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Playing With Knives |
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by Richard McKay Boomers turn on the Food Network or PBS and watch in amazement as those superstar chefs crank out fabulous food in just one thirty-minute show. Why do these heros look so effortless while our own endeavors look like mad panic? The answer is mise-en-place. Mise-en-place is a French term that means “things in place”. A good cook gets all the ingredients and equipment ready to go before starting the cooking process. And good “Mise” requires good knife skills.
Cooks need good quality sharp knives. Open that kitchen drawer and take out your knives. If you’re like many of my friends, you probably have collected an assortment of knives over the years but aren’t satisfied with the performance of any of them. Earmark them for your next garage sale. You really only need two knives: a chef’s knife and a paring knife. And you only need to remember two brands: Wusthof and J. A. Henckels. Both of these brands are made of forged high carbon stainless steel and will last many years. Basically, you want the largest chef’s knife that you can comfortably handle. My wife likes the eight-inch chef’s knife. I prefer the ten. I recommend that you try them out before purchasing them so that you can find the one that best fits your hand. To hold the knife properly, grip it with your thumb and forefinger on the blade side of the bolster and the rest of the fingers and hand on the handle side. For close work you can use this same grip on the spine of the blade, like a batter choking up on the bat for more control. Or use the pairing knife.
We’re missing one last item: the cutting board. What you want is a stable surface that gives a little to the blade as you cut. Glass, stone, and acrylic boards are terrible because their hard surfaces quickly dull knives. The best boards are made of rock hard maple and are about 3 inches thick. That’s what the pros use. But they’re very heavy and require hand cleaning and periodic disinfecting. They’re also expensive. What I use are polyethylene cutting boards that are much less expensive and can be put in the dishwasher. I have a couple of twelve by eighteen boards and an eight by twelve board that are constantly in use. The one drawback to poly is that it slides around. To fix that, dampen a paper towel and lay it on the counter under your board. You can also use a piece of rubberized shelf liner or a damp dishtowel to accomplish the same thing.
The side of the knife should ride along the back of your fingers. This way you know where the knife is and where your fingers are. Start with a series of parallel cuts from top to tail, slicing almost all the way through but keeping the tail in tact. The spacing of all your slices will determine the size of your final dice. Next, turn the tail away from your knife hand and make a few passes parallel to the board from the bottom up about half way using the same spacing. Finally, cut down through the onion from top to tail to form the dice. As you get toward the tail you should turn the onion down with the tail in the air to get the last of it. With a sharp knife, there should be dry even dice and few tears. Other vegetables are a variation on this basic method. For torpedo shaped vegetables like carrots or zucchini, start by cutting them into manageable lengths of about three inches or so. Next slice off a thin layer to keep it from rolling around. Cut long planks, then stack them up and cut them into matchsticks. Finally cut the matchsticks into dice. Herb leaves such as basil or mint should be stacked up and rolled tightly like a cigar. Then cut through the roll into thin chiffonade. Here’s a simple recipe for a fresh pasta sauce that allows you to practice your new skills. It really highlights those homegrown tomatoes. Add a little balsamic vinegar if using plum tomatoes. The simple flavors form a classic combination.
Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Add a good two to three tablespoons of salt. Then start your mise-en-place of tomato, onion garlic and basil. Add all these to a large bowl with the olive oil. Mix to combine. Salt and pepper to taste. The water should be boiling by now. Add the pasta and cook till al dente. Drain well and then add it to the bowl. Toss to combine. Serve with grated cheese on top and a few whole basil leaves for garnish. For more on knife skills, reference “The Professional’s Knife Kit” by The Culinary Institute of America.
Writer and chef Richard McKay can be reached at richardmckay@rcn.com.
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Lets
talk about knives ...
You’ve
got to keep those knives sharp. Dull knives tend to slip and slide
on the food. Sharp knives are always safer. The best edge is obtained
from a sharpening stone, but most of us don’t possess the high
degree of skill required to get a perfect edge. What I use is
an electric sharpening machine such as the one made by Chef’s
Choice. It has magnets that grip the blade at the perfect angle
to the orbiting stones. The dagger-like steel that comes with
many knife sets is not for sharpening. It only takes the burred
edge off the knife. The steel will work a few times. After that
you need to properly sharpen your knife. After using a knife,
wash it by hand and dry it thoroughly before putting it away.
Never put your knives in the dishwasher. 
So
let’s cut up some stuff. The most common vegetable cooked is the
onion, so lets start with that. I have seen some soggy piles of
onion bits returned to me when I ask a guest to dice an onion
for me. I’m actually on a crusade to teach everyone how to properly
dice an onion. The secret is understanding that an onion grows
as a series of shells connected at one end. We want to break down
the onion but keep it together until the end. To do that we first
cut off the flower (top) and root (tail) ends. Then cut it in
half from top to tail. Peel off the papery layers and the first
outer layer of each half. Lay the onion on the board cut side
down with the tail toward you. To safely hold the onion or any
vegetable, keep your fingers curled under and your thumb behind
your fingers.