Hi Kiki,
I am the woman who asked you a million questions at Mariano's on Thursday morning while you were very busy cooking and greeting shoppers. You answered my questions with outstanding tips and recipes (and with a heaping amount of kind patience), which proved to be out-of-the park successes for us and our Thursday evening company.
Your Web site is wonderful, and on there I found another answer to one of my questions. Maybe another topic could be favorite/best kitchen knives for the kitchen.. ?? Thank you so much for sharing your expertise. —Cindy
Dear Cindy,
I'm not sure anyone has ever complimented me on my patience before, so thank you! It's also good to hear that your company enjoyed the dishes that YOU prepared with great success. Kudos to you. As for your cutlery question, it's a very imporant one. Something I learned from some of the best chefs early on is the importance of a good knife that fits comforatbly in your hand. Even more important is that the blade is always sharp and done so by a professional. An accident is far worse with a dull blade than a sharp one. Trust me, I've learned the hard way! Since I use my knives quite often, I try to have them sharpened by a pro every six weeks. Most homecooks, however, can plan to take their knives about every three months. Some farmers markets have professinal knife sharpeners or ask your favorite local restaurant where the kitchen takes their cutlery. I use Northwestern Cutlery in Chicago which conveniently has an adjacent parking lot and costs $3.50 per knife. Here is their pricing.
My knives of choice are a little pricey, but I feel the best I've used throughout my 20+ years of cooking. I use Shun knives that can be purchased at William-Sonoma. There are several styles to choose from and my go-to is the 71/2" Classic Double Hollow Santoku. It's a great all-purpose knife. I highly recommend taking the time to look at all your options within each collection to see how the knife feels in your hand. I also keep all of my knives in individual cases to protect them because I prefer to keep them safely in a drawer rather than a block on the counter. Good luck and cheers to your conitued success with slicing and dicing!
