SC - Help! (pretty please...)

[Balano1@aol.com]

snowfire at sprynet.com wrote:
> 
> -Poster: Jean Holtom <Snowfire at sprynet,com>
> 
> Greetings everyone,
> I am a new member of this list.  Ahem!  Being from Britain (now living in CT)
> I have to ask - what kind of tool is this person talking about?

<snip>

> I would just like to ask you all if you are aware of the dessert, or "sweet" as
> we would say, called "Spotted Dick"  (a steamed suet pudding with currants in
> it served with hot custard sauce poured over it).  It seemed to fit in with the
> conversation somehow....  (:-) weakly).

Sounds itchy! (I believe we've exchanged recipes for Spotted Dick within
the past few months.)

Seriously, though, the tool in question is a chef's knife, in this case
a 10"  knife manufactured by a German company named F. Dick & Co.

Chef's knives. a.k.a. French knives, are the result of roughly 300 years
of knife design evolution. They have a roughly triangular blade, with
the taper becoming slightly less acute near the tip, and the hilt
mounted in a line with the back of the blade, leaving the blade edge to
project past the fingers on the handle, to protect the knuckles when chopping.

They're good for just about any kitchen job, from boning, slicing,
chopping, shredding, opening cans, splitting chickens, and threatening
delivery men.

The 10" Dick (as opposed to, say, the 6" Sabatier) achieved immortality
for the filthy-minded when a pastry instructor of mine went around the
school kitchen calling out, "Who's got my 10" Dick? I left it on the
counter here and now it's gone. Has anybody seen my 10" Dick?" It was
like one of those Bart Simpson phone messages: "Hello, may I speak to
Mr. Jass? First name, Hugh." "I'm lookin' for a Hugh Jass!!! Phone call
for Hugh Jass!!!" 

Professional knife parlance seems to include (since a professional
kitchen will commonly have hundreds of knives) brand name and size, and
if no other adjective is used, a French chef's knife is assumed. If a
chef's knife is not what's being referred to, you give the length, the
type, and any other distinguishing adjective. I suppose it was
inevitable when a friend of mine, an executive chef and a Laurel, was
looking for a particular boning knife, commonly known as a boner, and
loudly called out a question as to its location. It seems, further, that
he wanted the stiff one, used for disjointing birds and such, rather
than the flexible ones used for filleting fish. So yes, it seems he
wanted an 8" stiff boner, and he wanted it right away! I don't know, at
this point, how much good it did that the  brand was another company's.
We were spared that much, I guess.

On the other hand, there's a great deal to be said for simply ignoring
these whimsical little coincidences, once you get used to them.

BTW, welcome to the cooks' list, Elisande! I think you'll enjoy it...The
noble lady Elisande recently posted a lovely Welsh tea bread recipe
(Bara Brith? Am I even close?) to the East Kingdom list. Perhaps if we
ask her nicely...well, you know... .  

Adamantius
Østgardr, East   
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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