In New York, it’s not uncommon to meet people who don’t cook. At all.
They proudly talk about using their fridge only for beverages and maybe leftovers, and keeping shoes or sweaters in their ovens.
I’m thankful not to be among them. As much as I do love going out for a good meal, I take serious pleasure in the meals we make at home — especially when they involve shopping for good ingredients at the excellent little shops and farmers market stalls near us, then assembling them into something where those goodies shine.
Recently one of my coworkers pulled together a group of us to take a knife skills class, taught by chef Brendan McDermott, featured in this video from Working Class Foodies. In a few short hours, I learned a better grip for my chef’s knife, learned a better way to hold the thing I’m cutting so my fingers stay out of the way, learned a better way to scrape the chopped items into my pan so I don’t dull the blade.
Apparently I still have some room to go, since I cut myself pretty well just days after the class.
But I’m grateful that I’ll keep having plenty of opportunities to practice.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PtCy_PQUCg]