Sometimes It’s Good To Be A Tool
Mike offers old-world knife sharpening service on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. His two rescue “guard” dogs complete the package.
A great athlete never blames his equipment for a bad performance. The same can be said for a good cook. My mother can ice a cake in nano-seconds with a common butter knife. And, my grandmother hand rolled delicate homemade pasta without the use of a press. So, it’s not without precedent that my kitchen is woefully devoid of fancy gadgets and shiny machines. In my opinion, there’s not much you can’t do without a few specifically sourced and perfectly sharpened knives. But what do you do when your perfectly sharpened kitchen knives get dull?
I was in denial for the better part of two years that my knives were inadequate. While it didn’t really affect the outcome of my dishes, it certainly didn’t make the process easier — or faster. I used my sharpening stone, promised I’d get myself a little electric sharpener (but which brand and would it make matters worse?) and made and abandoned countless plans to get to Chelsea Market for their Saturday knife sharpening service. Riding the subway carrying a bunch of knives does raise an eyebrow or two! What I desperately wanted was an Old World craftsman to come to me. Enter Mike!
Mike’s Sharpening Service has been around since 1941. This Mike, who has not been around since 1941, is a 7th generation artisan who cruises around Upper West Side neighborhoods in a vintage green truck with a wood paneled interior tricked out with a spinning whetting stone. He rings his bell to let you know he’s open for business and he’ll hang out until no dull blade remains! He says there is no one better and I have to agree. He brought my sad knives back from the dead and retooled my paring knife for brilliant execution.
Mike gave my Henckels paring knife a dynamic edge that increased performance and just looks cool.
With the proliferation of food blogs, food shows and the generals populations general love of all things food, there has been a lot of attention given to the perfect kitchen knife. There is a school of thought that there is a knife for just about every task. The reality is, you need nothing more than the holy trinity: a chef’s knife, a paring knife and a knife with a serrated edge. There are tons of options out there and the marketplace has exploded with knives — both European and Japanese — that will do the trick. To find the perfect knife for you, make sure you handle it before you buy it. The knife should fit with the size of your hand, should be a good weight (not too heavy or too light) and balance perfectly in your palm when you hold it.
Once you find the perfect fit for you, don’t waste any time putting it to good use. While I’ve been told you can cut an avocado with a butter knife (thanks, B!), you’ll be better served using a nice sharp chef’s knife to help get the pit out of the fruit for this quick and delicious appetizer.
Prosciutto Crostini with Avocado and Machengo Cheese.
Recipe
Makes 24 crostini
Ingredients
1 ripe avocado
1/2 lb. prosciutto or serano ham, thinly sliced
8 oz. manchego cheese, sliced thin
1 french bread loaf
1 garlic clove, peeled
olive oil
salt and pepper
Prepare
Preheat oven to 400°. With a serrated knife, slice the bread into 1/2” rounds. Rub one side with garlic and olive oil. Toast until golden, about 4 minutes. Turn the oven to broil.
Half the avocado and remove the pit (whack the center of the pit with a sharp 8” chef’s knife and simply pull the pit out and remove from knife). With a sharp pairing knife, score the flesh of the avocado and scoop out the flesh. In a small bowl, mash avocado with salt and pepper. Spread a tablespoon onto the toasted bread rounds.
Top with a slice of prosciutto and manchengo cheese. Place back into the oven and broil until the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.
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