The Kitchen Aid Experiment

It has been a tradition in my family, my mother's side, that when you get married you would receive a Kitchen Aid Mixer from my grandmother for a gift or shortly into your "marriage." I received mine (I refuse to say ours per the tradition) when I was getting my second Bachelor's Degree, far from family. I was very honored to have it, but there it stayed, until I saved it from the wreckage that WAS my "marriage." So it sat in storage, I played a little with my parents', then when my second family of two (the kiddo and I that is) moved on there it stared me in the face:

So I looked at the instruction book of recipes, after looking at the budget that told me I needed to start doing more things from bulk scratch and get some homemade ideas going for the holidays, and got the needed supplies as you can see above. As if the baking isle at the store wasn't enough to scare you off, I then read the instruction manual so in detail (all the while wondering if there was a Kitchen Aid for Dummies book) to the point of figuring out what the 3 different attachment names were in the book via picture. Hey, I had no lessons OK! 

Well, after reading, making a mess of the kitchen to where I was slipping and sliding on four and oil, the following was made:

OK, well these are the pictures from my second attempt, where I improvised with a little bit of basil and olive oil - and hey guess what? It worked, it actually worked. I even got an order for the basil bread for Thanksgiving! I was/am uber proud of myself, like really, really proud. I am on my third batch tonight - in the oven - and even made a recipe for homemade mashed potatoes using my assistant to whip them up literally. They taste amazing, now I know the secret to my grandmother's and father's mashed potatoes, perfection in a bowl. Yes, that is right - my dad was the chef in our house, which I kind of like that little twist :) 

Next up is attempting the family heirloom, 4 generation recipe book. However, do not think me a master as I am still laughing at/with my great-grandmother and grandmother who are both up in heaven now as I read the instructions "cream butter and sugar until creamy" on the "60 cookies recipe - guess how many cookies it makes. Really guys? That helps ;) The best part is reading the old and new letters in the book, which my cousin remastered, knowing that when I read the letter from my grandmother to her mother I can totally see my mother writing/saying close to the same words, knowing that so many women (and men) in my family have been in the kitchen at some time scratching our heads sarcastically while reading "cream butter and sugar until creamy" while figuring this thing out, and laughing out loud in the kitchen feeling like they are there with me even late at night by myself.