"Mix and Stir Friday Five"

Songbird says: "In a minor domestic crisis, my food processor, or more precisely the part you use for almost everything for which I use a food processor, picked the eve of the festive season of the year to give up the ghost. A crack in the lid expanded such that a batch of squash soup had to be liberated via that column shaped thing that sticks up on top.
Can you tell this is not my area of strength?Next week, I'm hosting Thanksgiving. I need your help. Please answer the following kitchen-related questions:"

1) Do you have a food processor? Can you recommend it? Which is to say, do you actually use it?
Oh Songbird...it takes me back! Last Thanksgiving morning, two hours and counting from the arrival of guests, my food processor bowl got firmly stuck on the base of the thing. Thinking to help it along a bit in the letting go I thwacked it, gently of course on the handle, with a hammer. Yes well, it was not the best of plans and subsequently there was an emergency trip to the big box place for a new food processor and a "begin again" with whatever it was I was making in it. Food processors, I find, are one of those things that I don't use often, but when I need one nothing else will do. The one I had, the one that succumbed to ill-fated impact maintenance, was a spendy one. It survived about two years of infrequent use. My new one is the Black and Decker (love that!) $30 version. It's holding up swell so far and I haven't had to thwack it yet!

2) And if so, do you use the fancy things on it? (Mine came with a mini-blender (used a lot and long ago broken) and these scary disks you used to julienne things (used once).
I use the bladey thing that goes in the bottom. I keep finding that other stuff in drawers still in the plastic bags with the instructions and warranties from food processors long long ago....so I'm thinking I must not be using them, either.

Do you use a standing mixer? Or one of the hand-held varieties? I have my mom's standing mixer. It's a General Electric that is, I think about my age. That would be like older than dirt in case anyone is interested. It still works and I have the bowls, the orange juice attachment, the whole nine yards. What I can't find since my last move is the beaters. I'm guessing if I got really serious about it I could probably track them down in some antique mixer place on the net. I did have a hand one. I broke it. It was a $9 from the Dollar Store, so there is that. Mostly I whisk, or punt with the blender.

4) How about a blender? Do you have one? Use it much? I do indeed. Until recently I had two, and a thingy that made smoothies. But I cleaned house last summer and decided this was all most excessive. I have now one blender. I use it to make smoothies, gazpacho, margaritas, and sometimes things that are supposed to be done with mixers! It's a cheapy too and it's making kind of an ominous grindy noise and leaving little shavings on the base every time it's used. Hmmm. I have been thinking new blender, and it is one small appliance that I would actually spend a little bit on. Maybe a glass jar, retro Oster. Love those. Maybe even a RED one!

5) Finally, what old-fashioned, non-electric kitchen tool do you enjoy using the most? I do enjoy my whisk. Good for many things...delumping sauces, frothing the coffee milk, getting the tomato soup to not be that nasty consistency, returning older yogurt to edible condition,....I could go on and on....but I will spare you.

Bonus: Is there a kitchen appliance or utensil you ONLY use at Thanksgiving or some other holiday? If so, what is it? As much as I have been arguing with myself about the need to downsize and get rid of stuff, I still have some "seasonal" themed serving pieces...and Thanksgiving is one of the holidays that I seem to be strong on...turkey serving platter, pilgrim salt and peppers, turkey gravy boat, leaf themed serving dishes and napkin rings. Christmas of course has its own set of stuff. I'm considering the continued need for these things in my life....maybe next year I will decide.