As I pointed out last week, there will not be a recipe in today's edition. Instead, I have included two video clips, both relating to sharpening knives.
One might think that a sharp knife is a dangerous tool. Yes, it must be handled with care, but a dull knife is infinitely more dangerous. It is unpredictable and can cause nasty injuries. Any chef will tell you that they are more cautious about handling a dull knife than a razor-sharp one.
Ever since Obama was elected, I have had to forego watching Fox News Channel or CNN, because I just can't stand even hearing the man's name. So, in an ironic twist of fate, I have ol' "B.O." to thank for my discovery and subsequent love of The Food Network.
It's not so much the recipes that keep me enthralled with The Food Network; it is more about the tricks of the trade. Knife handling is one of those skills that they all seem to do with such ease! I would love to be able to chop-chop-chop-chop up a carrot or green onions at the speed of light like they do. If I tried it with my current set of knives, however, I'd probably kill myself with a flying cleaver embedded in my chest.
I have come to accept that to be able to slice and dice like they do requires constant practice, and I just cannot devote that much time or that many carrots to this endeavour. So, if I must resign myself to chopping like a little girl, I'm going to do it as safely as possible, with sharp knives.
Every set of reasonably good knives I've ever bought has always contained a steel, which usually just ended up gathering dust, as I had no idea how to use it properly. Those days are gone!
It a little known factoid that steels actually straighten - not sharpen - a knife blade. To sharpen a blade, you must use a stone, also known as a whetstone. There's a knack to that, as well.
There are a lot of websites you can find to show you how to use both a steel and a stone. Here are two of them, for your learning pleasure!
So, without further ado, here they are!
Chop-chop!!
Now, for the second video, how to sharpen knives using a stone...
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