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My mom loaned me a really cute(and cheap!), small food processor that I use when I get a craving for things like the faux "egg salad" recipe, which uses very finely minced carrot. It makes an awesome mush!
The processors come in handy for fine chopping and mincing, and the broader base of the container means you won't have to keep stopping and tamping foods down, like you would using a blender for the same thing.
I don't make a lot of recipes, but I do love that little food processor. I think it's a nice gift to ask for. You might want to do a recipe search for those that use a food processor. It's a good way to tell if you could really have a use for one.
I use mine a lot, but I always have, even before we started playing around with raw foods. The Vitamix is great at blending and liquefying, so other than smoothies, it's great for salad dressing, smoothies, and most soups, but I find a FP results in a coarser mixture, which is good for things that I want to have some texture. I use it for salsa, applesauce, hummus, pates, even some soups that I don't want to be totally "smooth," and nut crusts. The FP is way better at breaking down nuts, and does a great job when you need to dice a massive amount of onion, fennel, squash, garlic, the firmer veggies. With different attachments you can grate or slice carrots and zucchini nicely.
Cuisinarts are built to last. Mine is about 20 years old - a hand-me-down from my MIL. If money and space is no object, I would go for it.
I use mine almost every day. I have a cheap Black & Decker, and I will use that til it bites the dust. I just got a great deal on a Cuisinart - I'm saving it!