Review: Cuisinart Elite 12 Cup Food Processor
This contest is now CLOSED. Congratulations to Denise!
I leave tomorrow morning for BlogHer Food in San Francisco. And since I’m going to be off having fun for a few days, I thought I’d leave something fun for you to do while I’m away. And it’s been a while since we’ve had a giveaway. Now sounds like a perfect time! Are you ready for a chance to win a Cuisinart Elite 12 Cup Food Processor?
I’ve been testing this food processor for about a month now. I’ve made several recipes with the Cuisinart Elite 12 Cup Food Processor so I could use all of it’s different functions and blades. Hello, lovely. Where have you been all my life? I don’t know what possessed me to think that I didn’t need a full sized food processor before. I’ve gone for almost 8 years with just the Cuisinart Mini Chopper and when that wore out the Cuisinart Elite Mini Chopper. I guess I didn’t want to sacrifice the space, and it is a spendy purchase, but wow I love this machine!
Recipes I’ve made with the Cuisinart Elite 12 Cup:
- Zucchini Cherry Muffins with Pecan Streusel Topping (chopping, and mixing muffins)
- Restaurant Style Salsa and again when I wrote about Canning Restaurant Style Salsa (chopping and puree)
- Rustic Rosemary Garlic Bread (using the dough blade)
- Open Face Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches (slicing the vegetables)
- Manicotti Primavera (fine chopping, and grating)
It seems that this food processor can do almost anything. It slices, dices, grates, chops, purees, and can make dough. Really, it’s a 2-in-1. You get a small 4 cup bowl (the size of the Mini Chopper) and a larger, full sized (12 cup) bowl. It comes with 3 blades: 1 for the small bowl, 1 for the large bowl, and a dough blade that fits the large bowl. Then there’s the grating mechanism. It has 2 sides to it: fine shred and regular. The slicing disc has several settingsΒ for different thicknesses all in one disc. That’s a great space saver because you don’t need different discs for different sized slices or grating. I really like that the bowl has a pour spout, too.
Madeline and Logan absolutely thought the slicing and grating were the coolest things ever. They helped me with theΒ Manicotti Primavera and had a blast, and helped me out a lot too. It would have taken so much longer to hand grate all of those vegetables. Instead it took 2 minutes, tops. For all of the vegetables. And the block of mozzarella – it was decimated.
The same goes for the slicing when I made the Open Face Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches. Madeline actually started eating a bunch of the sliced squash because she liked how thinly it was sliced. She’s never wanted to eat zucchini before. WIN! You can find more features here.
I hate to sound overly positive, for feature that you thing that this has to be too good to be true, but I can’t think of much that I didn’t like about the Cuisinart Elite 12 Cup Food Processor.
If I had to get picky, my concerns would be:
- Price – it’s an investment, but not outrageous
- Space – you can’t make it smaller or it’s not a full sized food processor and Cuisinart does do a good job making the attachments multi-taskers .
- The blade doesn’t lock as well as it does in the Elite Mini Chopper. It’s nice when you can tilt the bowl to the side to scrape everything out without the blade falling out with the food.
- Storage for the blades and discs. If you have kids, count on purchasing one of these Disc Storage Containers to keep little hands from getting hurt. There are a lot of sharp parts, and not really a good way to store them without the container, besides in a locked cabinet (which is where I have them now).
Giveaway (1 winner): Cuisinart Elite 12 Cup Food Processor
The Rules:
- What’s your favorite feature of the Cuisinart Elite 12 Cup Food Processor and what recipe would you make first? (by 11:59 PST October 13th)
- 1 random winner will be announced by October 20th. I will notify you via email and you will have 72 hours to respond before I choose a new winner.
- Contest open to US Residents only.
Extra Entries: Additional entries can be earned by doing any of the following, giving you a total of 5 entries. Leave a separate comment for each of your entries.
- ReTweet the following message: Win a Cuisinart Elite 12 Cup Food Processor from @mycuisinart and @goodlifeeats http://bit.ly/cJ3wDQ #giveaway #review
- Become a fan of goodLife {eats} on Facebook.
- Become a fan of Cuisinart on Facebook.
- Vote for me (Katie Goodman) as one of Babble’s Favorite Mom Food Bloggers
Elyssa says
I’ve never had a food processor before, but I’m so jealous of the amazing pie crust and hummus that people make using the processor! So obviously my first recipe would be for pie crust or hummus (or both)!
Stephanie says
And just voted for you on Babble! Good luck!
Stephanie says
I tweeted it!
Jessica says
Is it fair to say that my favorite feature is the size alone? I myself am using the mini and while I love and appreciate it’s fine space-saving efficacy, the thought of 12 cups is…well think of all the salsa I could make!
(I became a fan on facebook)
Jes
Katie says
I love the three different blades with the option of using the smaller blade, too. I have a 4-cup processor and making soup or hummus in four different batches gets old fast. I think hummus would be the first thing I try!
Stephanie says
Hi Katie! I LOVE that the food processor has two cup sizes — one big and one small. Much of the time I can’t use my old food processor for recipes because the ingredients don’t fit inside the cup! That said, I would definitely make a buttery pie crust for my Thanksgiving apple pie in the Cuisinart — and I could slice the apples in it, too! π
Beth says
I love that you can make dough in it. My current food processor went and broke on me. I hate making pie crusts and scones without it. The first thing I would make is pumpkin scones. I’ve been holding on to that recipe for a while!
Kelly says
My favorite feature would be the fact that it comes with two different sized bowls. So handy! The first recipe I’d make? Hmmm. It would probably have to be bread of some sort, since the “dough blade” has me intrigued. I would never have thought to use a food processor for dough of any kind!
The Duo Dishes says
Just tweeted it!
cindy says
I don’t own a food processor anymore, I really need one but just haven’t shopped for one. This would be a step up from the one I used to own. I like the locking blade, also like that the slicing blade is adjustable. I bake for a local restaurant. ( I work full time and commute 1 hour each way) This would help me with my baking, esp. making the pastry dough. I love that it is 12 cups! This would allow me to make the dough in a double batch. I’m impressed with how it looks, also.
The Duo Dishes says
The multiple blades feature is the best. Any machine that allows you to do more than just one function is a keeper. Is it sad that the first recipe made would be hummus? Or babaghanoush? It’d be awesome to get a completely smooth dip instead of a slightly chunky one. π
Ralph Johnson says
Martha Stewart’s Pate Brisee for some Apple Dumplings.
Kathy says
I would make some whole wheat bread.
Kim says
I Tweeted.
Kim says
I became a Facebook fan.
Kim says
My favorite feature is that looser blade lock. My older (very old) food processor locks tight, and getting the food out from under the blade is a pain. Thanks for entering me! π