By far, the single most important kitchen tool you can own is a good, sharp knife.

Nothing will see more use, help you prepare food faster and safer, and help you create a better final product than good knives.

Have you ever been chopping something with a dull knife, and have the blade slip off the food, possibly even cutting you in the process? (Bell peppers are the worst for these types of slips)

Did you know that some sushi masters can even taste if types of sashimi have been sliced or prepared with a knife that isn’t sharp enough? While most of us aren’t exactly sushi masters, we can all still benefit from a few tips on how to select and buy a good knife, and which types of knives you’ll actually need to own.

Let’s start with what NOT to buy:

• Stay far, far away from any types of knives advertising to “Never need sharpening!” The truth is, there is no such thing. All quality knives benefit from having their edge honed and re-sharpened periodically.
• Do not be lured into buying a knife set with something like 74 different types of knives. Sets that are marketed in this way are generally a sign of poor quality. In other words they are selling quantity over quality. As I’ll explain later, 3 to 4 good knives can handle any kitchen task.
• Don’t buy a knife until you’ve had a chance to hold it. Everyone’s hands and grip are different, so you want to find a knife that feels good for you. My hands are fairly large, so a knife that feels good to me might not feel good to someone else, etc.

People have asked me what type of knives I use before. I have 3 knives that I use every day, which can handle virtually any task. The brand of knives I use is Shun, and while they are fairly pricy, I have never owned a better knife, and can’t recommend them enough.

The workhorse of any knife set is the Chef’s Knife. 8″ is the standard size I own:

The second most used knife is my 6″ boning knife, which I use for meats and fish.

Lastly, a pairing knife for small tasks and detail work:

These three knives account for 95% of the prep work I do every day. I do also own a bread knife that sees a little face time when needed.

Some good brands to get you started on your search:

• Shun
• Wustof
• Global
• J.A. Henckels

While there are other quality knife makers, you really can’t go wrong with any of the brands listed above.

Try a couple out and see which feels best for you!

Be honest, how many of you thought “gross, I hate turnips” or something similar when reading that title?

Since we were young, turnips are just one of those vegetables that’s gotten a bad rap. It seems almost everyone comes around to enjoy the usual “gross” vegetables from their childhood like broccoli, cauliflower, or green beans, but the lowly turnips, brussel sprouts and beets seem to be the bottom dwellers of the vegetable popularity chart.

Well, why should you even bother with them? For starters, in this low-carb, eating healthy day and age, turnips are one of the tastiest and best low carb potato substitutes out there. Forget mashed cauliflower, hot mashed turnips have the texture and a similar flavour to everyone’s favorite side dish. They are cheap, available all year round, and as you’ll see, can be much more than a potato stand-in.

Tip for Picking Turnips:

Look for turnips that are very firm. Turnips are a root vegetable and can have a very slight horseradish/mustard tone to them which some people dislike. However the flavour is not as strong in the very firm turnips as opposed to the softer ones.

Turnip Recipes You’ll Love:

In my opinion, these are can’t miss recipes even for self-proclaimed turnip haters. 2 ways to prepare them you may not have thought of, including my favorite recipe for the classic mashed turnips.

Bacon Wrapped Turnip Hors D’oeuvres

Ingredients: (Makes 32 hors d’oeuvres)

- 16 thin pieces of smoked bacon, cut in half
- 3-4 large turnips, cut into 1″ wedges
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup panko (regular breadcrumbs work fine)
- Vegetable oil, salt and pepper

In a medium sauce pan, boil turnips in salted water for 6-7 minutes, until slightly softened but not yet fork tender. Remove from water and let cool slightly. Wrap each wedge with a half-slice of bacon. Whisk eggs in a bowl and place panko breadcrumbs in a separate bowl. Meanwhile, heat a heavy-bottomed saute pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil on medium/high and pre-heat the oven to 350F

Dip the bacon wrapped turnips in the egg first, then in the bread crumbs, and place in saute pan. Once bacon is browned, transfer each to a lined baking sheet, and transfer to the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until turnips are tender.

Drain on a paper towel and wait for people to ask you what’s in them!

Best Mashed Turnips

Ingredients: (serves 4)

- 4 large turnips, roughly chopped
- 1 head garlic, roasted
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp parmiggiano reggiano cheese
- 1 tsp horseradish
- 2 tbsp fresh snipped chives
- salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Preparation:

To roast the garlic: Cut the top off the head of garlic, drizzle it with olive oil and place in a 300F oven for 45-50 minutes until soft.

Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot and place in the chopped turnips. Boil for 15-20 minutes or until very tender. Drain turnips and immediately mash in the butter and milk, being careful not to add too much milk. (Turnips will not absorb the milk and butter like potatoes will and you’ll end up with turnip soup)

Stir in the horseradish and the roasted garlic, blending well. Just before serving, mix in the chives, parmiggiano reggiano and salt and pepper to taste. The horseradish plays off the turnips natural root flavour, and the cheese and chives balance the flavour with the richness of mashed potatoes, without the carbs. Enjoy and surprise your next guests!

Most people are familiar with (and love, for good reason)  Korean style BBQ short ribs. Sliced thin, marinated overnight and grilled over hot charcoal they are a fantastic alternative to standard BBQ fare. However, short ribs are not limited to just the grill for cost-effective enjoyment (they are considerably cheaper than your average steak) as I’ll show you with a follow up to my braising article - Braised Beef Short Ribs.

The short ribs in all their glory:

You’ll notice these are considerably thicker than the Korean BBQ style. These will be cooking for a longer period of time, so you’ll want to ask your butcher to slice them 3/4″ to 1″ thick for you.

Next slice up some fresh veggies. I’ve got some local garlic, new potatoes, carrots, onions and button mushrooms, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand.

Next, slice the short ribs in half and season them with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper, then sprinkle 1 tsp of flour over each short rib. Heat 1 tbsp of oil and 1 tbsp of butter in a large heavy bottomed pan:

Brown the short ribs well over high heat on both sides. Getting a nice sear is important to the flavour of this recipe.

After well browned, remove them from the pot and brown the onions and garlic, then sautee the rest of the vegetables:

Now add the short ribs back to the pot, and add in the demi glace, beef stock, red wine, and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and bring mixture to a boil. (Full recipe posted at the end)

Now, I know not everyone is crazy like me and makes their own demi glace, then freezes it in cubes, so omit this step if you like and thicken the braising liquid with a roux at the end of the braising process instead:

Your pot should look something like this:

Pre-heat the oven to 375F, and once mixture is boiling, place the pot covered in the oven and braise for 1.5-2 hours or until short ribs are ridiculously tender.

Plate simply and garnish with a little flatleaf parsley if you like (I couldn’t wait and started eating mine before this step)

There you have it! Something new and some good eats if I do say so myself. Here’s the ingredients for those keeping score at home.

Braised Beef Short Ribs

2-3 lbs beef short ribs, 3/4″ to 1″ thick
1 lb new potatoes, halved
8-10 small carrots, peeled
3 gloves garic, diced
1 medium onion, sliced
10-12 button mushrooms, quartered
4 cups beef or veal stock
2 cups dry red wine
2 cubes or 2 tbsp demi glace, or the same amount of roux
2 cups whole canned tomatoes
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper

Like many of you, I watch Iron Chef America. It’s a guilty pleasure of mine. I love how over-dramatic it is (though not quite as much so as the arguably more awesome Japanese version), I love the unveiling of the secret ingredient, and I love watching the more creative challengers freeze things with liquid nitrogen, make ice-cream out of everything imaginable, and still end up creating delicious food.

The other day Mario Batali created a beautiful dish with some perfectly seared sea scallops. Most people aren’t a huge fan of regular judge Jeffrey Steingarten, but normally I both respect him and like the digs he gives the other judges. Hey, makes for good tv right?

Not today. His comment after eating Mario’s dish was, “Aren’t seared scallops kind of over?”

What? Sure, everyone uses them, including me, but he spoke of them as if they were Nike Pumps or “No Fear” clothing (don’t pretend like you don’t remember). There is a reason everyone uses them, they are succulent and delicious, best enjoyed simply like most good food is.

I figured Mario might be a little baffled by this, but like the clogged genius he is, his response was, “I prefer to not think of certain food as trends, but as classic preparations that can be enjoyed and very rarely be improved upon.”

Put that in your pipe and smoke it Steingarten!