Varmint

That's correct. Daniel told me that Ryusen makes the "cheaper" Hattori line.

Of course, I may just decide to get the larger Ryusen. The truck should arrive on Monday!!!

Well, I couldn't decide where to go, so I called an expert, Daniel O'Malley of Seattle's BladeGallery.com (their other website, EpicureanEdge.com is temporarily offline). Daniel is an apprentice bladesmith who has an extensive knowledge of Japanese culinary knives. He's been selling knives for more than 8 years over the net. He makes his own line of kitchen knives, but if you want one, you had better not be in a hurry -- his current wait list is 6-1/2 years! Ultimately, I'm essentially buying 2 knives: an 8-1/2" Ryusen Damascus Chef's Knife and a 10" Shun Chef's Knife (no picture available on Daniel's site, but here's a picture on a competitor's site). Daniel is a huge fan of the Ryusen, and it's currently on sale for $155. I decided to try the smaller blade as I'm doubting whether I'd use a full 10 inches on a regular basis (please keep the jokes to yourselves!). Also, Daniel has a theory about blade length: he believes that the longer blades came in favor due to the use of big-ass bolsters on German knives. With the bolsters, it makes it harder to keep the entire length of the blade sharp, thus reducing the amount of useful blade. Daniel realizes this hypothesis may be wacked out, but it's a good discussion point. The Ryusen is ground to an angle of 13-15 degrees. Damn, that's sharper than a razor. I did decide to try the larger Shun, simply because it's a bit more curved than the Ryusen. Plus, it was cheaper at about $115. Daniel thinks these are great knives, but just a step below the Ryusen. They're not as sharp, either, with the edge at 15-17 degrees. I won't be able to try out both knives for their cutting abilities, as then I couldn't return them. I can get a feel for them, and I need to get the one I don't like back to them within 7 days. That's their standard policy, and a pretty nice one. One other nice feature about bladegallery.com: they'll sharpen a knife you purchase from them one time for free. Daniel lamented over the fact that only about 3 places in the country know how to properly sharpen Japanese knives. Thus, this is a service he provides to his customers so they can see what a great job his shop does. Finally, Daniel does not believe in using the mirrored type of steels that Chad discussed, particularly for the home cook who doesn't sharpen his knives on a regular basis. For someone like me, Daniel prefers a ceramic honing rod, as that puts a better edge on a knife than a true steel. It takes off a bit more metal, but it's more effective on a regular basis. I'll post more details once I get the knives.

I think I'm going to start a King Cake contest this year. So, everyone please send me what they think is the best King Cake to me and I'll announce the reults later.

One of the things that I'm trying to impress upon my children is that when it comes to meat, something was killed before it became dinner. Of course, they may all end up vegetarians if I push too hard!

They eat fish, fortunately. They just didn't like eating the fish they had caught and seen executed earlier that day. And Mrs. Varmint pointed out to me an hour ago that my nine year old actually ate a few bites and liked it. He just wanted the mac and cheese more!

I actually tried the 12" Global, but I thought the blade was too flat. That is, most of the knife's edge sits on the cutting board. I want a bit more (not a lot) of a curve to support a rocking style of chopping.

Shit, someone just tell me which knife to buy -- Japanese blade, western handle, $150. K? Oh, and I need to be able to return it within 10 days!

I'm not sure I can answer that, as I haven't eaten stream or "wild" lake trout in ages. Most of the trout you buy in the stores are raised on farms, and they have a very mild flavor. My main memory of stream trout was that they had a much deeper flavor -- "fishier" to some -- but I really don't have vivid enough of a recollection. Trout is not my favorite fish, as it's one of the bonier types out there. Even after removing much of the bones, there's still a ton of small pin bones throughout. I need a good fish-fileting lesson!

I wonder whether it's best to start the kids' fishing experience at a trout farm, where catching fish is as simple as dropping a line in the water. It certainly bears no resemblance to reality.

The knife hunt has been put on a temporary hold as I begin the process of renovating my kitchen. I might just start a separate thread on that! However, I'm looking forward to using Chad's knife some more in the next few days. Has anyone used the Masahiro?

If you can pick your own berries, why not catch your own fish at the local tourist-trap trout farm? Read about the L'il Varmints' experience in this edition of "All in the Family." +++ Be sure to check The Daily Gullet home page daily for new articles (most every weekday), hot topics, site announcements, and more.

It's going to be a minor renovation. I'm trying to open up the "maze" a bit by removing some counter space and lower-level cupboards. I'm switching the location of the sink and the cooktop. I'm getting a 6 burner DCS cooktop and an island hood over it. I may get new ovens, but I'm not sure about that. I'm removing the tile floor and replacing it with cork. I'm changing the lighting a bit, removing the incandescent track lights and probably adding some halogen Helix lights. We're replacing the doors on the cabinets so we can have new hardware. The red tile countertops will remain. So will the marble slabs, but they will be a bit smaller. I'm taking out the wood grain panels in the Sub Zeros and replacing them with brushed stainless. That's about it.

I think we're going to have to do it on the 21st. Sorry, Malawry. I'll owe you one. There is one minor hitch, but one we can take care of if need be. I'm meeting with a guy tonight about doing a minor renovation of my kitchen. We might have everything completed by that time, as the job shouldn't take much more than a couple of weeks. However, I don't know when the start date will be. Nevertheless, if we can't do it at my house, I can get dibs on the in-laws dee-lux kitchen.

Hmmmm. Well, phlawless would prefer it not be on Valentine's Day, and after eating her cooking from the Mexican dinner, I think we want her there. But Malawry coming from DC, with Al Dente in hand makes this difficult. Come on, phlawless, celebrate with a romantic dinner on the 13th. Celebrating on the 14th is for tourists!!

McRibs are almost always available at the McDonalds a block down the street from my office. I don't really care for them, however.

I agree, phlawless -- the desserts should be very, very simple. Maybe a light sorbet as well. So, the 7th or 21st??

Close enough for me to pick you up. It's really, really close to phlawless' place.

McDonald's sausage biscuit. Hardee's 1/3 pound "Thick Burger" with bacon -- Hardee's has really improved their burgers.

Good questions. I'm hoping that we can have a bunch of different people make the sauces and fillings in advance. I'd like this to be a dinner where it's not just phlawless and me in charge of everything. I can make lots of sheets of pasta in advance, and we can make more once folks arrive. The dough can be made in a processor and I have an electric attachment to my Atlas pasta maker. If we want to do anything other than regular pasta, then that may make things a bit more difficult. Making ravioli will be a breeze. I can see us making about 6 different pastas. One or two stuffed ones, gnocchi, a meat ragout, a seafood pasta, etc. Nothing need be difficult, unless Al really wants to make the timpano. Everything must be flavorful. I think simple desserts would be perfect. Antipasto would be fine if some wants to take responsibility for it. Phlawless, if we don't get many people offering to make things, then we can scale this back.

Ah, hell, we've got it made. Phlawless is a pastry chef, you know! Let's start having a discussion on dates for this. Valentine's Day is still my first choice, although February 7 could work. It's probably too late to do it on MLK weekend, which is less than 2 weeks away. I could do it on January 31st as well. And of course, Al, you're welcome to use the couch, or an air mattress instead! Hell, you can sleep in Benjamin's top bunk.

You're in charge of the timpano, Mike.

Everything is open for dicussion right now, including the date.

I had the opportunity to use Chad's knife a bit more yesterday. I dazzled the L'il Varmints as I sliced a tomato using only the weight of the knife. I think the blade scares them a bit because of its sharpness. I also did a bit more chopping, but nothing heavy duty. I made a gratin, but I had to break out my new mandoline to slice the spuds. As I stated previously, no matter what knife I get, I need to be sure that I also buy a decent sharpening system. The Masahiro looks sweet. What do you know about them?

I took the family to the Q Shack for dinner last night and sampled their pulled pork, pulled chicken, St. Louis style beef ribs, smoked turkey, and smoked beef sausage. The ribs were excellent -- tender, but not to the "falling off the bone" extent -- just as they should be. The smoked turkey was lacking much of a smoke flavor and was very dry. They need to brine those breasts. The sausage was a hit with the family. Very flavorful links that will be a lunch staple of mine. The chicken was seasoned with a tomato-based, peppery sauce and would make a great sandwich. The pork was good, not great. It's still much more of a Tennessee style of pulled pork rather than NC style. A lot of that comes from co-owner Scott Howell's growing up in the mountains of NC, where Tennessee barbecue is much more prominent. I also had a fried pie: apple-blueberry. The crust is made with vegetable shortening, not lard, which I expected. The apples in the filling need to be diced a little more finely, as you don't really want big chunks in a fried pie. The flavor was quite good, and sprinkled with lots of cinnamon sugar, it was a nice treat. That was the only flavor they had on hand. They also had one flavor of ice cream -- strawberry-praline -- but I was too full to give it a try. The Q Shack is not anywhere near the best barbecue restaurant in the State or area, but it's not trying to be. It offers a broad selection of meats and sides at a reasonable price in a pretty fun environment. I'll visit it often. Finally, one other feature: the President of the Q Shack indicated that they almost always have extra room in their smokers, and if I ever wanted to bring something by for an evening of smoking, they'd be happy to stick it in there. This is apparently a tradition started at the original Durham location, and a nice tradition at that. Cabrito, anyone????