I know Tuesday’s are normally a beverage posting, but I got a new kitchen appliance over the weekend and I just wanted to share my first successes with it!

I’ve always been a minimalist, small appliance-wise. I have always had tiny kitchens with hardly any storage or counter-top space. And I don’t like clutter on my counter-tops. The coffeepot always has a place (I don’t function without my morning hit), and well, you have to tuck the microwave somewhere because it’s too heavy to put away every day. I’ve got a toaster (can be put away), a mini-chopper (can be put away), and a hand mixer (can be put away). Last fall, I finally splurged on a full-size Kitchen-Aid stand mixer after YEARS of deliberation. It sits on the counter and as it turns out — it doesn’t really get in the way. Also, with it out, I’m more likely to use it!

I have struggled with pie crust for 30+ years. My mother and grandmothers made amazing pie crusts, so this feels like a personal failing. Yes, they made them by hand. In un-air-conditioned kitchens. With oil. After reading a zillion cookbooks and watching a million cooking shows and consulting personally with known pie crust masters, it really comes down to, I needed a food processor. So this weekend, I made the MOMENTOUS decision to go buy one. The bread machine has been relegated to the beach house and the food processor has taken it’s place. I am so psyched!

So what was the first thing I made? PIE of course! I made these little sweet potato handpies with an all-butter dough. The dough was tender and flaky — if a little thick (that’s a rolling issue not a recipe issue). It was an amazing first attempt at dough in the food processor! I have a second disc in the fridge waiting to be turned into something else, maybe a free form apple pie.

The other thing I made was pimento-and-cheese dip. I am lazy, so I usually buy cheese pre-shredded in bags. But for this dip, I knew I didn’t want the cornstarch-coating that pre-shredded cheese tends to have — I needed to shred myself. Guess what a food processor has — shredding discs! So I shredded up my cheddar and pepper jack like a champ! The dip rocks — so much better than anything I’ve bought at the store. It was hard not to eat it all right after making it! I’ll do a full post on this dip later — it is truly blogworthy