits to having a large flat screen television right in your very own kitchen.

Kitchens come in different sizes and shapes, and there’s never enough counter space for all of the things you need to have on hand. You’ve got pots and pans, recipe cards, canisters, and of course, some crazy and colorful cookies jar taking up entirely too much space.

At the same time, many kitchens also have too much wall space to decorate easily. It’s hard enough to come up with ways to liven up your living spaces, but a theme for your kitchen can become overdone in a hurry. You could find another picture of a rooster or a cartoon chef to paint on the wall, but now there’s a better option.

Instead of more would-be art, why not add some entertainment to the space with a flat screen television? They come in so many sizes that your only limit is the amount of space you have on your wall.

Technology in the Kitchen

A flat screen TV on your wall may seem like an indulgence, but really, it has so many uses. You can cook along with television chefs as you create meals and desserts in your own kitchen. Add a DVR or DVD player, and you can record, pause, and re-watch as many times as you need to master all of their tricks.

Not only that, but with a large screen you’ll be able to see their moves and recreate their tips so much more easily than with a bulky counter top television. You can bring Bobbly Flay or Ina Garten right into your kitchen big as life.

If you still have one of those under-the-counter sets alongside of your AM/FM radio and electric can opener, now is the time to upgrade and give your cabinets the respect they deserve. A flat screen television will have better quality, be easier to see, and add some panache to your cooking space.

Technology now also lets people hook up their computers to televisions. Imagine finding fabulous new recipes online, saving them to your computer, and pulling up the recipe in living color right on your flat screen television. You’ll be able to read the print with ease, and won’t have to hunt for pesky reading glasses that will only be steamed up over the pots on the stove, anyhow. Plus, you’ll have the added incentive of being able to examine photos of the completed dish that you can measure your success against, morsel by morsel.

Wireless Technology Built Right In

Some of the new television models are building WiFi right into the sets. New technology available through LG Electronics offers you access to streaming movies, cooking videos, and other entertainment right through the Internet and onto the screen.

By tapping into their NetCast Entertainment Access, which offers access to the Internet without the need for additional equipment, you won’t have to find the show playing on a cable channel or rent a video - it will be available at your whim, right in the comfort of your kitchen. You can find cooking videos from YouTube or The Reluctant Gourmet that show you the intricate details of deboning a fish or mastering soufflés without forcing you to squint to make sense of the images on a tiny, outdated screen or cookbook.

Having Fun in the Kitchen

If you are already familiar with your recipes or techniques, you may not need to display instructions or videos on the flat screen television. Instead, you can use the TV to catch up on the news or your favorite shows—or, if you tap into LG’s technology, you can get movies streamed instantly from Netflix.

Time is that precious thing almost no one seems to have enough of, which is why “multitasking” in the kitchen is one of the hottest new ways to stay current with your television needs while attending to things of a more culinary matter.

Keep up with national and world news while prepping for dinner. Watch and listen to classic rock bands, don’t miss a minute of the Phillies or your favorite team in the playoffs. For years I used to run to the kitchen during breaks in the game to make myself a sandwich. Now I can cook a whole meal and not miss an at bat or touchdown drive.

There are so many reasons to have a flat screen TV in your kitchen that it’s becoming more mainstream to see everything from screens built into the refrigerator to large flat screens mounted on a convenient patch of wall space. From cooking help and training to keeping up with your favorite shows, it’s easy to upgrade your kitchen with exciting new options in entertainment and technology.

Welcome Chef Big Brother

Which Food Processor Should I Buy? Kitchen Aid or Cuisinart

Before reading my review of these two top quality food processors that any home chef would be thrilled to own, be sure to read my web page called Choosing the best food processor.

A food processor is one of two small kitchen appliances (stand mixers are the other) that cost a fair amount of money. Although there are many brands from which to choose, in order to get a sturdy, reliable machine without spending $1000, the two most viable brands are Kitchen Aid and Cuisinart.

You really cannot go wrong with either of these brands, but the small differences between the two can ultimately help you choose the best one for your needs. Let’s look at two comparable models: The Kitchen Aid KFPW760 at $229.95 in one corner and the Cuisinart DLC-2011 at $179.95 in the other corner.

We’ll compare them according to power, design, basic features and extras. Then, you can make an informed decision on which food processor will work best for you. Keep in mind, neither of these two models have any real negatives, so either way, you will get a fantastic machine.

Power

The Kitchen Aid model boasts 745 watts and 1 speed while the Cuisinart offers 635 watts and three speeds. I wouldn’t necessarily make my decision based on wattage alone, however. Remember, the real test isn’t wattage, but horsepower and torque. I couldn’t find this information for either of the brands.

One speed is really all that is necessary (commercial models have one speed). Cuisinart offers a lower speed for mixing stiff doughs and a pre-set dough speed along with the standard processing speed.

Design

The Kitchen Aid has a 12-cup capacity, and the Cuisinart has an 11-cup capacity. For all intents and purposes, they are identical in this aspect. As well, both offer touch pad controls. This is a nice feature that makes the machine easier to wipe clean, because you don’t need to worry about any food getting caught in the tiny cracks between the buttons and the housing.

(more…)

Kitchen Aid Professional 5 Plus Series Bowl Lift Stand Mixer Review

Long a status symbol in American kitchens, the Kitchen Aid brand speaks of solid craftsmanship, dependability and value. The first Kitchen Aids came on the scene in 1919. As American’s love affair with their kitchens grew, so did Kitchen Aid’s line of mixers - offering a wide range of prices and styles to suit every cook and every kitchen.

(Please be sure to check out my article on How to Choose the Right Stand Mixer for You)

Of all of the Kitchen Aid models available today, I am most excited about the Kitchen Aid Professional 5 Plus Series. First, let me give you a brief overview of this mixer’s features, and then I’ll explain why I am so excited about them. But, here’s the information you need to know if you are considering buying a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.

Sturdy and reliable direct-drive all metal gearing
67 point planetary mixing action
5-quart capacity bowl
450 watts
Automatic shut-off to prevent overheating
Hub with hinged cover for attachments
Comes with a pouring shield, and paddle, whip and dough hook mixing attachments
Spiral dough hook replaces the older C-style dough hook
Soft Start
Locking Bowl-Lift Mechanism to raise and lower the bowl
10 mixing speeds

You might look at the above list and say 450 watts doesn’t sound like much. The real question isn’t watts, though. When it comes to stand mixers, you’re looking for power and torque & how much power does the wattage deliver, and how powerful is the rotational force of the drive shaft? A direct drive transmission delivers the power you need, regardless of the wattage. Almost all commercial mixers have direct drive transmissions.

All-metal gears are very important, as well. Some mixers that are designed to run quietly actually have gearing that is made of nylon. Make a heavy bread dough once or twice, and you’ll soon find out that those nylon gears will strip out, leaving you with a beautiful and expensive counter decoration.

What exactly does 67-point planetary mixing mean, exactly? Well, look down at the bowl, and divide the circumference into 67 pieces - that’s how many points around the bowl that the attachments hit (they don’t really hit the bowl, but they come very close). This helps to make sure that everything in the bowl gets mixed thoroughly and quickly. To date, this spiral planetary action is unique to the Kitchen Aid Professional 5 Plus.

No matter how powerful the mixer, sometimes they overheat. If you’re mixing bread dough or heavy cookie dough, the dough hook or paddle could seize up. If power isn’t shut off quickly, the heat can build up and fry your mixer. The automatic shut off is like an internal breaker that can sense when the mixer is overheating shut it down before the inner workings are damaged. A very good feature, indeed, and not available on all mixers.

The hinged hub-cover ensures that you don’t lose the cover. In other models and older styles, the hub cover was held on by a screw in through the side of the housing. Many an older Kitchen Aid is missing the screw, the cover, or both.

The paddle attachment is the workhorse attachment. This is the one you’ll use to mix most of your cake batters, cookie doughs, icings and frostings. The whip attachment has an abundance of wires to ensure rapid foam formation. This is the attachment you will use to whip cream, egg whites, whole eggs or to make fluffy marshmallows or European-style buttercreams. The dough hook, of course, is used for mixing and kneading heavy bread doughs. This new spiral design mimics hand kneading much better than the older C-style dough hooks, allowing you to knead 20% more dough.

The pouring shield is a nice extra, although I don’t find it strictly necessary. The shield snaps around the top of the mixer and helps prevent ingredients from splashing out. It also provides a chute down which you can add ingredients without having to stop the mixer. Personally, I find that it gets in my way as I have to remove it every time I need to scrape down the inside of the bowl. It is included with the mixer, so by all means use it if you like it.

The Soft Start feature is fairly self-explanatory. Even on high speed, the first several rotations begin at a low speed to help keep ingredients in the bowl, not on the counter or all in your hair.

All Kitchen Aid stand mixers offer one of two ways to get the attachments in the bowl where they can do their job. One style is the tilt where the head of the mixer tilts up and out of the bowl. It locks in either the up or down position to keep the attachments in place. The alternative, the bowl lift, is also the type of mechanism most often seen in commercial kitchens. The Professional 5 Plus has a bowl lift mechanism whereby you can raise or lower the bowl by means of a lever on the side.

One benefit of the lift mechanism is that it requires no extra room. Since the bowl raised straight up and down, you can place it close to the wall. With tilt-type mechanisms, you have to make sure that there is enough room behind the mixer to be able to tilt the head up.

A potential negative of this feature is that the bowl-lift style mixers are taller, to allow for clearance. They are often too tall to be put on the counter under your upper cabinets. You will need to make sure that there is nothing above them, and you may have to keep this mixer elsewhere for storage as it doesn’t neatly tuck by the wall under cabinets the way tilt-style mixers do. Again, though, this is a personal decision based entirely upon your preference and the constraints of your kitchen.

Ten mixing speeds are standard on Kitchen Aid mixers. The lowest speed is ideal for kneading heavy doughs. The highest setting can be used in short bursts to finish off whipped creams and meringues (mix on medium speed for the majority of the time when making foams). Ten speeds do allow you to efficiently mix batters, doughs and frostings of a wide range of consistencies.

The Kitchen Aid Professional 5 Plus really does offer a wonderful balance of styling and functionality. It comes in 8 different colors, so you are sure to find one to complement your kitchen decor. Honestly, the real proof is in the great pains Kitchen Aid took to provide the home cook with a powerful machine that takes its best features from commercial mixers. I believe they were successful, and you will too.

KitchenAid 5-qt. Professional 5 Plus Stand Mixer, Caviar