Several weeks ago, I had an ill-fated meeting with a cinnamon roll recipe. It was one of those mornings where nothing went as planned. And it started with the Food Processor.
I’d gotten rid of my large, huge, gigantic food processor that I’d been given whenever we moved. I knew that would only leave me with the mini. But, I knew at some point I’d be replacing the one I’d been given with a bigger one that had features I wanted.
So, the butter, sugar, cinnamon, and I had a date with the mini food processor way too early in the morning. Of course, I’m so good at overloading it that it decided to fight back. . . and not mix- in fact, the motor hit it’s shut-off point. At which I did not panic thinking the food processor was broken- I’ve done this many times before over the years- Cuisinart’s do that.
But, it did mean I had to go to plan B- the Mixmaster- which, as everything went that particular moment, threw butter pieces across the kitchen- it just wasn’t my morning. I managed to get it mixed promising myself that when our Tax Return came in, I was getting the food processor of my dreams.
As luck would have it that morning, when I went to get the croissant rolls I was going to use for dough. . . . there wasn’t any. And getting some that night at Walmart- the night before Valentine’s day, not so fun either. Oh well, I just laughed at it all and took it all much better than I normally would. But, what else can you do when all the forces seem to be against you and the cinnamon rolls which really weren’t that great either.
So, I set out to research and plan for my new Food Processor. I started with the new Cuisinart Elite Food Processors I’d seen. They were pricey but I could justify it in the sense that I use my food processor a lot and have had some great Cuisinart’s over the years. I spent so much time debating whether to get the 12-cup or 14-cup dragging Cody to several stores in hopes of laying eyes on one though I knew I’d order from Amazon. (No one around here had them!)
When the return hit the bank, I went on Amazon to prepare to order the 14 cup- It was $20 cheaper than it had been. Cool, I thought, I’ll order it as soon as the return clears the bank. A few days later, when I went to order it, the sucker was $40 more! It left me less than happy with my old faithful Amazon.
I could not justify $260 on a food processor. So, I set out to re-figure out what I was going to get. I researched. I created charts with the features of the ones I thought I was interested in. I created charts showing me the price differences. I created charts figuring the percentages of the ratings on Amazon- and totally the bottom three ratings. I read reviews. And more reviews. I googled.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I spent hours looking at food processors. And, I still had no idea- what kept getting me was the reviews and the price. How could I say for sure that any one of them would be worth that much. . . they clearly had unhappy viewers.
So I did what most people who can get the food processor of their dreams and who spend hours analyzing which food processor to be would do. Right?
I bought a Hamilton Beach food processor for less than $40! That’s just so me that I had to laugh. Looking at all my charts and knowing that in the end, it was all for not- knowing that I could probably live just fine with this one for quite some time and save serious bucks. In fact, I was also able to replace our pasta maker that had broken for less than even one of the cheapest food processors I was looking at would have cost me.
(And as you can see, it meant lots of little things to wash when they arrived.)