my flogging lunch ...

as you may have noticed, all 2 of you that monitor this flog, i have been working on its layout and content all day today. so i had to have lunch to keep me energized and perky. i had some leftover chicken from the "khao man gai", ข้าวมันไก่, i bought yesterday, a rib of celery and some bermuda onion. i minced that all up, added 2 spoons of mayo and some chopped parsley, fresh ground black pepper and a smidgen of salt. assembled it all on some "khanom-pan-ping", ขนมปังปิ้ง, toasted yamazaki whole wheat bread, with the ever-so-necessary-over-abundance of iceberg lettuce. "a-raawy-thee-soot", อร่อยที่สุด, tastiest and most delicious

why the asian bakeries do not make a loaf that has a face large enough to produce good sized slices for sandwiches is no mystery to me, but it is a source of aggravation. i just like to have a broader surface for the filling, which makes for a slightly thinner profile on the sandwich of my desire, and it is easier to handle whilst i am feeding it into my neck.

also see here a second in my series of tools and technologies i find useful in the kitchen: the dipped edge sandwich knife from f dick, of germany. it has a great serrated edge, is just the right stiffness for a blade of this type, and it allows you to slice over-stuffed sandwiches with ease. this one has been in my tool box for years. note that someone who does not respect cutlery has broken the tip of the knife off. wherever you are, i hope someone casts your first borne into the abyss like the societies of old used to do.

please note: i use a computer generated translation for the thai, so if its wrong, ask these guys.

i think a sandwich like this needs some kool krunch
to compliment the soft mayo texture of the chicken,
thus the minced celery and the over abundance of krispy iceberg.
my personal taste is never to use tomatoes, i find they fek-up the toast.

i have had this knife for over 10 or 12 years now.
f dick dipped edge sandwich knife.
good for tomatoes too, if you are not going to put them on my sandwich that is.
mine is so old it has a wooden handle,
the cataloge only shows them with sani-safe handles now.
practical in one sense,
but hard on the hand by the end of a long deli-day if you ask me.
for home use they should be ok,
and dish washer safe for all you prats
who break the golden rule and put tools in your dish machine.
shame on you and not very safe either.

now if you are really into tuna sandwiches, check out mike's.

the 1st in a series of posts on the tools and technologies i use to prepare food for myself and friends

the most basic thing i must have are knives i trust. by trust i mean they will get me where i want to go effortlessly and safely. over the years i have collected or been given 100's of knives. i may have about 30 of them left. seems folks like to "borrow" (read: pilfer) good knives. most folks think it is senseless to pay good money for good knives, but when they see one unattended ... where did it go?

each knife was acquired for a specific task that it can complete, how good it feels in the hand, and how well it is expected to perform. i have knives for chopping, slicing, carving, boning and all myriad of tasks, but if i do not have all of these great tools at my disposal, and i have to settle on just one, it almost always ends up being this one shown below. a very basic 8" chef's knife.


i bought it in budapest, hungary in 2002 at a massive ikea store. my friend jamie, from manila, was with me. we used to fix the most awesome meals in his apartment. the handle is some sort of new-tech-rubberized-sani-safe-no-slip-grip-shit. the blade is your basic grade japanese stainless. not to thin, but not so thick it bludgeons rather than cuts. i can work for hours on end and my hand never tires of it. and, other than a few seldom needed cuts, this nondescript blade will always cut the mustard when i am in a jam (or is that pickle?).

if i recall, it cost me just a few dollars. i should have purchased the entire set.

that great knife from ikea