Monday Musing: On Small Kitchen Appliances

I own too many small kitchen appliances. Today I took delivery of a Kitchenaid 5 Quart Heavy Duty / Professional Series Bowl Lift Stand Mixer (in Chrome Metallic if you must know). It will not be lonely in my kitchen. There are many other small kitchen appliances to keep it company. Here is a brief summary:

Multispeed Blender - This is primarily used for cocktails as my other blender is too obscenely powerful and can't crush ice without completely liquifying it.

Combination Juice Extractor / Blender / Coffee Grinder / Single Serving Blender - I picked up the Mustang Mixer online for around 30 bucks. It is basically a huge 1 hp electric motor which has a full size blender attachment, a juice extractor attachment, a single serving bullet type blender and a coffee grinder (which I have never used). As above, it's ludicrously powerful and generally makes an absolute hash of blending tasks but for 30 bucks it's cheaper than a juice extractor, which is why I kept it. It's actually pretty decent at extracting juice.

Citrus Juicer - I've used this twice in four years but for reasons unknown can't bear to part with it.

Deep Fat Fryer - This was a Christmas present to myself. I experimented with it for a month or two making French Fries, Deep Fried Mars Bars and other deliciously cholesterol-laden delights until good sense and rising blood pressure got the best of me and it's been sitting idle in the pantry since.

Rice cooker - I use this occasionally and whenever I need to cook rice. It really is the best way to cook rice. Unfortunately it's pretty useless otherwise.

Cuisinart Food Processor - I consider the Cuisinart Classic Food Processor (the one with two speed - on and pulse) to be an indispensable part of any kitchen. It can chop, slice, grate and knead dough. If you have to buy one small kitchen appliance, this is the one.

Electric skillet - This was a gift and the only reason it's out of the box is because it takes up less space out of the box than in. I have never used it but I guess it would be useful if I had to cook somewhere with electricity but without a kitchen. In four years, I have not been called to cook in such a place but when I am, I'll be ready.

Hand operated electric mixer - I went through two or three of these and invariably they burn out or the attachments break. After the last one broke I gave up and, for a year or two, used either a large whisk or a hand operated egg beater for my mixing needs. Needless to say, I'm excited by the prospects of the new stand mixer.

Sandwich maker - I used this one or twice to make an approximation of Taiyaki (a Japanese pastry filled with red bean curd) and haven't used it since. If I want to have a hot sandwich, 10 times out of 10 I'll put it in a pan. Pans are easier to clean.

Crockpot - I used to use the Crockpot a lot more but recently I haven't had the forethought to gather the ingredients the night before I want to eat something, let alone in the morning as I'm rushing to the office. I do like the idea and am not knocking it.

Vegetable Steamer - I found this deep in a cabinet and believe it to have come with the place. It will pass on to the next tenant in the same condition I found it.

As you can see, I've got way too many small kitchen appliances, all to do tasks that can be done with pots, pans and elbow grease. To see them all listed out is kind of embarrassing, but not as embarrasing as to think about how rarely I use each one (cuisinart and blenders excluded).

By way of an update, as I said in my post last night, I forgot to put the butter in the muffins, which gave them a bready/doughy consistency. They would likely be much better with butter and I'm kicking myself for such a silly error. Additionally, I'm only now feeling a bit better after being sick all weekend. Taking testimony for four or so hours today probably didn't help things.

What about you? What small kitchen appliances do you own/not use?