Here, the Cuisinart’s all-metal Large Meat Grinder
Attachment ($128.95) has an advantage over KitchenAid’s
plastic-and-metal Food Grinder Attachment ($49.95). But
for the price of the Cuisinart attachment, you could buy a
full-on dedicated meat grinder. The KitchenAid grinder has
served me fine for years.
While either brand will do you well, the KitchenAid Pro
500 ($299.95) gets my vote for wedding-registry priority
numero uno. It’s ideal for both heavy-duty bakers who
make bread at least a couple times a week and want a real
powerhouse and for those who will be mostly mixing
batters, whipping cream, or even grinding meat.
- Powerful Blender
There are a ton of decent blenders on the market—far more
than good stand mixers or food processors. Then again,
there are also a ton of poor blenders out there. You want a
blender that’s powerful enough to puree soup to a
completely smooth, velvety texture, with enough vortex
action to thoroughly mix a thick blue cheese dressing or
crush a pitcherful of ice for frozen drinks. You also want a
blender with simple, easy-to-understand controls; the ability
to pulse; and the capacity to slowly and evenly build up
from a slow speed to a fast one, in order to prevent the lid
from blowing off when you blend hot foods too fast. (Raise
your hand if you’ve done this. Yep, thought so.)
The cream of the crop when it comes to blenders, the one
that’ll turn your shoes into soup or scare the pants off the fat
kid in The Goonies, the one that’ll turn all your cheffy
foodie friends spinach-green with envy, is one from the