Playing with Knives

When I was a child, I actually had a knife that I played with. When I visited Mexico, we took a tour to a jungle village and the little kids were walking around with Machetes. Some suggest that we have made our children's lives too safe and clean. But that's not really what this post is about. <smile> It's about proper use of our basic kitchen knives. If you're like me, most of your knife-work has been with basic utility knives, preferably with a serrated edge, and occasionally a bread knife. What is that big, dangerous-looking chef's knife, that comes in every knife set, actually for? And how do you use it? I've been cooking for many years (and cut my share of fingers), but I don't think I've ever actually used a chef's knife, yet it's supposedly the most important knife in my kitchen. I have actually considered buying a book on using knives because apparently I can be more efficient if I use them properly. Besides, I don't really need a knife block taking up counter space if I only ever use a couple of the knives in it. As a vegan, I won't be using my steak knives for steak (unless it's gluten steak, also known as seitan) or my boning knife for boning, but all of my knives might actually be useful if I know their proper use and function. So I was really pleased to discover that Craftsy is offering Complete Knife Skills with Brendan McDermott. What's even more exciting is that it's FREE! I'm looking forward to actually knowing how to use that array of knives in my knife block.