Anyway went down to the Salvation Army to see if they had a decent paring knife for sale. The reason being great price, helping a good cause and recycling a once loved kitchen tool instead of manufacturing a new one. Now usually when I say this I get the eye roll (especially from the snobs who would never consider such a thing). Well, struck out with the paring knife (my father donated a lame one which has been sharpened to the point where it works pretty well). But found this beautiful J.A. Henckels Professional Meat Cleaver. High carbon steel to hold a razor edge, great weight, great feel. Checked Amazon and this has a list price of $90.And I got this thing for $1.99! Insane. Of course it was dull but hitting it with a sharpening stone quickly brought it back to life. And you know somewhere, sometime, someone who loved to cook bought this cleaver and now it was just sitting around being useless. I kind of like the fact that it’s been brought back to life and doing what it was meant to do. .. Anyway before it sounds like I’m getting all emotional over a meat cleaver just want to mention that I also picked up a hardcover first edition “The Godfather” by Mario Puzo .. for a buck! .. Insane!

 Send this post to a friend if you think this is useful and a good way to conserve resources while helping a good cause (especially if they’re a knife store snob). Some related posts are:

• A Great Inexpensive Place to Get Good Kitchen Knives
• Paring Knives
• Mr. Safety Almost Chops His Thumb Off While Gabbing

 Anyway here’s some thoughts on brewing a very good cup of coffee:

• No instant, pre-ground or those little “convenience packets” allowed.
• Find the type of coffee you like best. Do some experimenting to determine your favorites. For example, some like an Arabica, others the fuller flavored French Roast.
• Your coffee should be freshly roasted and not sitting in a bag on the store shelf for weeks, months or even years.
• Buy your coffee in small amounts like you buy your food. Just like fish, only buy what you’ll consume during the week. And only purchase whole bean.
• Buy a small grinder so you can grind just what you need right before you need it.
• Experiment with the grind. Just ignore what the grinder says each grind is for and taste test to your favorite. The finer the grind, the more intense the flavor. However, you can go over the top for your taste buds and get to the point where the coffee begins to taste bitter. Or conversely, you undergrind and your cup of coffee tastes weak. For example, my preference is the espresso grind which is like a powder. It gives my regular cup of drip-coffee a strong taste and I don’t pick up any bitterness.. To each his own.
• Experiment with the amount of coffee you use. Start with 1 Tablespoon of whole beans in the grinder and work up from there. Most people fall in the 1-2 Tablespoons category.
• Use Spring Water not tap.
• Only make the coffee that will be consumed right away. My standard coffee maker is this little Mr. Coffee if you can believe it. I put the water to about 2.5 cups which yields one real coffee mug’s worth. I find that the paper filter produces a better cup of coffee when compared to the filter-less French Press. And other people think so too as I constantly get complements on my coffee. You know it’s not necessary to spend a fortune on a fancy single serve machine.

 So right now brewing a cup of coffee is like 1-2-3. Take out the whole beans from a small container in the freezer, measure out 2 Tablespoons of whole beans into the grinder, hit the grinder button (it’s an auto timed thing), .. while this is grinding I put away the coffee, get the spring water out of the frig and fill the maker, plop a paper filter in the machine, open the coffee grinder and pour the grinds into the paper filter (use this flat lab spatula thing to make sure I get everything), smooth out the top and make sure the grinds fill all the indentations of the paper filter, close the top and hit the “on” button. Sounds like a lot but it really gets knocked right out pretty fast. Then warm up your mug right before the brew is finished and enjoy. If you compare this to stopping at Starbucks every morning just calculate the money & time you’ll save. It’s amazing. And you’ll get a cup of coffee customized just for your preference and fresh as can be. Taste after all is what it’s all about.

 What I got was a high carbon steel knife for about five bucks. I’m guessing it use to belong to some chef sometime in the past. Sure it needed sharpening, but I took care of that and right now I can almost loose a thumb it is such an effective knife. But think..not only did the darn thing cost only five bucks but it was a perfectly good tool that was recycled. No need to mine, smelt, manufacture, transport with all the unnecessary energy and pollution involved. And if this weren’t enough you’d be contributing to a very worthwhile organization at the same time. It really doesn’t get any better than this. But the key in finding such bargains is to check-in every so often until what you want shows up. Now the Gourmet Shop Knives are very fine, don’t get me wrong. I just like the idea of how pleased the original owner would be if he knew that his knife is still contributing to excellent meals for an entirely different generation.

Related Links:

• Mr. Safety Almost Chops His Thumb Off While Gabbing
• Paring Knives
• Sharpening Chefs Knives And Other Knives

Related Post:

• Mr. Safety Almost Chops His Thumb Off While Gabbing

 Sure you can go cheap and get a lousy knife that won’t hold an edge or go for some quality and have a tool that will become like an old friend in the years to come. So what do you look for in a good quality knife? Well first, lets eliminate all the stainless steel knives out there.. these simply will not hold an edge. Rather go with a forged (not stamped) high carbon alloy. These will stay sharp.

 Now the whole rest of the story is how good the knife feels in your hand. This encompasses the material of the handle, it’s design, the weight of the knife and it’s balance. Remember this is to be your knife, it should almost feel like a part of your hand when you hold it. Comfortable, good and in control. Read the reviews but make sure to make your own final decision. Once you have a quality blade  only you can determine if the combination of all the other attributes are best for you.

Related Links:

• Sharpening Knives

 The seasoning process is actually pretty straightforward:

• Put the oven rack near the bottom of the oven. Place a layer of aluminum foil on the rack.
• Preheat the oven to 275F 
• Wash your new cookware with soap & warm water. Use a scouring pad or a wire brush to remove any factory residues. Be careful when handling cast iron, it’s heavy and can break a foot or toe if dropped.
• Dry the cookware with a towel.
• Coat the cookware with lard. If you try to use a liquid oil such as Canola Oil you’ll end up with tacky (as in sticky) cookware.
• Place the cookware in the oven on the aluminum foil.
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove using good oven mitts (remember cast iron is heavy which also means it also holds a lot of heat, use good quality oven mitts when handling).
• Pour off any excess grease into a container for proper disposal.
• Place the cookware back in the oven on the aluminum foil.
• Continue baking for 1 1/2 hour more.
• Leave the cookware in the oven and shut off. Let the cookware come back down to room temperature in the oven.

Re-seasoning:

• If the pan start to stick just thoroughly clean and dry.
• Repeat the seasoning instructions above.

 Cast Iron Pans. They distribute heat evenly, last a generation or more if properly cared for, add a vital nutrient to our diets and are non-stick. Naturally, without chemicals and without using the resources needed to produce these chemicals.

Related Links:

• Amazon.com’s Lodge Cast Iron Cookware Page

 This is just to give the OTK Readers a heads up. We’re not in any way affiliated, paid off or wined & dined (..uhh.. I wish) by Macy’s, Kohl’s or KitchenAid.

Related Links:

• KitchenAid Standing Mixer

 The portable timer will keep “dinging” until it wakes you up/drives you crazy if you don’t respond and it gives you freedom. Freedom to go to the living room and read a book without worrying if you didn’t hear the timer go off in the kitchen.

 Anyway, here’s a fancy schmantzy one from West Bend..A clock as well as a timer, counts either up or down. And has a 100 hour capability (in case you want to ferment wine or something). This one’s from Target but you can shop it and get them cheaper or with different features.

Related Links:

• Target’s Kitchen Timer Products Page

 Well first the critical distinction is home chef…If you’re a professional knocking out hundreds of meals you’re at an entirely different level than the home chef. One is about production, getting food plated and to the diners with maximum speed and quality..as for the home chef..well, we don’t dawdle but also don’t mind keeping things at a pace where cooking is an enjoyable thing.

 So in the video below Alton Brown gives some solid advice…and if your knives are a mess and very dull you should consider getting them professionally sharpened as dull knives really are dangerous. However, in the real world my knives have a good edge and they keep a good edge by just hitting them with a small sharpening stone quickly after each use…no leather strop or anything taking a lot of time or effort. Just some basic and quick maintenance. Are my knives perfectly sharp and ready for a Manhattan Restaurant Kitchen?…absolutely not. Do they do the job for a guy preparing a dinner for two?..very well thank you. You see, there’s no need to chop a carrot with blurring speed as you’d probably cut your finger off anyway. And when you’re serving two and not two hundred the extra minute of chopping doesn’t make a difference. So maybe using a sharpening stone to keep your knives sharp with little effort makes sense for you as well…

 However, in case you want to learn how to take this to the next level, here’s Alton Brown…

  Now previously there had been a belief that plastic was actually safer in terms of bacterial growth on the board after use. However, there are now several studies with conflicting results. But whatever the case, plastic is just plain ugly….and it does seem to groove more than a “hardwood” like bamboo. Now if given the choice of swallowing a small piece of bamboo vs a small chip of plastic…..you know what I’d choose. As far as bacterial growth is concerned..just wash the board after use and you can also sanitize it as well.

 Also, you want to have special cutting boards for those chores involving foods that tend to “taint” the board. For instance, you definately want a special board for cutting and dicing your hot peppers as the heat  can stay with the board and transfer over to other foods.

 As far as Bamboo is concerned, it makes for a very attractive board that’s also extremely hard and resistant to gouging (16% harder than maple). The signature move to both use the board and keep it looking awesome is to use only one side for cutting and the other for serving precut cheese or whatever.

 But just as important, is that from an environmental perspective bamboo, which is actually a grass, grows extremely fast..(peaks at about two feet per day). So we’re talking something that is renewable in very short time-frames unlike a stately maple tree that can takes much longer. Bamboo is a beautiful, functional and environmentally responsible choice for a cutting board.

Related Links:

• The Party Cheese Tray
• Chile Pepper Primer
• Info on Triclosan..An Active Ingredient In Antibacterial Soaps
• More Negative Effects of the Antibacterial Triclosan
• Target’s Product Page of Bamboo Cutting Board