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teslaA request for all of my culinarily-inclined friends: do you have any recommendations as to knife sharpening? I honestly don't know whether I should find some kind of sharpening device that holds the knife at the right angle, or learn to use a whetstone, or just have someone else sharpen my knives for me. I've got an adequate set and I've been using a steel as I've been instructed, but I really do need to have them honed at this point (no pun intended).
Also, (with the caveat that I know nothing about wine yet) a recommendation: Bonny Doon 2003 Central Coast Chardonnay. I'm not usually a fan of oaky chardonnay, but this one is magnificent. It reminds me of Hawaii: candied macadamia in the nose and a delightful hint of papaya on the palate. Despite this description, it's balanced rather than sweet. It held up perfectly to "traditional" seared pork loin chops with onions and cloves.
Oh, one note: this is one of the wineries that's promoting the Stelvin closure. I understand their reasons, but I'll admit I'm a wine Luddite. I *like* the ritual of pulling out a corkscrew and opening a bottle of wine properly. I've even spurned the "Rabbit" that someone gave me, for the same reason. The point is this: I don't love Stelvin, but I don't hate it enough to abandon a good winery because of it. I do, however, keep my Stelvin bottles in the kitchen with the cheap stuff instead of putting them in the wine rack.
No idea what I'm talking about? This link might help.
Also, (with the caveat that I know nothing about wine yet) a recommendation: Bonny Doon 2003 Central Coast Chardonnay. I'm not usually a fan of oaky chardonnay, but this one is magnificent. It reminds me of Hawaii: candied macadamia in the nose and a delightful hint of papaya on the palate. Despite this description, it's balanced rather than sweet. It held up perfectly to "traditional" seared pork loin chops with onions and cloves.
Oh, one note: this is one of the wineries that's promoting the Stelvin closure. I understand their reasons, but I'll admit I'm a wine Luddite. I *like* the ritual of pulling out a corkscrew and opening a bottle of wine properly. I've even spurned the "Rabbit" that someone gave me, for the same reason. The point is this: I don't love Stelvin, but I don't hate it enough to abandon a good winery because of it. I do, however, keep my Stelvin bottles in the kitchen with the cheap stuff instead of putting them in the wine rack.
No idea what I'm talking about? This link might help.
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Chardonnay
Date: 2006-04-16 03:37 pm (UTC)Bruce
Re: Chardonnay
Date: 2006-04-17 07:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-16 09:42 pm (UTC)Even at work we send out our knives to a service. Because even though many of us could do it the service has things like guarantees of workmanship and if they break something they replace it.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-17 07:12 pm (UTC)Unfortunately, an online search is only pulling up two shops, and neither appears to be the one you mentioned.
Have you ever heard of a place called Superior Knife? Apparently it's in Downtown Mpls., but no address is listed.
The other one is Kitchen Window. I had no idea they did onsite sharpening.
I may have to get manual and break out the hard-copy yellow pages. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-17 07:37 pm (UTC)B
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-22 01:01 pm (UTC)http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0032676512483a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=sharpening&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=sharpening&noImage=0
The trick to these is to maintain the edge and not have to create it. The beauty of a device like this is that all you need to do is determine the right angle for the knife in question and then use the properly angled ceramic while keeping the knife vertical. They even come with a little guide book to help you figure out which to use and how to use it. The problem is if your knife has already lost it's edge it can take a long time to get it back using one of these.
On the other hand, you can put a shaving sharp edge on most any knife (non serrated) with nothing more than a good light source and the unglazed ring on the bottom of a coffee mug once you know what you're doing. Most sharpeners (by that I mean people, not tools) will remove more metal than is really necessary to restore the original edge to your knife, but that's the cost of not keeping the edge up with a steel or ceramic tod on a regular basis.
If you're looking for a way to restore good knives now much worn to their original edge I suggest going no further than the yellow pages. To maintain the edge so you never need to bother again I suggest the regular use of a tool like the one I linked to and one will last the rest of your life, as will your knives if they are of even reasonable quality.
I know this response is rather long but it involves one of the many, only slightly useful skills I have learned that are now nearly forgotten in our disposable(oh, just buy a new one)society.