Andrew bought me a KitchenAid Cook Processor for Christmas, another almond cream beauty to add to my KitchenAid collection. I’d never heard of it before, but the Cook Processor is essentially an all in one preparation and cooking gadget with pre-programmed options to allow even a kitchen novice (ie Andrew) to cook a slap up meal. It’s also possible to use the KitchenAid manually as you get used to how it cooks, and so I made it my mission since Christmas to use the Cook Processor as much as possible to learn its secret little ways.
My first dish was a beef stew using a pre-programmed stewing option, and then I changed to a manual process to cook some dumplings in the stew. It was amazing!
Next up was a prawn risotto using another program. I suspected this would not work, so was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. The risotto was a tad too sticky so I’ll use more stock next time, but almost spot on.
I took a break from my new toy on New Year’s Eve to bake a camembert …
And cook some beautiful steaks from my local Morley Butcher …
But then I read that my gadget could make a bearnaise sauce so had to give it a try. The sauce was PERFECTION and I was stunned. I’d never make it using a stove top method and bain-marie again.
Mmmmm, look at that glossy and smooth sauce:
While flicking through the KitchenAid cookbook, Andrew discovered a one-pot penne bolognaise in there which he felt was perfectly within his abilities to make, so we’ve just had that for dinner tonight. I have heard of cooking pasta in the same pot as the sauce before but didn’t believe it would work. Well, it did.
Dinner was delicious and Andrew is now motivated to use my toy again!
So what about this week? Well of course I am going to be putting my toy to practice, but also using some more traditional cooking methods.
I did make a vegetable soup in the KitchenAid for packed lunches this week, but used a more conventional oven to prepare some of Nigella’s 2.0 version breakfast bars (for a healthy morning snack).
Alongside those, I will have porridge with grated apple and cinnamon for breakfast, and the following meals:
- Monday – prawns with noodles in my new toy for my first meat-free Monday of the year
- Tuesday – my delicious shepherd’s pie jackets
- Wednesday – sausage casserole (traditionally cooked in the oven!)
- Thursday – pork chops with new potatoes and spinach
- Friday – salmon en papilotte cooked in you know where!
- Saturday – chicken with cream cheese and leek wrapped in puff pastry
- Sunday – Irish stew in … yes, the KitchenAid
Have you ever used a multi-cooker, and if so do you have any recipes to share? And what are your plans for the first week of 2016?
Happy New Year!
Hmm Tracy you have me curiously wanting to try a multicooker now. I thought it was just a fad, and an unnecessary status symbol, but maybe not? Is it worth the money?
Hmmm, well it is expensive and there’s nothing it does that knives, bowls, saucepans and an oven wouldn’t do, but I have to say I love it so far and it’s really been convenient for making easy meals with proper ingredients: it’s real cooking, but just more convenient!
These posts always leave me hungry! Loving reading about your new toy.
Aw thanks Claire that’s really kind of you!
Nearly a year on – so how is it going. I am really keen to purchase and was just about to when I read your post. Let me know how it is going??
Hi Pauline, I think it’s brilliant although I didn’t use it much over the summer, it comes into its own with stews etc so I will be back using it again from now. I just had a baby so it’s handy to bung everything in and leave it to cook dinner. It’s an expensive piece of kit but if you can justify the price then definitely worth getting 🙂