I got a new toy
The fine folks at Lamson & Goodnow sent me a review sample of their walnut handle chef knife, but unfortunately I didn’t get it until late yesterday, after I had already made dinner. This matters because everything I show on this site was made for us to eat. I don’t make it just for the pictures.
Before I even get to practical issues, I absolutely love that this looks like something out of Star Trek.
If you’re not a nerd, you may not recognize that’s a Bat’leth Worf is holding. (I’d point out that I didn’t know the name until I looked it up, but I work with computers for a living, so I’m already hopeless.)
Maybe you can see better in this shot, how it’s just a big blade with finger holes cut into it so you can hold on:
Just like my new knife.
This weekend I plan to chop something … with honor.
Get your own in my store
In my what? Yeah, I’ve got a store now.
I already had the two books, the eBook and the recipe cards. Then of course there’s the aprons and t-shirts that I designed, and the No Secret Recipes buttons. I figured it was time to put them all together on one page.
Then while I was working on it, I realized I’ve recommended the eBook and online course that friends made. And the mixer, food processor and chopper I use.
While I was putting all this together, I came across the Open Sky Project. It’s a new online shopping site that doesn’t want to be your one-stop shop. What they do is connect smaller suppliers with with people like me who tell people about their stuff.
People used to know the shopkeepers they bought from, and even knew the people who made the products. There was a level of trust that just doesn’t exist in a faceless superstore. With Open Sky, I hand-pick each product that goes in my store, and I can talk to the sellers personally if I have any questions.
The best thing is that many of the suppliers have products that you just won’t find anywhere else. Like the knife I just got. That knife is the first product I’ll be reviewing, but in the coming weeks I’ll be showing other cool stuff.
In the meantime, you might want to check out the stuff that I want to try.
By the way … some people take the Klingon thing so far over the top that they’ve gone down the other side and across the street. Like the Klingon Language Institute, where you can learn to speak Klingon. Or the people who offer online training videos for bat’leth fighting. But my favorite is the guy who robbed two convenience stores using a bat’leth. Seriously.
Want more like this? For more recipes like this, that you can hold right in your hands, and write on, take notes, tear pages out if you want (Gosh, you're tough on books, aren't you?) you might be interested in How To Cook Like Your Grandmother, 2nd edition, Illustrated. Or to learn your way around the kitchen, check out Starting From Scratch: The Owner's Manual for Your Kitchen.
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9 Comments
Have you tried any of these ceramic knives I will probably never be able to afford?
They sound wonderful!
No Lauren, and I don’t want to. They’re incredibly sharp, but incredibly fragile. If I had one in my hand eight hours a day I’d probably want the absolute sharpest thing I could get. But I rarely cook for more than 16 people at a time, so the cost and the risk just aren’t worth it to me.
I once inadvertently stayed at a hotel that was hosting a Star Trek convention. I’ve never even seen one episode of the show and know nothing about it, so seeing all these people wandering around in some truly weird costumes struck me as really bizarre.
Then again, I hill potatoes for fun, so who am I to talk.
I was in Baltimore for a wedding on the weekend they were hosting an anime convention. Now that’s some weird shit.
Wow! I have one of those! My ex husband bought one for my mother as a Christmas present about 15 years ago and I inherited it when she passed away. She absolutely loved that thing. The worn wooden handle isn’t as purty as yours but I hear it was a workhorse. I keep forgetting it’s in the drawer. Time to resurrect it.
HA! I knew it was part bat’leth before I scrolled down. That’s exactly what I thought! I’ve always thought Klingons were probably foodies. I mean Rokeg blood pie and skull stew…someone had to really be into offal, right?
I don’t know about the offal, but I plan on using it for some ribs in the next day or two.
I’ve been to 1 Star Trek convention (in San Francisco at least 15 years ago) and I had never seen so many crazy costumes. Don’t get me wrong. I love Star Trek. I could probably tell you from the first 5 minutes of the episode which one it is & what season it was. Yeah I’m a nerd. But these people had dressed up like the Borg. Full on with lasers coming out of their eyes and whirlygigs on their arms. And I thought I’d seen some weird stuff growing up in San Francisco!
Awesome knife, but I don’t recall my grandmother ever using one.