Cleaning up at year’s end

Thank goodness I have a word limit for my columns. Yes, I’ll admit that it’s sometimes frustrating, especially when it’s something I’m particularly enthused — or occasionally upset — about. But if I didn’t have that word limit, I’d probably ramble on endlessly, boring you and annoying my editor. Then there’s the deadline. I’ve never yet re-read one of my columns without wanting to change or rephrase something. Without a deadline, I’d undoubtedly keep fiddling to get it just right, and never turn anything in. Over the three years I’ve been writing this column, I’ve come to appreciate the discipline that both word limits and deadlines impose.

There are, however, times I’d like to say just a bit more — something extra that’s pertinent, or shows another dimension. Sometimes I’ve discovered additional information I wish I’d known. Then there’s the occasional blooper, hard as everyone at the IT tries to avoid them. So here are some bits and pieces — things I didn’t have space for, or things I learned a bit more about.

First, the blooper. When I read my Dec. 11 column in IT about “A tasty visit to Candyland,” the ending of the paragraph before the recipe stopped me cold: “Excuse me while I get some butt,” it read. The sentence I’d written was, “Excuse me while I get some butter out of the ’fridge.” Where had that come from? I e-mailed Fletcher Farrar: “What the …?” “I thought you were making a joke,” he replied. OK, I can see that — although what that says about what Farrar thinks of my sense of humor is probably best left unexplored.

Apparently the glitch happened when I sent my column to him by e-mail. In “Finding your cutting edge”, Oct. 30, I wrote about qualities of good knives, how important they are for cooks and how to choose them. I have several really good — and pretty costly — knives that I love and can’t imagine cooking without. But what I didn’t have room to talk about in the article were other cutting implements — some quite inexpensive, that are also essential in my kitchen. One is scissors. I have an expensive pair of kitchen shears. But several years ago I needed to have enough for students in my cooking classes. I found some inexpensive ones (about $3 each) at Ace Hardware — and also found that they did as good a job or better than my expensive set. I often reach for them in preference to those pricey ones. Then there are those little paring knives that come three to a package and are often found hanging from grocery store shelves.

They don’t last forever, but while they do, they’re great — and the flexibility of the thin blades works especially well in a number of situations.

Lastly, on the cutting front, is the mandoline. This slanted cutting machine — a sort of slide with a blade — originated in France, and is unparalleled for making uniform slices. When I was young, my mom and grandmother bought a sort of mandoline at the state fair each year. It was one of those things that was hawked at several booths around the grounds. It was squat, wider than classic mandolines, with a plastic housing.

They used it mostly for cutting corn off the cob to put in the freezer. My grandmother bought me one of the expensive French versions several years ago. It’s great, but because it’s a hassle to clean, these days I more often use an inexpensive Japanese version, from Benriner. It’s easy to use, easy to clean and costs about $20 as opposed to $200. Most