Monday, February 9, 2009

Splurging.

Since we've been doing so well with paying off debt and budgeting, I decided I should go spend $300 on a mixer. Just kidding, sortof.

I was planning on putting my whole tax refund towards my credit card which will pretty much wipe out all of my debt (excluding the car). Then, I found out that my refund will be about $500 more than I was planning on. So, I sort of have an extra $500 that I didn't budget for.

Jerad has been trying to buy me or get me to buy a stand mixer for years now. YEARS. As in, years before we were even dating.

I do soo much cooking and baking and I only have a travel mixer whose motor gets hot and smells funny if you mix anything stronger than eggs.

Just last weekend I made bread, mashed potatoes, and brownies. And mixed everything by hand since my mixer is on its last legs and not strong enough anyways.

I have had this constant internal struggle for some time. Obviously I don't NEED a KitchenAid because I have been cooking perfectly fine for a lot of years with out one. But oh my, it would make my life easier! There are so many times when I want to make bread or pizza dough for dinner but I just don't want to spend the time kneading the dough (I also don't own a bread maker). Or when I make whipped cream and it takes 10 minutes because my mixer is so slow.

I know that I wouldn't be one of those people that go out and spend a ton of money on one and then it just sits on their counter top unused.

I called Jerad and asked him what I should do. He didn't hesitate and told me to "buy one today! on your lunch! get the best one!" Obviously you can tell who is the responsible frugal one in our relationship. I countered back with "yes but they're so expensive... We have gotten along fine without one so far..." but he was pretty adamant and I really did want one so I decided that there is no time like the present to stimulate the economy!

Of course I couldn't just buy one, I had to read all of the reviews and try to find the BEST one.

Oi vey. Who knew KitchenAid made so many models? I thought the models consisted of plain white, or colored. Noooo, I had to choose between:


KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixers:
KitchenAid Artisan 5 Quart:
KitchenAid Pro 500 Series:
And a few more.

Don't even get me started on the available attachments!

I was reading reviews and trying to figure out what would be best for me. Is 245 watts okay? Will it work as well as the 325 watt one? Or do I need the 575 model?

If I get the 4.5 quart, am I going to wish I had the 6 quart?

As I was trying to decipher the reviews, I started coming across a lot of talk about the Cuisinart SM-55:
Professionals prefer it to the KitchenAid? How could it be so?!? It has 12 speeds compared to the KitchenAid's 10. It has an 800-watt motor! It has a timer! You can also get attachments for it just like the KitchenAid. INCLUDING a Food Possessor top and everyone loves Cuisanart Food Processors right? It has a 3 year parts warranty and a 5 year motor warranty as opposed to KitchenAid's 1 year parts and service warranty.

It is even a little cheaper than the KitchenAid.

But, honestly, its just not as cute. And KitchenAid has been "the" mixer for 40 years now right? Obviously buying a product based on "cuteness" isn't the way to go, but I have wanted a KitchenAid for soooo long. Hmm.

What kind of mixer do you use? Any words of wisdom?

I would be mixing different batters, whipped cream, meringue, sauces, eggs... all the normal stuff that I'm sure any mixer would be fine for. What I'm worried about is dough. I love to make bread. I want to be able to make big batches of pasta, pizza, and bread dough and not worry about it.

Hold my hand, I'm feeling needy. AKA give me some advice :)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have the model that is just under the Artisan. It's wonderful for everything that I do, which is pretty much batters and box cake mixes:-)

I am by no means a chef, and I probably only use my mixer once a month tops. Yet, somehow I don't feel like I could live without it. For someone who cooks frequently I think it is a must have.

~C

Anonymous said...

I got a, Artisan from my DH in October. I bake bread once a month or more, and use it to mix all sorts of other things.
I haven't had any troubles with doughs, but I only make single batches. Also, you are never supposed to mix dough higher than the 2 speed.
Hope that helps!

P.S. I named mine Maggie. I was browsing the Kitchenaid forums and everyone had named theirs and I didn't want to be left out!