Knife Sharpening

Here's one that I know many of us discuss these days -- where to get knives sharpened? I hear there's a guy in City Market. Others take them to their favorite chefs. Some still wing it at home with a whetstone and a prayer. Here's a question from our reader who's name I won't reveal in case it gives away the Christmas surprise! Lucky niece!

"I don't live in Indianapolis, but my sister does and my niece is a budding chef. I'mbuying her a nice chef's knife, steel and a book on knife skills for Christmas. I waswondering where reputable knife sharpeners might be in Indianapolis (south side, if possible, but not necessary) so I can instruct my sister on where to take my niece's knives for professional sharpening?"

Single Glass Wine Aerator: Brilliant!

Stopped in last night to say a long overdue "hello" to Dave and Krissy Tallent at the fabulous Restaurant Tallent in Bloomington. If you don't know these fine chefs, you're missing two of the nicest, most knowledgeable, and plain coolest people in the state. The fact that they're two of the best chefs in Indiana doesn't hurt either. (Just had to get a little Tallent love out there!)

To celebrate her birthday, Krissy opened a bottle of earthy French goodness from 1989. Decant? Nope. She used a single glass aerator which provided even better results. The glass "funnel" with a plastic valve goes over the wine glass, wine pours into the funnel, and just seconds later (accompanied by a fine slurping sound, I might add), it's done. This is a wine gadget worth every penny even if you just experiment with it. And to my taste, it did a better job of aerating than an hour of sitting. Plus, you can aerate by the glass instead of decanting the entire bottle. Cost is about $40. Looks like you can purchase direct from the company or via Wine Enthusiast.

Baker's Edge and Game Day Brownies

A couple of weeks ago, I judged Indianapolis Dine magazine's Best Of... competition with the fabulous Emily Griffin, pastry chef, entrepreneur, and inventor of the edge brownie pan. Her Indianapolis-based company, Baker's Edge, which she owns with her husband, manufactures and distributes the brilliant and innovative pan designed to give every brownie piece edges. Honestly, why didn't anyone think of this sooner! For those of us who *love* the chewy outsides of brownies, this pan offers at least two edges on every piece!

What better way to try out the pan than to use Emily's fantastic brownie recipe (one of several that come with the pan, natch). What Colts fans don't need a batch of chocolaty chewy goodness for a game. I made a few modifications but got lucky -- all worked as it should -- and the high brown sugar content in her recipe gave all of the edges and even darker crust. Delish! Order the Edge pan from Amazon.com or Baker's Edge directly.

Edge Lover's Chewy Edge Brownies

1 1/2 sticks of butter
5 oz unsweetened chocolate (I cheated and substituted cocoa. The rule is 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder and 1 of oil equals 1 oz of unsweetened chocolate.)
1 cup sugar

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 tsps vanilla

1 1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used chopped semisweet Ghirardelli chocolate from Trader Joe's)

(Instructions from Emily's recipe)

1. Preheat over to 375. Lightly spray pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Melt the baking chocolate in a bowl over a pan of bowling water melting the butter and chocolate, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove from heat. (Or, if you're using the cocoa substitution, mix cocoa and oil in a separate bowl, then cut butter into the mixture and microwave for 20 seconds, stirring until butter melts into the chocolate.)

3. Add sugar and brown sugar to the chocolate. Then add the eggs, one at a time. Then add the vanilla, the flour, and salt until combined. (Don't overmix.) Fold in the chocolate chips.

4. Spread evenly in the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes.

Self-Chilling Bottles and Brazilian Food

I ran into a group of fellow foodies the other day and we were all remarking on how this time of year seems slow. While we wait for new openings and visits to a few new places, here's what's happening around the blog world.

A Bottle that Chills Itself? Several outlets are reporting that Coca-cola is working on a bottle that will keep the drink cold after the cap is opened. They'll have to go in special vending machines and early reports are they'll test market the new package with a Sprite drink in the UK late this year. Wow. If they can perfect this technology, can you imagine what will happen when the license it to the beer world? (Besides the koozy business collapsing.) Brilliant! (Via Slashfood)

Honeycake for the High Holy Days: Best parts of the Jewish Holidays? Why, the food, of course! Not only is honey symbolic of a sweet new year to come, but this scrumptious treat looks healthy and dripping with sweet honey goodness. More on the cake, memories, and a recipe from Cookthink. (via Slashfood)

Wine Cooler Trivia: Courtesy of Dr. Vino, who's taking a trip down memory lane: Which state was tops in wine cooler consumption over the 2nd and 3rd place states combined? (More about wine cooler/malt beverages and why they contain no wine at Dr. Vino.)

More Brazilian? Cory over at Property Lines reports on real estate leasing deals done which is why he often has early leads on proposed restaurants. Sometimes they happen. Sometimes they don't. But it's fun to speculate. His latest info? A new Brazilian-style grill will be going into the first floor of the former Zipper building. No estimated opening date but I'm guessing it will be well into next year.

Today at Williams-Sonoma

Or, rather, how I lazed around on my Labor Day. On the way to the movies at the art cinema, I had a few minutes to kill so I wondered down to Williams Sonoma. All summer I've been dying for an ice cream and sorbet maker and had decided against one more kitchen appliance. But there it was today -- at Williams Sonoma, the 1.5 qt small Cuisineart with a bonus extra work bowl -- all for $60. I'm so good -- I walked away and bought a new pasta fork (the wooden kind) and an egg timer instead. I may think I need the ice cream maker but I *really* needed the new egg timer. (The egg timer is the boil in the pot kind that changes color when your eggs are soft, medium, or hard boiled. I always undercook my hard boiled eggs resulting in soft to medium boiled eggs which kind of gross me out.

I was drawn to the sea salt "sampler" with small tins of their black, red, pink and flake finishing salts. I'm tempted to have a salt tasting the next time I have people over so we can all get a great handle on the real textures of these finishing salts. But I already have so many kinds including my favorite chardonney oak barrel smoked sea salt. I'm starting to border on more salt than I'll ever use.

What else did I see? W/S is finally carrying Riedel stemware and accessories like decanters in addition to their own lines. And you can now get a mix for pretty much everything that you're supposed to learning how to cook in the first place. They have lots of ridiculous dipping oils with some pretty bizarre additions (like pumpkin seed and blue cheese), and a million pseudo-ethnic simmer sauces and curries. And it's fall -- if you need autumnal towels, table linens or dishes, it's the place to be.

Holiday Gift Guide 2006

It's that time of year! Time once again for you to look like star giving fabulous gifts to the gourmets and gourmands in your life! As always, I'm here to provide you with a few helpful hints of what I, I mean, *anyone* who loves food or cooking would love to get for the holidays.


Masala Dabba: I'm a spice nut -- oh, OK, bad joke. I love spices and having expanded my ethnic repertoire greatly in the past few years, and now I long for my own Masala Dabba. Dabbas are the round tins or spice boxes with many small tins inside of the fragrant Indian spices needed for creating curries and wonderful spiced dishes. Many cooks keep their own and having your own dabba is a sign that you know what you're doing. In India, it's the equivalent of a knife bag. Small ones available at Sur La Table.


Wine Octopus: Having recently been party to half a case of a grenache that's much better after it's been aerated, I want one of these! This little pewter gadget fits in the mouth of your decanter and helps expose more of your wine to air as it's poured in. It comes in Octopus, Seahorse, and Puffer Fish (and unlike those decorative wine stoppers looks cool and is actually useful!)

Knife Bags: Speaking of knife bags, have you ever wondered where the contestants get those spiffy packs for their knives and other utensils on Top Chef? If the phrase "just pack your knives and go" means anything to you, or if you're a chef or caterer who takes your own equipment with you when you go to a job, check out these spiffy knife bags. Messermeister and Ultimate Edge both have a variety of sizes and, more importantly, colors to choose from.



Grill Pan: The single best kitchen purchase I've made all year? A cast iron grill pan. I can only encourage you to share the love with the foodie in your life. It's perfect for everything from bacon to panini and cooks fish perfectly right down to the grill marks. (Spend the money for a good brand -- mine is Le Crueset. Carried at Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table.)

Silicon utensils: If you're looking for something just as practical but a little less pricey, no one can be unhappy with silicon. This new non-stick, high heat style of spatula and pot holder is fun to use, comes in great colors, inexpensive, and cleans up in a snap! What do I use most? Potholders and when they're sticky, they go right in the dishwasher! (Available everywhere that sells cooking gear.)

And last, but not least, if you're still looking for more gift suggestions, here's last year's gift guide Part I and Part II . (Hint: I didn't get everything on my list!)

Tea Kettle Love

I'm in love. Again. This time it's with my shiny new whistling stovetop teakettle. I've been dying for one for years and finally, this fall as it turned cold, I hauled off and treated myself. I chose a stainless steel 2 quart model with red enamel trim that sits on the stovetop.

What's so great about a tea kettle? Big cups of steaming tea, hot bowls of instant soup or cider, and even that great comfort of just heating water when you don't quite no what else to do. I love putting on water on for green tea in the afternoon (Tazo Lotus or Yogi Rejuvenation) or soothing, herbal tea at night (Tazo Calm or Wild Sweet Orange). It takes less time than heating water in the microwave, and I can heat enough for two or three steaming mugs full. I like how the tea kettle can steam away for my tea while I putter in the kitchen for that five minutes of down time. And I love the whistle, the steam, and the act of pouring hot water in my cup. Something about it says "home" to me.

How to choose a tea kettle? Stovetop or electric is your first choice depending on what you want to do. There are kettles that just heat water and even tea makers available if they suit your purpose. (Electric kettles are great for, say, the office or if you don't have a stove.) If you choose to go with a traditional, stovetop tea kettle, you can choose one with retro styling, the classic touch, or even very modern. Most tea kettles hold roughly 2 quarts of water. You can choose square or sleek, stainless or copper, chrome or enamel, white or great colors (like green or red), modern or classic design, and even whether it will whistle or not. Check to make sure it works on your stove top if you have ceramic or other special conductive materials. Depending on the brand, styling, and materials, a decent teakettle can run between $30 and $60. (You can always find some more or less expensive but $30-60 seems average.)

Pictured above? Le Crueset's latest offering although they also have very classically designed models. As this whether begins to settle in, doesn't a hot cup of tea sound good?