Friends

01 December 2014

There's always a way round a problem....

Duck breast in plum sauce is favourite for Sunday dinner but for a couple of weeks recently I was cursing the fact that the meat was difficult to cut. It wasn’t overcooked, which would toughen it, so I began to think the problem was mine in that I was finding it difficult to handle a simple knife. It couldn’t be, I told myself, a trifle unconvincingly. But I wasn’t trying to cut trifle, was I, I was trying to slice through a piece of meat. It took a while but eventually I got round to wondering if our dinner knives were up to the mark. We’d had them for a long time so it could be that the serrations were getting a bit blunt.

I hunted out some old steak knives with wooden handles that long ago were relegated to the drawer of cooking utensils but, being the snob I am, I couldn’t see me laying those well-worn utensils on the table. The upshot, therefore, was a trip to the shops.

Of course, the fashion these days is for restaurants to supply HUGE wooden (or wooden appearance) steak knives, those that look more like lethal weapons than eating tools, and that’s pretty much what I saw in the shops. We visited the best store we have (where I live) that is noted for selling up-market products at up-market prices. It didn’t hurt to look, though, and that was how I came to find this:

Isn’t it a beauty? It’s a Sophie Conran/Arthur Price and I believe I read that this was a winning design.

Whatever, I love it.

And you should see me slicing meat now... it’s such a relief to know the fault wasn’t mine!

Hmm, maybe I should work on a complete overhaul of the cutlery drawer.



11 comments:

  1. Oooo Valerie, I am so loving the look of your new knives! I like the shape - gorgeous design!

    You would laugh at my collection of eating utensils because they don't all match. I have a mish-mash of several different designs from all the various utensils I've used over the past 10 years. It's like a potpourri!

    And it's ironic you posted about this topic today because I've been thinking of purchasing a new collection, and one that matches. But mainly because the knives are getting dull.

    Enjoy your new cutlery, dear lady!

    Bon appetit!

    X to you and Joe!

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  2. They are beautifully design. We have steak knives that are like yours and they just do get dull in time.

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  3. mmm duck breast with plum sauce....best i ever had was a raspberry sauce...oh my...i still dream of it...ha...

    having the right tool for the job makes all the difference...glad you found your knives....

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  4. Oh yes, sometimes it is the equipment rather than the operator.

    We too have a drawer full of knives and utensils that have not been used in ages, funny how we hold on to these items even after we get fine replacements as you did :)

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  5. Brian, you would like the plum sauce, it gives an Eastern touch to the duck. Hmmm, roll on Sunday.

    Jimmy, I should sort out my cutlery. I have another one in another part of the kitchen - good stuff that never gets used. I think I should give myself a good talking to.

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  6. Good morning, Ron. For some strange reason I wasn't notified of your comment... damn Blogger! I have since changed the title of the post so heaven help Blogger trying to sort it out... haha

    It's so easy to get into a rut with our cutlery... as long as it works we tend not to think about it. It took my inability to cut a tender piece of duck that brought things to a head. Lesson learned!

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  7. Hahaha.....oh the bedevilments of a dull knife.
    Do NOT look in my silverware drawer. Hold on.....better YOU look that United Airlines or Denny's. Their silverware had a habit of following me home. :-/ And please note the absence of the word 'cutlery', though there was/is nothing silver anout me eating utensils. Mind you, I inherited SILVERware that sits in the cupboard. And the set himself made me buy....he uses and I bypass on a regular basis.
    Come to think of it I SAW through my chicken breast and he slices.....perhaps the two of you are on to something! LOL!!

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  8. A lovely new purchase Valerie and glad it does the job.

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  9. So that's the problem with our steak knives. Then I discovered the Mrs. keeps the good ones hidden away for company....?

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  10. Mel, it's lovely now that I don't have to saw through my meat... and I promise not to look in your silverware drawer lol.

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  11. Thanks, Denise. I'm thrilled with the net cutlery, apart from the fact that it makes life a lot easier!

    TB, what is it with us women, eh?

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