Gunter Wilhelm Knives... A Review by a Picky Bastard

Spending many years working in kitchens, I have learned the most important tool is your knife kit. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of gadgets out there sold by Pampered Chef and those mall gourmet cooking stores that just take up room in your drawers and you never use but on rare occasions. Almost all of these can easily be replaced by a comprehensive set of quality knives and some decent knife skills.

During my cooking education and career, I have used many different brands of knives; Wusthof, Henkels, F. Dick, Cutco, Cuisinart, and Chicago Cutlery to name a few. After learning what makes a good knife simply through experience, I have found that I am a huge fanboy of Wusthof; they use excellent steel, hold an edge, and take a beating. They are really great knives.

Recently, I was walking around Costco planning my Thanksgiving meal and noticed they had a booth set up with some guys peddling some brand of cutlery that I never heard of before, Gunter Wilhelm. From a distance they looked pretty neat so I decided to walk over and take a look. To be perfectly honest, the salesman pissed me off right off the bat. He began giving me a pitch about the balance of the knife and showed me he could balance it on one finger. Because, yea, that is what I do with my knives, I balance them on my finger. I smelled bullshit and I told him so, and I wanted to know immediately why this gentleman deserved taking up any more of my time. He then began talking about the steel they use, and showed me a knife sharpener, and how its different from a steel, and yadda yadda yadda. Finally I just said to him "Just give me a sharp knife and something to cut, and I will tell you if you have shit or not." So from under the table he produced a demo knife, an 8" chef's knife, a tomato, and a carrot. I effortlessly julienned the carrot. Then he dared me to slice the tomato as thin as possible, so I began slicing paper thin slices of tomato. I was impressed. The knives were solid. He then started on the balance thing again and about how the balance lets you cut a tomato that thin, and we commenced another argument about the role balance plays when cutting. I have to say, I admired his insistence..... So, while the used car salesman pitch was irritating, I was impressed by the knives. They were offering them for $40 a piece, and had some pretty good prices on sets, and being Costco with the awesome return policy I figured I couldn't go wrong. I walked out with a 12" slicer and an 8" chef's knife.

That night I got home and the wife brought the nieces over, so I decided to make a London broil on the grill. I usually use an electric carver for London broil because you can get nice thin pieces without much effort, but I was dying to try out my new knives. I pulled out the slicer and went to town on the steak, and it sliced through the meat as if it were butter. There was no tugging at all, it didn't catch on the crusty parts, and none of the slices stuck to the blade. I was definitely impressed. I was able to cut super thin or nice and thick with ease. I then proceeded to cut up some asparagus to grill with the chef's knife, again, an effortless affair. Asparagus is tough and when cutting even a couple of pounds can make a blade noticeably less sharp, particularly on a cheap knife. This one held its edge and I was still able to shave hair off of my arm with it after cutting the tough vegetable fibers.

The next day I had to go back to Costco for something I forgot, and the salesman saw me and called me over and asked about how I liked my knives. I told him I was impressed and really liked them. As we were talking, a lady and her daughter came up looking for a sushi knife. Of course, the salesman suggested the complete wrong knife for sushi, but I stepped in and told her what she would really need, and they ended up buying the big set with the knife block. The salesman gave me an offset slicer as payment for selling a whole block..... Not too shabby.....

Things I really like about these knives:

• They look great - The are a full tang of stainless steel with a high density plastic (Like Wusthof Trident handles) made to look like rosewood. Very classy looking. 
• They are solid - These knives have some weight to them. The blades are a bit wider than my Wusthofs, and the extra metal in the handles give the knives a very solid feel. 
• Large handles - These handles don't look terribly comfortable, but I found them to actually be quite comfortable to use. They are large enough where I can really grip it with my ogre hands for tough jobs, let still slim enough for use with fast chopping. 
• They are well balanced - While I know the guy was all hyped up on the balance, he was pitching it for all the wrong reasons. The balance makes tough cutting jobs easier, like cutting bunches of asparagus.
• The heel of the Chef's knife doesn't go all the way to the edge of the blade. While it can be argued it makes the edge more likely to break, it makes cutting bulky items easier, as you don't have that small dull patch at the back of the blade. Plus, it will take many more sharpenings before you have to send it back for a new blade. 
• It comes with a ballistic nylon sheath - Putting knives in drawers just ruins them. The blades get dinged up and lose their edge, and you are playing Russian roulette every time you reach into your drawer to find something. These really protect the knives, and even have a loop so you can put them on a belt if you need to. A nice touch for the pro's out there....
• 440 Stainless Steel Blades - This is the same type of steel used by Wusthof and Henkels. It is strong, holds a good edge, and stays looking nice. While its not Japanese steel capable of honing to a razor's edge, it requires much less special care and is perfect for most any situation. 
• Lifetime Warranty - I read up on this company after purchasing my two knives, and with any product as personal as a cooking knife, there are lovers and there are haters. But one thing I found universally was they had great customer service and responded quickly to customers. Henkels and Wusthof also have lifetime warranties on their high end knives, but you have to send your knife in and wait for them to send it back after it is fixed, which can take weeks or even months. 
• The blade is honed to a true "V" from the factory. Most knives from Wusthof, Henkels, and others come with an offset "V" or "y" shape to the blades edge, where one side of the blade is honed shorter than the other, which makes it difficult to get consistently straight cuts. Typically the first thing I do with new knives is resharpen them to a true "V" so I can always get straight, true cuts. 

Things I don't like about these knives:

• The handles get slippery when your hards are wet or greasy - honestly, the only knives I used where this wasn't an issue was with my Wusthof Grand Prix which have a bulbous, textured handle. 
• They are a bit bulky. The wider blades are nice for weight, but the extra 1/2 inch or so of width makes them a bit more difficult for precision work. 

All in all, these knives are really, really good, especially so for the price. For this quality, I would expect to pay $100 or more per knife. The price tag of $40 per knife at Costco, or even $69 on their website is a bargain for what you get. These will last a very long time and perform great. I look forward to them coming back to Costco so I can grab a couple more. 

Tis the season.... for PARTIES!!!! Party Planning 101

Greetings All,

So as the title says, 'tis the season for holiday parties. Ugly sweaters, boozed up egg nog in antler glasses, and pigs in a blanket are the staples of holiday parties... How many times have you been to one of the ho-hum holiday parties where the most exciting thing that happened was getting the yellow mustard on your Swiss cheese and realizing it is actually pretty good? Too many times for me, that is for sure.... SO the purpose of this blog entry is to talk a little bit about good party planning.. what it takes to turn the ho-hum holiday party to the event your friends cant wait for each year.

Invitations
Invitations are the one of the most important parts of any party, as they set the tone of what people expect. Invitations should be simple and to the point, yet somewhat elegant in how they say it. The invitation should include the details important to the party: Time, Place, Reason (birthday, holiday), Party Type, Contact Information, and a short note to your guests. The note is where to convey the overall atmosphere of the party.. Will it be a classy cocktail party with jazzy christmas classics, or will it be a booze soaked drinking and singing around the piano party? Hey, its your party, do what you like... Another option I generally include is a vague menu so people know what to expect. How often have you asked your significant other if it is a good idea to eat before going to a party? I like my guests to know so they come hungry.... Here is an example of an Evite (www.evite.com) invitation that I used for a Christmas party:

This invitation is very simple and elegant, and subtly conveys that this is an elegant holiday cocktail party. The wording of the note is simple, straightforward, and implies that this is not something you wear your UCSC Banana Slugs T-shirt and ripped jeans to. The menu reinforces that there will be light offerings and munchies, and wine and beer to drink. For the socially inept, it also tell you at the bottom NOT to wear your Banana Slugs T-shirt. In short, it gets the point across, and is not obnoxious or snobby.
This leads me into another point about invitations.... EVITE ROCKS! It is easy to set up, just pick a template, enter your info, enter your guests list, and you are off to the races.... best of all, its free. It gives you guests a place to RSVP, contact you, and see who else is coming. The first one you do is a little bit of a pain, but once you do one, your guest list is already done so its just checking off who you want to invite.

Food
Food is the one part of a party that is almost always screwed up because people ALWAYS try to overdo it. They either make way too many things, or they try to do really complex things that they dont have the time or skill to do. With food, it is OK to make things that are just good, they don't always have to be fancy. For instance, a typical cocktail party menu for me consists of a small fruit tray, a small vegetable tray, olives, a big bowl of cocktail shrimp, a cheese cube tray, and and nicely laid out tray of gourmet cheeses. I will also have one or two "specialty" items that I put together for the theme of the event. For a holiday party, smoked salmon or Gravlax (cured salmon) is a terrific item to add into the menu; it is super easy to deal with and everyone LOVES it. Just get a nice of smoked salmon, or make your own gravlax (There is a terrific recipe in the Silver Palate Cookbook), throw it on a nice tray, garnish with mixed greens, capers, diced hard cooked egg, diced red onion, and cream cheese and you have a *WOW* dish that everyone will talk about.

The important thing to remember about the food is do things that you can make and put together ahead of time. If you want to do something to turn out during the party, keep it simple and make sure it can be prepped ahead of time, such as bruschetta or baguette slices with brie and dates; you throw them together, pop them in the oven, and in minutes you are back with your guests.

You will want to avoid things that get gross if they are kept hot, such as pigs in a blanket, fried or baked cheese, or hot sandwich meats (turkey, ham, roasted beef) unless you will have the time to have several small batches ready to go. Also, if you choose to do something like pigs in a blanket or fried cheese, make sure you use a vented covering so they don't get soggy.

For desserts, remember to fit them to the occasion. Sheet cakes are great for things like birthdays where everyone will have a slice of cake, but for holiday parties you will see them go to waste. Items such as parfaits, cupcakes, chocolate dipped cookies, and chocolates are great, as guests can pick them up and continue to move about the party with little fear of staining their reindeer sweater or Christmas tree tie.

Beverages
This is another area where people screw up alot. I can't tell you how many times I have been at a party and had to drink warm beer for the first hour because the host didn't put it in the ice correctly. For those of you that don't know how to ice a cooler, here is how to do it.... First, put 2 inches of ice in the bottom. Add beers, but dont pack them too closely, give them about an inch apart. Add ice to cover to just below the caps. Do it about an hour before, and you will be good. If you are putting it in a refrigerator, put it in about two hours before the party. My personal preference is the iced cooler, because you can get more beer colder much faster making it easier to keep the party going.

Coffee is something that hosts often get caught with. Either one person wants a cup and you have to make a whole pot, or you have that one person that HAS to have decaf. If you choose to offer coffee, I recommend purchasing a Keurig machine or something similar, that way guests can easily have some choices and you aren't wasting whole pots of coffee.

And now for the wines... Reds should be served at room temperature or slightly cooler, Blushes or Rose should be served chilled, and Whites MUST be served chilled. Again, you can chill your wine in the refrigerator, just make sure you put it in at least 2 hours ahead of time, and remember to have several extras in as well. If you are going to ice your wine, the best way to do it is to use a ratio of 3 parts ice to one part cold water, and submerge the wine halfway up the neck. A 750ml bottle will be chilled in less than 20 minutes. Typically, you can expect 3-4 glasses of wine from a 750ml bottle, and most guests will drink 2-4 glasses of wine. It is a good idea to have at least half to 3/4 of your wine chilled before the party because it usually goes fast and takes a little while to chill.

Last.... Liquors.... Liquors and parties are generally NOT a good idea. The reason for this statement is that it is much easier to overindulge at a party drinking liquor than wines or beer. In many states you can be held liable if someone leaves your house drunk and gets into an accident, so its a good idea to avoid the hard stuff. Usually, I keep a few choice liquors on hand for those who really prefer it, but I only offer mixed drinks and keep the bottle away so they don't start pouring on their own. This lets me have a good idea of how much someone is drinking, and what shape they are in when it is time to leave. If you still want to do liquors, I would recommend making a big bowl of rum punch or whisky sours.

Also, ALWAYS have a few bottles of soda or other types of non-alcoholic beverages on hand, so designated drivers can still have fun without feeling left out. Good choices include Izze, San Pelegrino, and Perrier.

Entertainment
For a well planned party, the entertainment will generally take care of itself. The best part of any party is the conversation, getting people talking, sharing stories, and telling jokes. The best way to get it going is to make sure you introduce everyone if they don't know each other already, and keep the drinks flowing the first hour. Personally, I just pour without asking the first hour, as it loosens everyone up. I also make the rounds to each group of people and help along the conversation; in many cases you are the only link between guests at your party, and can often give a conversation a kick start to get them talking. One thing to avoid for parties is TV/Movies (unless its a superbowl or media event party), as it gives people a reason to sit around and not be part of your party, thus making all of your hard work pointless. Another thing is make sure you have music, but make sure it is not too loud and it fits the event. You don't want Dropkick Murphys or 50 Cent blaring at classy cocktail party. iPods are awesome for this because you can make a playlist, load it with stuff for your party, and let it play. If you want, games like Wii Bowling and Rock Band are great for parties as well, but only if you have the space to dedicate to it.

Size of the Party
One thing that people often do is invite too many people for the space that they have. It is hard to have fun at a party and converse with people if you cannot move. Remove pieces of furniture that take up a lot of room or that can be easily knocked over.

Seating is another to think about; if people are not comfortable, they won't want to stay. It is important to make sure you have enough places for people to sit and relax. A good rule of thumb is have seats for at least 3/4s of the number of people you invite. In most cases, people will walk around a bit, grab a drink or a bite to eat, talk, then take a break, then get up and do it all over again. If it is a formal dinner party, ensure places are set beforehand so you are not scrambling to find chairs at the last minute.

Another thing to consider is what you are going to do with coats. Most of us are not Andrew Carnegie and have a hat check girl at the door, and a coat tree or closet gets packed pretty quickly. Typically I take a guests coat and put it in an extra bedroom. When the guest is ready to leave, I go and get it. This seems like a pain, but it allows you to see what condition your guests are in before they leave the house, and gives you a chance to have them stick around awhile longer to have a glass of water and sober up if needed.

Think About The Flow
Most parties end up breaking up into smaller groups of people who find each other entertaining or know each other beforehand. Keeping this in mind, arrange your space to accommodate that. Arrange seating so that small groups can form yet still have access to refreshments. This is easy to accomplish if you have a modern open floor plan home, simply have your food and beverages in a central location, such as a kitchen island or table centrally located. If you have an older home with a few smaller rooms, don't fret; small tables (like coffee tables and end tables) can be used to set up smaller refreshment tables in each room. Remember to keep traffic areas clear so people can still move freely.


Throwing a party can be a stressful affair, but it really doesn't have to be. A little bit of forethought and planning goes a long way to make sure you and your guests have a good time and enjoy the party. So plan your menu a few days before, make food ahead of time, and get that wine chilling early so you don't have to be a harrowed host.

Feel free to ask me specific questions on your upcoming party or holiday feast, I will be glad to assist!

Sausage, in a Bird, in a Bird, in a Bird, in a Bird.... Layered with Sausage.....

Sausage, in a Bird, in a Bird, in a Bird, in a Bird.... Layered with Sausage.....

OK, so we have all either saw the infamous Turduckhen displayed in specialty foods catalogs ( http://www.cabelas.com/entrees-cabelas-tur-duc-hen.shtml ) around the holidays, or saw Epic Meal Time's Turbaconepic ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xc5wIpUenQ ) ..... either way it has caused lust amongst us food lovers.... So, for this Thanksgiving I have decided to forego my traditional Smoked Turkey for something a little more adventurous. I decided to take two different types of animals and a few species and meld them in a deliciously unholy way that will only cement my room in the depths of hell...

I decided to take delicious sausage, and stuff a delicious cornish game hen with it. Then stuff the corning game hen into a chicken. Then stuff the chicken into a duck. Then stuff the duck into the turkey. Then smoke it with wood chips made from the casks that they age Jim Beam bourbon in.  
( http://www.amazon.com/Beam-BTJB48-Smoking-Bisquettes-Count/dp/B001HZXYCI/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1353296649&sr=8-10&keywords=bradley+smoker+bisquettes )

Up to no good.......

Before I go any further, let it be known that this project will take a few hours to prep before you even get it to the smoker, and you have to have some serious knife skills to pull this off. I would recommend if you do not have the aforementioned knife skills either have the butcher debone your birds for you, order a Turduckhen from Cabela's, have an ambulance waiting in your driveway for the inevitable (and unenviable) trip to the hospital to have your forearm reattached, or just skip this project altogether. I am a guy who has a degree in culinary arts and ran some big ass kitchens in my day, and this was a pain in the ass challenging task. 

I would plan on par cooking the bird a few days before your meal, then reheating and glazing in the oven the day of the meal. Because of all of the layers involved, this one will be a difficult one to time with the rest of your meal, and you don't want anyone to get sick from undercooked poultry.  

So, what you will need for this:

2 lbs Sage Pork Sausage (or some other non-breakfast sausage that you like. I would imagine chorizo, andouille, or even kielbasa would be good in this.... or bacon if you are into Internet memes)
1 - Partially Deboned Turkey (12 lbs, leg bones and wings left intact, innner bones and backbone removed)
1 - Fully Deboned Duck (5-6 lbs, no bones at all, leg meat intact)
1 - Fully Deboned Chicken (4-5 lbs, no bones at all, leg meat intact)
1 - Fully Deboned Cornish Game Hen (1-2 lbs typically, again, no bones)
1 lb Bread Stuffing Mix (homemade or store bought, whatever you like)
2-3 oz. Cabela's Roasted Garlic and Beer Seasoning
2 - 4 cups of chicken stock
2 - Jumbo Eggs

Tools:

1 -SHARP 6" Boning Knife
1- Large Skillet
1 - Large Cutting Board with something to keep it from sliding (wet towel laid under it works fine)
Butcher's Twine
3 Half Bakers Sheets (or 3 large cookie trays)
Calibrated Stick Thermometer

Method:

How NOT to do this.....

1. Thaw and debone your birds. You can do this by brining it for a couple of days in the fridge, buying them fresh or thawed, or just letting your frozen birds sit in the fridge for a few days. You can choose to remove the skin from everything except the Turkey. I took the skin off of the game hen and chicken, and trimmed the duck fat liberally. IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO DEBONE A BIRD, DON'T ATTEMPT THIS PART!!!! HAVE A BUTCHER DO IT FOR YOU!!!!

2. Once your birds are thawed, seasoned, and boneless, start making your stuffing. Cook off your two pounds of sausage in a large skillet. Once browned, add 2 cups of your chicken stock to deglaze the pan. Add in your dry stuffing mix. Stir until all of the moisture is absorbed. The stuffing mix needs to be rather moist and sticky, yet retain a ball shape. Add more chicken stock or cook a little bit uncovered to adjust the stickiness. Think Sushi Rice..... Let it cook off a bit until warm, but not too hot to touch. 

3. Add your eggs, ONE AT A TIME, to you warm stuffing stirring as you go. This will help stiffen your stuffing once it is cooked to make for a nice presentation. 

4. Take two long pieces (about 2-3 feet depending on your knotting skills) across the center of one of your baking sheets in an X shape.

5. Take a baseball sized bit of stuffing and roll it into a tight ball and place it in the middle of your tray with the butchers twine laid across it, right on top of the twine. 

6. Take your boneless Cornish Game Hen, and lay it over top of the stuffing ball, being careful to tuck in the edges. 

7. Layer about 1/4 inch of stuffing on top of the Cornish Game Hen. Smooth it out so it covers the bird entirely. 

8. Place your Chicken over top of the Cornish Game Hen being careful to tuck in the edges. Layer it with 1/4 inch of stuffing.

9. Place your Duck over your Chicken being careful to tuck in the edges. Layer it with 1/4 inch of stuffing.

10. Place your Turkey over your Duck being careful to tuck in the edges. Take your butchers twine and tie them firmly in an X shape. Don't tie it so tight it squeezes your stuffed birds out. This is a temporary tie and will be removed in the coming steps.

11. Place another baking sheet on top of your birds and gingerly flip it so it is breast side down. 

12. Commence tying a butcher's the length of the bird. I found it best to have 4 segments, on in the front in front of the wings, two in the middle, and one in the back, using the tails to truss the legs together. To maximize my easily sliced portion, I tied it in such a way that it looks like a long turkey. 

12a. Paula Deen has an alternative method for this that uses several metal skewers run through the bottom of the turkey, parallel to one another, perpendicular to the backbone, then lacing it up like a sneaker. I attempted this, but found the Turkey skin too weak for this to work effectively. 

13. Flip the bird gingerly back over onto either your smoker rack or the sheet you will bake it on. 

14. Generously season your bird with the Cabela's spice (or whatever you like)

Baking:

If baking, place the bird into an oven preheated to 500 degrees. Allow it to roast for 15 - 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to about 275 degrees and let it finish low and slow. If you get impatient and cook at too high a temperature, the eggs in your stuffing will leaven and force the whole thing apart. Take your time. Expect to roast it 3-5 hours depending on final weight.

Awww Yea.... The Bradley Smoker...

Smoking:

Smoke the bird until the internal temp reaches 155 degrees, which will take about 5-8 hours at 200 degrees. Hickory, Cherry, and Mesquite work well for poultry. If you have a Bradley smoker, I would recommend the Jim Beam smoking pucks. 

Once Par Cooked, place the bird on a cooling rack on top of a bakers sheet. Allow it to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes or so, then transfer to the fridge once it is cool to the touch. Cover it loosely with foil to allow air to circulate. 

Reheating:

To reheat this bird, place in a roasting pan with a rack. Put about 2-3 cups of Chicken Stock in the bottom, cover loosely, and place into the oven. Baste often with butter or garlic oil. Once the internal temp get to about 130, take it out of the oven, pour off the chicken stock, and turn the oven to 375 degrees. Baste with Butter or Garlic Oil and the skin should become golden brown. If the temperature gets to 145 degrees or higher and the skin has not crisped up, put the bird on the middle low rack and use the broiler. MAKE SURE YOU WATCH IT CAREFULLY!!! FAT IS FLAMMABLE!!!

Once the skin looks the way you want it to, remove it from the oven and allow it to rest for about 20 minutes. Slice and eat with gravy or the Roasted Shallot Sauce mentioned in an earlier post.