Mix and Stir Friday Five

Song bird from Revgals has written the following
In a minor domestic crisis, my food processor, or more precisely the part you use for almost everything for which I use a food processor, picked the eve of the festive season of the year to give up the ghost. A crack in the lid expanded such that a batch of squash soup had to be liberated via that column shaped thing that sticks up on top.

Can you tell this is not my area of strength?

Next week, I'm hosting Thanksgiving. I need your help. Please answer the following kitchen-related questions:

1) Do you have a food processor? Can you recommend it? Which is to say, do you actually use it?

Yes, I own a food processor. I don’t use it often because I don’t prepare big meals all that often. I do use it when I want to make something special.

2) And if so, do you use the fancy things on it? (Mine came with a mini-blender (used a lot and long ago broken) and these scary disks you used to julienne things (used once).)

I don’t use the extra things. I am more likely to bring out my cheap mandolin-thingy that I bought some years ago and do it by hand. The julienne attachment tends to pulverize rather than julienne.

3) Do you use a standing mixer? Or one of the hand-held varieties?

I have both—both acquired at Church jumble sales. The standing mixer is older than I but works for heavy mixing for dough and such. The hand-held is a 1970’s avocado green thing that works for eggs and whipped cream. (Talking about retro!)

4) How about a blender? Do you have one? Use it much?

I have a blender that I use for drinks, milk shakes, shaving ice, etc. I also have an immersion blender that I use for soups and sauces.

5) Finally, what old-fashioned, non-electric kitchen tool do you enjoy using the most?

J inherited her mother’s Creuset 7 qt. dutch oven some years ago. I use it constantly. The enameled iron makes it luxurious as a stewing pot. Pot roast, soup, whatever, is so easy to make and easy to clean up. Come to think of it, I think I will make some Irish stew today using that orange pot.

Bonus: Is there a kitchen appliance or utensil you ONLY use at Thanksgiving or some other holiday? If so, what is it?

Probably the roasting pan, but I use it at Christmas too or for any large gathering of kith and kin. Since neither J nor I have much kin we don’t host family get-togethers. I guess I will have to gather the “kith”—does anybody know what “kith” means?