Although I have had mine KitchenAid for many years, I have never tried any of the attachments. You could say I’ve been keeping my beloved KitchenAid from its potential. After all, and KitchenAid is supposed to be just that… one help in the kitchenand not just a mixer.
That doesn’t mean he hasn’t thought attachments, day dreaming of using one or the other (my most wanted to be ice cream machine accessory). But all these years it’s been relegated to daydreaming, and I never got around to getting one.
Fast forward to Launch of KitchenAid Miniwhere I not only saw (and subsequently fell in love with it) the fabulous and adorable little sister of the standard KitchenAid (although no less powerful!), but I also had the opportunity to reacquaint myself with attachments. Rediscover and relive all those dreams!
During the demonstration, chef Miko Aspiras used the meat grinder to make a salmon cream. Seeing it used in person spurred me on to turn daydreams into action. I spoke to the fine folks at Focus Global (the exclusive distributors of KitchenAid in the Philippines) on how to get some attachments. They kindly offered to lend me some to try before I made my decision (hooray and thank you!!!). So after some deliberation and discussion, a food grinder and an ice cream maker attachment found their way to my door.
The ice cream maker works with the standard KitchenAid models and I have yet to test it. First I have to make room in the freezer for the bowl. And if any of you are familiar with the deplorable state of my freezer, you know this will have to be done. I’ll keep you informed!
Meanwhile, the food chopper works perfectly with the KitchenAid Mini (just like almost all attachments!), making the Mini even more versatile than originally thought. And while the grinder wasn’t really one of my top choices for attachments before I saw Chef Miko using it, it quickly made its way into my heart.
Because?
Because, OMG, I made my own ground beef!
Yes, the thing I once just bought from a supermarket tray. I did it with my own hands (and the food chopper). I made it in my own kitchen.
And it was so easy. And fun And that changes life.
I had to celebrate. With sausage
Thai Red Curry Sausage
(Adapted from From my impossibly small kitchen)
- 1 kilo pork shoulder/kasim (make sure you get a piece with a good mix of meat and fat)
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 2 lemon stalks, white part only and very light green, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into pieces
- 2 tablespoons of coriander leaves
- 2 tablespoons of Thai basil leaves
- 2 spoons of fish/patis sauce
- 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- scant 1/4 cup cornstarch
– Cut the pork into 1-inch strips and refrigerate until firm.
– While the pork is in the freezer, prepare the herb mixture. Place the garlic, lemon and ginger in a food processor (I used a mini chopper) and process until finely chopped. Add the cilantro and Thai basil and pulse until finely chopped.
– Once the pork is partially frozen and firm, grind in batches through the plate crusher plate of the KitchenAid food chopper attachment (I used the KitchenAid Mini for that!), grinding it in the mixing bowl.
– When all the pork is ground, add the herb mixture, fish sauce and curry paste to the bowl. Attach the paddle attachment to the KitchenAid and mix until well blended. Add the cornstarch and mix until just combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to infuse.
– Cook a small amount of the sausage mixture and taste it to check the seasoning. Adjust if necessary with salt or fish sauce.
– If you have the attachment for stuffing sausages and actual sausage casings, you can turn them into very nice sausage links. If you, like me, don’t have either, you can form logs, patties or balls and fry them in a pan until golden and cooked (but don’t overcook or they will be tough!).
Cucumber and peanut seasoning
(Also adapted from From my impossibly small kitchen)
- 1 cucumber, small dice
- 1/4 cup peanuts, crushed
- 2 teaspoons of fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of vinegar
- gochugaru tile (Korean chili flakes)
– Mix all the ingredients together. Taste and adjust the fish sauce, sugar and vinegar to taste. Add gochugaru depending on your heat tolerance!
Red curry mayonnaise
(Also adapted from From my impossibly small kitchen)
- 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
- 1 – 1 ½ teaspoons of red curry paste
- Squeeze the lime juice
– Mix all the ingredients well.
I searched for sausage recipes to use with the food processor, and while I found many delicious ones, I was (of couse) attracted to it An Asian-inspired one from FMITK (From My Impossibly Tiny Kitchen) which used Panang curry and turned it into a sandwich with a cucumber peanut relish and Panang curry mayo. I swapped the Panang curry for the Thai red curry, the chicken (to the original recipe) for the pork, and we made some small tweaks and got what we have here! These come out very salty, full of Asian flavors and a little spicy. Both my kids loved it!
I don’t have a sausage stuffer, or sausage casings, so I made them into balls and buns. As with the original recipe, I decided to turn this into a sandwich…my own take on an Asian meatball sub! I spread my red curry mayo on the bread and topped it with the sausage balls, carrot strips, cucumber peanut relish, some cilantro and Thai basil. I also made little bruschetta-like toasts with the burgers, using the red curry mayo and carrots, then tossing the potatoes with pickled guava and pineapple sambal (made by Purple Yam Malate, which I scored at the Philippine Harvest fair put on by our Department of Agriculture).
While I’ve made sandwich versions here, they would definitely be perfect with a hot bowl of rice and, I’m thinking, some sweet chili sauce. Hmmm!
Having the food chopper opens up all kinds of possibilities…sausage, chorizo, burgers from scratch, custom ground meat mixes, etc. Most importantly though it ensures that I can now have fresh ground beef, made to order when I need it, from the meat of your choice.
But hold on…I still don’t have the food chopper attachment. This one is on loan but you can bet I’ll be out shopping for mine very soon!!
Related