special appliances

When my twenty-year old food processor stopped working last year I filled its space in the cupboard and thought I would just not get another one. Then I was shopping for a present and noticed a crowd watching Jean Anderson, author of Process This!, making an amazingly-quick Soft Raspberry-Lime "Ice Cream" and Lemon Poppy-Seed Cupcakes. Now I not only have a copy of her book, but a brand new food processor and thanks to Process This!, the food processor isn't going into that cupboard. In addition to making several whole meals from this book, I made a birthday cake using the Lemon Poppy-Seed Cupcake batter, my family just loved the Cheddar Scones, and the Processor Pastry for Tarts and Pies is so easy to make, it is habit forming. I just ordered two copies for my children who each got food processors for wedding presents and are always looking for fast, good-for-you recipes to make when they get home from work.

I got this book to supplement the skimpy cook book that came with my ll cup KitchenAid food processor (which I LOVE). The book is written in a chatty rather than business only format--OK if you aren't in a hurry. Anderson's tips and techniques are very helpful for a new food processor user. Most of the recipes themselves aren't practical for families with small chilren (lots of onion, garlic, peppers, sophisticated flavors); for people on a budget; or for those who need to watch calories or fat--unless you know how to make substitutions for butter, egg yolks, heavy cream. The recipes are more appropriate for gourmet cooks or special occasions. I used the beef, chicken, and vegetabe stock recipes; the Potage Crecy (French Carrot Soup); and Cornell Bread. All turned out well. I used Anderson's techniques for adapting my favorite cinnamon roll and focaccia recipes to the food processor, and those turned out well, also. Buy this book if you really like to cook.

Jean Anderson is a member of 'old school' cookbook authors and culinary educators such as Barbara Kafka, Marion Cunningham, Sheila Lukins, and Sara Moulton many of whom are protégés of James Beard or Julia Child. Among them, Anderson and Cunningham have been responsible for editing two of the better 'how to do everything' cookbooks in America. These are the 'American Century Cookbook' and the 'Fanny Farmer Cookbook' respectively. Except for Moulton, who is a staple of the Food Network programming, these authors typically do not get as much attention as their more internationally oriented colleagues such as Patricia Wells and Paula Wolfert; TV educators such as Ina Garten, Rachael Ray, and Nigella Lawson; or magazine magnate Martha Stewart.

In spite of this, these authors are probably the ones who write some of the most commonly picked titles among non-foodies who never watch the Food Network and simply want a reliable source of menus.

On the face of it, this book, 'Process This!' is very similar to Barbara Kafka's highly rated 'Microwave Gourmet' to which I gave five stars. Both books are about new kitchen appliances that became popular in the early nineteen-seventies and both of which tend to be misused, overused, or underused.

I am probably like many people who use both appliances for a relatively small range of tasks and wonder why they persist in taking up so much space on my countertop. I do, however, sense some differences in the two appliances. The biggest I believe is the fact that while the microwave is at its best doing small, quick jobs which often arise in small households or households with lots of different schedules, the food processor is best when it is used to tackle a big job.

The reasons for this are simple. A microwave can make popcorn, heat up a cup of coffee, cook bacon, and defrost frozen food quickly, with less electricity than a range or oven, and require little or no cleanup when you are done. And, there are few alternatives to doing these tasks as quickly or as easily. A standard size food processor can mix a pie dough, dice onions, finely chop zest, mix a mayonnaise, shred cabbage for slaw, chop garlic, and slice carrots or a hundred other vegetables in a thrice. But, after each operation, a rather sizable cleanup job is left and with most slicing and dicing, the results leave a fair amount of unevenly sized pieces. And, there are good alternatives to doing each and every one of these tasks, generally with less mess. A pastry cutter will do pie dough very nicely. A sharp chef's knife will give you evenly sized chopped onions very quickly with no slime, a microplane will give fine zest in a thrice, a blender will do an equally good job with Mayonnaises, a knife will do garlic much better than a standard food processor, and a knife can do veggies to a much greater range of sizes and much tighter consistency than can a food processor.

The things for which I always go to a food processor are when I wish to shred large vegetables such as cabbage to make slaw and when I wish to powder or crumb a large portion of hard, dry material, as when I want to make bread crumbs. I have gone to a fair amount of trouble to cultivate pretty good knife skills and to buy very sharp knives. I also need to cook for only two people. Therefore, my bias tends against using the large task food processor. This is not to say this tool has no good user base. It is probably at its best in preparing vegetables for salads when the vegetables are not to be cooked, but eaten raw. It is also excellent for shredding hard, awkwardly shaped vegetables such as carrots for a cooked carrot filling, not to mention an ingredient for carrot cake. Lastly, it will very commonly do an acceptable job subbing for a blender if you do not have one. Just don't try crushing ice with it!

So how does this book help this audience? First, I thing the introductory material on general suggestions on food processor use is very good. But, I think it would have been a lot better with a few pictures. It is not entirely obvious how the chopping blade compared to the slicing blade. The dictionary of foods and how to process them was quite good, if only to show what foods and results it is wise to prepare with some other tool. The author very wisely advises against using the processor to shred meat or to grind spices. I was also happy to see that the author did not paint a rosy picture of your making peanut butter with a food processor.

My first sense that there was something amiss in the book is when I saw the recipes for stock making. The instructions for the meat and the cooking times were all kosher, but I believe the instructions for chopping the vegetables is all wrong. For years, until I started making stocks for myself, I never understood why recipe writers of every stripe tell you to simply toss the peeled vegetables into the stockpot with no more than a quick cut in half, if that. Well, they were right. Simmer whole carrots and onions and celery for four hours and there will simply be no flavor left behind, and there will be no unnecessary cloudiness in your stock from vigorously chopped veg flesh.

My reaction to most other recipes is that I already have an ample number of recipes for all these dishes. Why do I need another that uses a tool I would not normally use?

This book will be helpful if you make three or four meals a week for four or more people, and, you already have a full size (11 cup bowl) food processor. Otherwise, you may find it gathering dust on your shelf.