Day 26

I'm not sure when my obsession with the Food Network first started - I remember it coming on the air in middle school and being all "why is this on tv...who wants to cook?!" Somehow, by the time college rolled around, I was a full-fledged HGTV and Food Network junkie. I didn't have cable throughout most of my 20s, yet every time I visited my mom, I'd cram in hours upon hours of Trading Spaces and Barefoot Contessa (with some Tyler Florence thrown in for good measure...because he's kind of hot.) Barefoot Contessa is still one of my favorite shows to date (love the cookbooks as well) and I worship at the alter of Ina Garten (I'm pretty sure my mom's head wants to explode each time I say "Ina says...or Ina does it this way") 

I love cooking and baking. I don't always have the time to do it, but there's something so cathartic about chopping things and finding new ways to make a recipe work better. I'm not the best in the kitchen, but I love experimenting (the chocolate peanut butter cream pie I made last night is a combination of three recipes and some of my own improvisations.) One thing I've learned over the years is that the right tools make all the difference (next on my list? A decent chef's knife...preferably a Wusthof.) Baking was always difficult because I didn't own a mixer and some things require more than just elbow grease and a spoon.

If you've ever watched the Food Network for more than five minutes, you know that a Kitchen Aid stand mixer is a major fixture on just about every show. I'm not sure why, but I became obsessed with owning one. No other mixer would do. It was Kitchen Aid or nothing at all. It's all I ever wanted in my late teens/early 20s. Heck, I'd practically go and pet them each time I went to a department store and I fantasized about the colors and the different attachments. The only problem? It was way, way out of my price range and my mom certainly couldn't afford to get me one (bless her heart, I really don't know how she made ends meet after my Dad passed away...she sacrificed a lot for me to have what I have.) 

Every holiday season, there is some kind of 'black Friday' deal, but they're usually limited in quantity and still expensive as hell. Somewhere in the late 2000s, my mom came close to getting one for me, but by the time she got a cart and went back, they were gone (I really wished she hadn't told me this at the time...it sucked that something was so close to happening, but didn't.) However, I continued to be patient and told myself that it would happen eventually (you know, once I won the lottery/married rich, etc...none of which have happened to date.) 

Then, one rainy December day in 2009, I got a text from my sister in Virginia. She discovered that Lowe's had them on sale for $139 (which, is unprecedented....they are usually over $200 for the basic model.) I was at work, but took a quick break and went online...low and behold, the Lowe's in Canoga Park had four available for pick up. I typed in my credit card number as fast as I could and reserved one to pick up on my lunch break (I don't fully recall, but I'm guessing I was beyond giddy and in awe. Nothing could ruin that day.) 

I waited until Christmas to actually open it and use it and it was everything I thought it would be and more. I even named her and her name is "Bess" (I don't know why...) She's helped me make everything from meatballs. compound butters and pizza dough, to cakes, cookies, whipped cream and crumble toppings.  I don't get a chance to use her as much as I would like to these days, but every time I do, I'm reminded of how much I love it (her?) and how I'm so, so glad I waited. I can tell you from experience, no hand-held or stand mixer even comes close.

I just have the basic model, but it does everything I need it to do (although, you wouldn't hear me complain if I got the ice cream maker, juicer or meat grinder attachments.) I just used her last night to make chocolate peanut butter cream pie and the crumble topping for my baked french toast. She's so pretty when she just sits on the counter, but she's freaking beautiful when she's in action (um..I think I probably need to take a step back and re-evaluate my love for her, because it currently sounds creepy and perverted and like I need some 'alone time' with her.) But seriously, I can't picture a kitchen without her. She allows me to be more creative when I cook and the possibilities are endless - I no longer feel limited in what I can bake.

I may never be Ina Garten (because, you know, I'd have to be a millionaire with a homes in the Hamptons, NYC and Paris...and have a loving, doting husband) but I do feel like this mixer brought me one step closer.

Here she is about ready to make the crumble topping...also, please note, that's real butter in there (it's super-yellow because it's grass-fed) and not margarine (my feeling of superiority/smugness on this is quite douchey and I judge myself right now)

After about 20 seconds, the cold butter was the size of peas and the crumble topping was ready to go (this would take several minutes if I used a pastry cutter.)  I just ate it this morning and it was glorious - quite possibly my best crumble topping yet...not that it's rocket science or anything though.

**I'm working backwards on WrAbCrThFo - this really could have been posted yesterday. I'm still determined to finish this.