Kitchen essentials: Cuisinart food processor

Back when we lived on Dolores Street, in a building that's not even as old as the one we're in now, we had neither adequate counter space nor, more importantly, sufficient electrical oomph to power kitchen appliances. Or, for that matter, more than one anything. Vacuum or microwave -- pick one!

Now, however, we are blessed with both a quarter-mile of granite counter and enough electricity to power a small third-world nation. And so we've become regular appliance whores, starting with our beloved Francis Francis X5.

The most recent addition is the Cuisinart 11-cup food processor in, of course, red. Now, while it's true we lived happily for 11 years in our previous place -- and I managed to stick out well over 30 years overall -- without one, I no longer care to  remember how. With this, I handily make salsas, batters (such as for crèpes or clafoutis), tapenades and of course bread crumbs.

As with many appliances, there is exactly one brand to go with, and with food processors it is Cuisinart and only Cuisinart. Accept no imitations! Now, I normally am a proponent of getting the top-of-the-line model of anything. But as our 11-cup barely clears under our cabinets, the 14-cup model would probably have been overkill. I have yet to overreach capacity on this model.