I have a manual roller that I use, although the Kitchenaid pasta roller works well. My problem is that I'm 5'1" and my counter is too tall, I don't have a shorter table or anything to set the mixer on, so it's too tall for me to reach comfortably. I haven't gotten the knack of the "extruder" yet, my pasta comes out and clumps right back up, and I can't cut the strands, lay them out and still catch the stuff still coming out. I'm not so coordinated I guess, because I just can't figure out how it's ever going to work without an assistant. I've lent it to a couple of people who think it works great, though, so it must just be me. Now the slicing attachment? That works like a charm, I can do scalloped potatoes for 30 (or 300) without a blink! (Thanks, Beachlily!) Annie

My mom's birthday lunch was this weekend, and we decided to bring pies instead of standard cake. It became a 5-kid project. They love to make pie. This was their first try at a crumb top crust and missed the instruction about protecting it with foil...Oh, well. It was a little dark, but didn't affect the taste.

We have had our Artisan and Pro. 600 KA mixers for many, many years. The attachments we have are the pasta roller/cutter, grinder, sausage stuffer and one more that escapes my memory at the moment.lol As we love to bake and the majority of food we make from scratch these mixers get a real workout. For rolling out sheets of dough the pasta attachment is fantastic. So happy we purchased it. Consistent thickness every time, doesn't get bogged down, clean up is easy. We make our own sausages and hamburger mix so we are always using the food grinder. Another attachment that gives us no problems. It comes apart for easy cleaning in the DW. We used the sausage stuffer frequently until husband wanted a bigger stuffer, so now it is regulated to the back of the pantry. But it too did its' job very well. Those are ones I can recommend to you. But it depends on how you personally cook and bake that will determend what you purchase. Seeing the food processor on TV that is one attachment I would pass on. For one thing the size is way small. Another, the constant pushing down on the food feed tube makes me wonder if it will damage the attachment bolt. I would just get a separate Cuisinart food processor. Even one of their mini choppers would be better then the attachment I believe. The other attachments you mentioned, sorry no help there. We have a jack lalane juicer that someone gave us for a gift, love it. Works well and cleans up in the DW. We have an ice cream maker but very seldom use it. Purchased a Vitamix a few years ago and that stays out in the kitchen. Use it all the time. Of course we have the storage room for all these small appliances. We have a pantry with many shelves. That also has to figure in on your purchases. Storage! HTH, and enjoy your KA mixer. NancyLouise

Leela4, I have had an Atlas/Marcato pasta machine with the motor attachment for many years. I used to do wedding cakes, and I bought the pasta machine for fondant and gumpaste. There was much talk in the cake community back then on which machine was the best and the Atlas/Marcato was the one to buy. Fast forward about 10 years and I'm retired from cakes, except for my grandsons. After a visit to Italy and lunch at a friend's home in Rome where she cooked for us, I came home and made my own pasta, per her instructions, and started using the Atlas for pasta. I don't know how it would work with just the crank handle, but with the motor it works wonderfully. My first time I thought you had to keep all the noodles separated as they extruded, but I found that even when they're all bunched up together, when you put them in the water, they separate and come out nicely. The Atlas dials from 1 to 10 to adjust the thinness of the pasta (or fondant). I take my pasta down to a 10 - it swells when you cook it. This is the Atlas with Motor. This is the Atlas without motor. Apparently it comes in colors now - cool! Mine is stainless.