Knife Skills 101

Today I'll be showing you some knife skills that can save you some serious time in the kitchen.  I'm doing some short videos of each process since I am my camera man and I think that while stills will show you some of each process, the video will tell the whole story.  

I started with the preparation for Pico de Gallo, a fresh salsa that my family enjoys on our taco nights.  I need to apologize in advance about the fact that there is no video of me mincing a shallot.  I hit the wrong button and got nothing on video.  So just the final product on that one.  Here is the photo.

Next up was the cilantro. I have a love/hate relationship with cilantro.  I love the way it tastes in some preparations but hate that it spoils so quickly.  I swear we end up throwing half of each bunch out most of the time.  Sermon over - let's move on.

I like my tomatoes when making this dish to be perfect little cubes.  This of course is virtually impossible as the tomatoes start out round and become pretty slippery when sliced.  I do my best though and the results are usually pretty good.

Next we mince some garlic and add it to the mix.

It wouldn't really be Pico de Gallo without a little heat, so I'll add some minced jalapeño.  I'll be using half in the Pico and half in another preparation.  

Add salt, pepper and the juice on one lime, mix it up and let it sit.  You can eat it immediately (we usually do) but if you have the chance for it to sit for a few hours it will taste even better.

Next I'm making a preparation that ends up being sautéed onions and peppers.  I don't know if the dish has a name, but we make it often when we make Mexican food.  It is a really versatile dish and could be served with a piece of grilled or seared meat or even as the basis for a really nice vegetarian pasta.

First I make a Lyonnaise cut of a yellow onion.  This cut derives it's name from the way you cut the onions for French Onion Soup.  The soup hails from Lyon, thus the name of the cut.

Next a similar style of cut for the bell peppers.

For a touch of zing in this i usually go with the jalapeño.  The first half was minced for the Pico de Gallo, this half will be sliced.

Lastly we need garlic.  Rather than mincing the garlic like I did for the Pico de Gallo, I'll slice it for the sautéed peppers and onions.

Finally, it's time to cook.  No video of this one, but here is the method:

Place a sauté pan on the stove on high heat and add oil, about 1 T, and heat until it "shimmers".  Add you onions and cook stilling frequently until they begin to caramelize.  Next add the bell peppers and jalapeño and continue to sauté.  When the bells begin to soften add your garlic, kosher salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until the garlic starts to take on a more translucent look then remove from heat and place it in a container for service.


We'll be having the pulled pork that I made yesterday for our taco meat, should be delish!


Next up: The importance of salt.