Which Food Processor? Cuisinart Prep 11 plus or Kitchenaid

I have not used the KitchenAid, but I have the Cuisinart Elite 14-cup. I love it. I haven't found a single thing it can't handle yet, to be honest. It has a 1000-watt motor, so it has plenty of power for just about any task. What I really like about it is that it has 3 different bowl sizes - 4.5 cup, 11 cup, and 14 cup, plus a bunch of slicing discs, shredding discs, and several different blades. So it is very versatile. I can put frozen steaks into it in 2" cubes and have ground beef in under 10 seconds. I can put a tablespoon of oregano leaves in the small bowl, and it will mince them. Basically, it can handle the brute force tasks as well as the finesse tasks.

Originally, what I *really* wanted was the Robot Coupe r101, but it costs at least $200 more than the Cuisinart, and the Cuisinart provides a similar result for my level of cooking (I would say that I'm advanced, but probably not expert ;).

My only complaint about the Cuisinart is that for dicing, I still need to do a little knife work myself after the item comes out of the Cuisinart (for instance with onions), if the precision of the dicing matters in the recipe. I have not been able to master the technique for getting it to dice evenly but finely. I have friends who somehow make it work, so the fault may be mine and not the machine's. The other minor complaint is that it is a little bit tall to fit underneath my kitchen cabinets. I have to take the food pusher out of the processor in order for the machine to slip underneath the cabinet. In reading the reviews on Williams-Sonoma, I see I am not the only one with that issue. (If you have an appliance garage, then of course that won't matter.)

Anyhow, overall I feel like the Cuisinart 14 has been worth every penny.

I really like the Kitchenaid because the motor is quieter than others I've tried, including Cuisinart. It also has a really heavy base and stays put on the counter. I use mine to make curries containing lemongrass and galangal, and it does a bang up job of making both of those really woody things into paste :)

I know it costs a bit more, but I feel my KitchenAid was worth the price! It just chops and blends so nicely. The blades are specially made--almost impossible to dent or bend or destruct. Have you ever been to COSTCO when they have a demonstrator there showing how to use the KitchenAid blender? Check to see when the next demonstrator will be at the COSTCO near you and plan to attend to see how the machine works. They usually also have a discount as part of their being at the store; that's how I was able to afford mine.

Good luck!

I agree with talkstotrees I love my kitchen aid! I make bread dough all the time:)