The Best Things Come with Paddle Attachments

One hates to play favorites with Christmas presents, of course, but when a lack of luggage space necessitated our leaving a few things behind in Utah a few weeks ago, Edward's Mr. Potato Head got the shaft in favor of our toting my brand new Kitchenaid (shriek! Squeal! Ear-to-ear-grin!) back to North Carolina. Edskers may be a little more opinionated about the fate of his own Christmas presents next year, but for now I figured that his grandparents might be more easily prevailed upon to ship the plastic spud to their neglected grandson than the more cumbersome, brand new Kitchenaid!! to me.

And, oh, has it ever been worth it! My mashed potatoes are creamier (at least Mr. Potato head has been spared that fate), my whipped cream is frothier (not to mention much faster to make), and the cheesecake that Edward & I made the other day is hands-down my best attempt thus far. (Note the lack of cracks on top of that beauty? Oh, the joys of having a paddle-attachment and a slow-mixing-speed option!) (And, since Logan & Amy got me a copy of Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook for Christmas, expect several more attempts over the next few months. Compliments of my brand new Kitchenaid!!, of course.)

And, when a recent dinner invitation from a friend was accompanied by a last-minute request that I bring a chocolate cake, who was I to turn down an additional opportunity to use my brand new Kitchenaid!!? It was fate, I tell you. Double-layered, flourless almond, chocolate-flecked, whipped-cream filled & chocolate ganache-covered tortes have never come together so easily. I don't know who invented the Kitchenaid, but s/he oughtta get a Nobel Peace Prize, at the very least. (I hate to wax all political, but Misters Gore and Obama haven't done half so much to bring peace to the civilized world in their combined political carreers as my brand new Kitchenaid!! has done in its single month of use, I can assure you.)

Unfortunately, making Joseph's birthday "cake" (baklava) will not require the services of my brand new Kitchenaid!!, but I promise to keep loving him anyway. After all, the Kitchenaid may rank high in the pecking order of Christmas presents received this year, but believe it or not, I still love Joseph more.