Works great - easy out of the box; makes cooking fun again!

This food processor (identical, in black) was a birthday gift from my mother six months ago. I was kind of wanting a blender, but when we got to the appliance store (Cayne's in Toronto), the display of "jumbo Cuisinarts" kind of sucked me in, and here we are today... :-)

What you get in the box:

The food processor base with motor, a helpful (if somewhat sappy) video, two basic disks, a steel blade and a plastic dough blade. Oh - plastic spatula and a little plastic "neck" thingy you have to attach the disks with.

The black steel was almost breathtakingly beautiful. I'd seen it in the store, but in my own humble kitchen? Awesome. Way cool. Incredible.

The included Cuisinart video, like I said, was a little sappy, assuming you're going to change your whole life because of the machine. Still, my daughter watched it with me and it did give us a good awareness of the types of things we can do, and the basic steps to do them.

Putting it together:

EASY! Wipe the styrofoam packing bits off the parts (I guess you're supposed to rinse them first; don't remember if I did), and away you go! Everything clicks together, so just place the bowl, choose a blade (or disk), pop it in gently, then put the lid on, snap in the safety "pusher" and you are done!

Well, okay, the lid assembly is a little annoying. It was at first and it STILL is, six months later. I know they're concerned with our safety, that we shouldn't inadvertently stick our hand into a powerfully whirring blade.

But it is just TOO irritating having to put on the lid and snap on the safety pusher before you are allowed to even turn the thing on. What it means, essentially, is that you have to dismantle the whole thing in order to do anything to vegetables, because you can only load up a few pieces at a time in the safety pusher.

Good features of the lid include a VERY large opening, so you can process whole peppers, potatoes or tomatoes, or pack in a bunch of carrots, celery or other veggie.

However, once you have loaded the chute, you THEN must lock on the pusher to process the veggies down into the bowl. Once that's done, you have to unsnap and remove the pusher, load more veggies, then snap the pusher back into place. It's just a few seconds, but I really miss the "continuous feed" of my cheap old machine that didn't care if I mulched my fingertips in the process. :-)))

I know... it's a safety feature. It's for my own good, right? Grrr...

While I'm complaining here, I will also mention that the pusher and its parts, and some other lid parts, are not the easiest to clean. Meaning: I have never cleaned them and I'm not sure how I would if I had to. There are crevices in the pusher that nothing can reach; same with the lid-spring-latch mechanism. Food does get in there, but it is just a dry wedge of dough, so for now, I leave it there.

What it does:

EVERYTHING!
- Slices, dices and all those other veggie things
- Mixes cakes, cookies, even icings
- Chops nuts
- Makes nut butters
- Grinds cookies for crusts
- Kneads bread dough in 45-50 seconds!
- Turns ice into "snow" for drinks (though this will scratch the Lexan work bowl!)
- I'm sure there's much more...

What I've actually done with it (slightly less):
- Made bread (lots and LOTS of bread!)
- Mixed cake (overmixed - ugh)
- Made icing
- Grated veggies
- Ground things up: nuts, cookies
- Made veggie burgers
- Crushed ice

I guess I really HAVE used most of its uses, at least once... I'd say primarily, though, this is my "bread machine." Amazing! More on breadmaking with the Cuisinart Custom 14 below.

Making yummy BREAD!

This is what I use it for 90% of the time, and I would say I make bread once or twice a week now. It is SO quick and easy!

The technique may take getting used to if you're used to conventional mixing. The amount of water you use may vary slightly each time you make bread. I am used to making it that way, though, so it was no problem to adjust.

Here's how: Measure ALL dry ingredients, including Quick Rise yeast, into the work bowl. Pulse twice to combine. Mix oil & other liquids in a measuring cup with a bit of slightly warm water (have remaining water in reserve to drizzle in as needed).

Start processor running, add liquid ingredients from measuring cup gradually. Then, add reserved remaining water JUST until dough comes away from side of bowl. Then, let it spin another 45-55 seconds. That's it!

Transfer finished dough to big floured plastic bag and set aside to rise (in fridge overnight if desired). You never have to touch the dough if you don't want to!

A couple of comments:
- Don't use too much whole wheat! Even a 14-cup processor can get overloaded with whole wheat. I find I can make two loaves of white, but only 1 big loaf if it's all ww flour. You can do more if you mix it.
(until I learned this, I kept over-taxing the motor to the point where it would actually shut down. This is a safety feature and it does come back on after an agonizingly long ten minutes during which your icky half-mixed bread dough just sits there...)

- I don't use the plastic dough blade anymore. I read somewhere that it doesn't do as thorough a job, and the steel blade does a fine job, so why bother hunting down the plastic one?

- Make yummy garlic or herb bread (or both!) by mixing a couple of garlic cloves or herb sprigs when you pulse the dry ingredients. They're not moist enough to make a mess, they just get evenly mixed.

- Hint: try garlic in a pizza crust... mmmmmmm!

Why I'd now buy this for myself if my mother hadn't!

The price is right, and it does almost everything. The reason I wanted a blender in the first place was because my hand blender is lousy at making icy drinks. It still is, but now I use the food processor to "pre-process" the tough chunks of ice to take the burden off the aging hand blender.

I previously owned a cheapie food processor on its last legs that I thought I was "happy enough" with... but I've now seen the other side, the side of high-quality appliances that work great. I am spoiled for anything less!

My favourite feature of the Cuisinart isn't even a feature, really... it's the BIG, chunky, tactile on/off/pulse buttons. You don't need a million buttons - as Cuisinart proves, you need exactly TWO. And these are great buttons. You know what you're doing and you know how to stop it. No need to mess with different speeds when you have so much control with the Pulse button.

(just a few pulses with the Cuisinart is the equivalent of a nice, long spin on SLOW in my old food processor)

Essential food processor advice from my mother!

When buying this, I mentioned that I'd have to clear space in the cabinet to keep this in, and my mother said no... if you have something like this, you really NEED to keep it out to make sure it gets used regularly. Out of sight, out of mind.

Since she said this, I have kept mine IN sight, IN mind, and almost constantly IN use, whether it's for making lovely garlicky hummous or fabulous Montreal Bagels.

I think it's okay to put the blades away, though. :-)

Is it right for you? (maybe!)

Fourteen cups (14!) is rather large. Cuisinart makes a 7-cup model that I think is ideal for most kitchens. I chose the 14-cup because I make lots of bread and occasionally large batches of vegetable/potato pancakes / veggie burgers / etc.

Since my family seems to be growing (we're at five now) or at least, not getting any smaller, this seemed like a reasonable investment.

My mother herself, by the way, has a teeny weeny little version of this that sits on HER counter and is perfect for her and my father. It even features the same nice, chunky "paddle-style" buttons!

So...

If you're a smaller family, don't do a lot of bread or large batches of veggies, or don't have a lot of space on your counter or sink, find a smaller processor.

If you use a lot of liquids, you may be looking for a blender instead, as the liquid capacity of the bowl is MUCH lower than 14 cups!

But...

If you cook a lot and want the very best, go right ahead and confidently buy this Cuisinart. Use it in good health!