So this post is a tad inspired. By shiny stuff. I recently received a birthday gift, and being a cook, most of the gifts I receive are kitchen related. Well, this gift wasn't just kitchen related. This gift was a chef's knife. A knife is to a chef what a gun is to a soldier (or at least that's what the movies tell me). Some chefs are more than happy to inflict bodily harm on anyone who touches their knife.
Well, the knife I received is a Shun Bob Kramer Meiji Chef's Knife (http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/shun-bob-kramer-meiji-chefs-knife/) and it is the greatest knife I have ever held. It is also the sharpest. I have cut myself without noticing several times already, and I've only had it for a week. That's how sharp it is. And that's what inspired the post today!
TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR TOOLS
I could probably walk into every home in the USA and find dull knives in 90% of them. Most of the time, this is because the knife has never been honed. Everybody knows about sharpening knives, but how many people know about honing them? You know that metal rod you always see chefs running their knife on real fast? That's a steel. They're honing their knife. Your knife's edge doesn't degrade rapidly enough to require sharpening on a regular basis - the most minor of imperfections on the blade can all be straightened by honing your knife. Almost everyone owns a steel. Just run your knife along the steel towards the handle at your preferred angle. The Japanese prefer a very sharp edge at around 10-11 degrees, whereas the French and Germans prefer 18-20 degrees. Do both sides, and don't try to imitate the chefs on TV. We all laugh because they're ruining the edge doing it that fast.
That's all!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Back In The Blog!
So, over the past few weeks my hardware has been giving me some issues. This is officially no longer a problem! Unfortunately, I have to post this about 8 minutes before I leave for work so the next full post won't be up until later tonight. So in the mean time, here is a little bit of advice for creative cookers.
Always experiment with your recipes. Just because chefs do this all the time, that doesn't mean we get things perfect the first time around. A lot of recipes go through a dozen or more adjustments before we are satisfied with the final product. For example, I took it upon myself one day to make a recipe for Maple Bacon Cinnamon Rolls. It took me 7 batches before I was satisfied with the cinnamon/maple/bacon flavor balance, and that involved a lot of different methods of conveying flavor, from maple syrup in the dough to bacon fat slathered on the dough just before rolling and cutting.
Be patient - test recipes 50 times if you have to, if you aren't entirely satisfied with your end product. Now get out there and cook damnit!
Always experiment with your recipes. Just because chefs do this all the time, that doesn't mean we get things perfect the first time around. A lot of recipes go through a dozen or more adjustments before we are satisfied with the final product. For example, I took it upon myself one day to make a recipe for Maple Bacon Cinnamon Rolls. It took me 7 batches before I was satisfied with the cinnamon/maple/bacon flavor balance, and that involved a lot of different methods of conveying flavor, from maple syrup in the dough to bacon fat slathered on the dough just before rolling and cutting.
Be patient - test recipes 50 times if you have to, if you aren't entirely satisfied with your end product. Now get out there and cook damnit!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Shenaningans
Unfortunately, my computer recently decided to do some undeclared shenanigans and the blog had to be put on hold for a few days. My main computer for the blog should be back working by tomorrow, when the recipes will start flowing like water (or if you're from here, beer) again.
Sorry for the hold up, these things happen :(
In the mean time, bacon shenanigans! Simple stuff today - Laquered Bacon. Set your oven to around 300 degrees, get a sheetpan, a wire rack, bacon, and sweet soy sauce ready. put the wire rack on the sheet pan, but the bacon on the rack, and put it in your oven. Every 10 minutes, pull the bacon from the oven, brush it with sweet soy, and put it back in the oven. after 40 minutes, flip the bacon over and start brushing the other side.
After about 80-90 minutes, voila! Laquered Bacon. It's pretty awesome.
Sorry for the hold up, these things happen :(
In the mean time, bacon shenanigans! Simple stuff today - Laquered Bacon. Set your oven to around 300 degrees, get a sheetpan, a wire rack, bacon, and sweet soy sauce ready. put the wire rack on the sheet pan, but the bacon on the rack, and put it in your oven. Every 10 minutes, pull the bacon from the oven, brush it with sweet soy, and put it back in the oven. after 40 minutes, flip the bacon over and start brushing the other side.
After about 80-90 minutes, voila! Laquered Bacon. It's pretty awesome.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
KISS
KISS is one of our favorite acronyms in the kitchen. It answers pretty much everything, and solves most problems. Keep It Simple Stupid. Somehow, it is also one of the hardest things to do. This is how a lot of dishes can become unbearable to make, or even just to think about making.
Good food can be simple food. Simple food can be good food. We have a dessert on our menu that has a grand total of 7 ingredients. Dark chocolate, eggs, black cap raspberries, white chocolate, cream, sugar, pinot noir. There are 4 different components to this dessert too.
Keep it simple, stupid.
Good food can be simple food. Simple food can be good food. We have a dessert on our menu that has a grand total of 7 ingredients. Dark chocolate, eggs, black cap raspberries, white chocolate, cream, sugar, pinot noir. There are 4 different components to this dessert too.
Keep it simple, stupid.
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