Just a reminder that our 150th anniversary celebration is coming up next month, September 12-17th. Keep your eyes on our Facebook page for updates about when things are going to be happening!
But really, I'm just posting that as an excuse to share this link from io9.
"A brief history of the ancient science of sword making," is a very fun read.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Edge maintenance
I don't know if any of you read Lifehacker. Their tagline is "Tips, tricks, and downloads for getting things done." This can be an everyday basic sort of thing (how to set a table, fall asleep faster, pick the best email service), or wacky fixes for problems, or some complicated techno-gadget projects. (One guess about which sort of article I usually skip!)
Anyway, I love them and their top story right now is "How Do I Sharpen a Kitchen Knife?". Mostly the article deals with honing a knife using your butcher's steel, which is a breeze. They have really good instructions, so I'll just add one note to that: Watch your ANGLE! Holding the knife at a bad angle to the steel will just dull the edge even more. Not to mention the fact that it can leave some ugly scratches on the blade.
When it comes to actual sharpening, the article doesn't really go there. So I will.
A quick search will give you a lot of easy home sharpening methods, mostly in the form of pull-through or electric sharpeners. Carl's favorites right now are from Chef's Choice. But really the best way for you to sharpen things at home is to get a sharpening stone of some sort. Some people insist on diamond stones, other people use nothing but natural stones. It's a personal thing, really, but I can tell you that a Norton combination stone was the one that outsold the others last holiday season.
If you're not in a do-it-yourself mood, we can do it for you!
For those of you who live nearby, you can drop off your knives directly and we give you a call when they're ready to pick up.
If you're too far away, we have a mail-in sharpening service. Here's a list of the different packages we offer.
And remember the Big Three of Knife Care
1) Say NO to the dishwasher!
The heat, harsh detergents, and all the bouncing around are not good for your knife. This goes double (quadruple!) if your knife has a wooden handle.
2) Use a cutting board that makes your knife happy.
It doesn't like hard countertops or glass cutting boards. Stick with wood, bamboo, or plastic if you want your edge to last longer.
3) Store it safely and securely. Anything is better than tossing it in a drawer to bang around with you measuring spoons and garlic press. Even storing it in the cardboard or plastic sleeve it came in will help protect the edge, if you don't have the counter space for a knifeblock and an Edge Guard feels too professional-chef-y.
Anyway, I love them and their top story right now is "How Do I Sharpen a Kitchen Knife?". Mostly the article deals with honing a knife using your butcher's steel, which is a breeze. They have really good instructions, so I'll just add one note to that: Watch your ANGLE! Holding the knife at a bad angle to the steel will just dull the edge even more. Not to mention the fact that it can leave some ugly scratches on the blade.
When it comes to actual sharpening, the article doesn't really go there. So I will.
A quick search will give you a lot of easy home sharpening methods, mostly in the form of pull-through or electric sharpeners. Carl's favorites right now are from Chef's Choice. But really the best way for you to sharpen things at home is to get a sharpening stone of some sort. Some people insist on diamond stones, other people use nothing but natural stones. It's a personal thing, really, but I can tell you that a Norton combination stone was the one that outsold the others last holiday season.
If you're not in a do-it-yourself mood, we can do it for you!
For those of you who live nearby, you can drop off your knives directly and we give you a call when they're ready to pick up.
If you're too far away, we have a mail-in sharpening service. Here's a list of the different packages we offer.
And remember the Big Three of Knife Care
1) Say NO to the dishwasher!
The heat, harsh detergents, and all the bouncing around are not good for your knife. This goes double (quadruple!) if your knife has a wooden handle.
2) Use a cutting board that makes your knife happy.
It doesn't like hard countertops or glass cutting boards. Stick with wood, bamboo, or plastic if you want your edge to last longer.
3) Store it safely and securely. Anything is better than tossing it in a drawer to bang around with you measuring spoons and garlic press. Even storing it in the cardboard or plastic sleeve it came in will help protect the edge, if you don't have the counter space for a knifeblock and an Edge Guard feels too professional-chef-y.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
We're on TeeVee!
The store was featured on Fox 41 last night, after all that tornado stuff. This blogger was a little sad not get her 15 minutes, but alas we can't get everything.
If that link thing feels like too much work, you can just watch the clip below!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Closings
Our shipping department will be closed on the 5th and 6th of May and the entire store will be closed on Saturday, May 7th.
Why, you ask? Because the seventh is the first Saturday in May, which around here means it is Derby time! Schools close that Friday and there's a ton going on in Louisville. Everything from Thunder Over Louisville (one of the world's largest annual firework displays, nearly half an hour), a parade, a marathon, concerts, parties, and.. oh yeah, a horse race.
The other link is WLKY's Thunder video, but check this one out,too. You can't hear the music, but it's fun.
(The pause with lots of cannon fire is to clear the smoke for the finale. You know it isn't the finale unless you see the waterfall off the bridge, which starts around 2:31)
Why, you ask? Because the seventh is the first Saturday in May, which around here means it is Derby time! Schools close that Friday and there's a ton going on in Louisville. Everything from Thunder Over Louisville (one of the world's largest annual firework displays, nearly half an hour), a parade, a marathon, concerts, parties, and.. oh yeah, a horse race.
The other link is WLKY's Thunder video, but check this one out,too. You can't hear the music, but it's fun.
(The pause with lots of cannon fire is to clear the smoke for the finale. You know it isn't the finale unless you see the waterfall off the bridge, which starts around 2:31)
Friday, February 25, 2011
Louisvillians in the News
As you know it's our 150th year in business and we're doing some fun things. That includes some in-store specials this weekend to celebrate my grandfather's 85th birthday. And cake, yellow cake with caramel icing. Well, WHAS (a local station) came by the other day and we were on the news! Sadly, the video doesn't seem to have been put online, but here's what they had to say about us.
But it's not all about us. Check out all the Louisville chefs making a splash on the national scene!
But it's not all about us. Check out all the Louisville chefs making a splash on the national scene!
The March issue of Esquire is featuring a recipe by one of our (ok, my) favorite local chefs: Edward Lee. I can't link to it yet, but never fear, it is forthcoming. According to the C-J, the recipe shared i
s a "manly" take on breakfast: waffles and eggs with a chicken-sausage-green-chili gravy. I think the recipe has something to do with their Eat Like a Man blog, which recently featured bartender Joy Perrine, who
also co-authored The Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book.
And if you get the Cooking Channel (or can catch some of it on demand, which is how I plan to watch it), keep an eye out this Sunday (the 27th) at 9 p.m. for their episode of Food(ography) on Southern Cooking. Chef Dean Corbett of the eponymous Corbett's restraunt will be sharing his delicious recipe for fried green tomatoes. Sadly, I cannot personally confirm the deliciousness, but we'll take their word for it.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Year 150
You may or may not have noticed, but this year marks Heimerdinger Cutlery's 150th Anniversary! We have all sorts of in-store events (cake!), in-store sales, and yes we'll even have some things for you guys here on the internet. And did I mention the cake? Yum. Keep your eyes on this space for more info to come.
Now, we can't be entirely certain that 1861 was the year that the Store was founded, but it's a good guess. Why? Because it was the first year that it appeared in the Louisville City Directory, showing up as A. Heimerdinger--Cutler and Sewing Machine Repair. We know it couldn't have been founded too many years previous to that because August originally settled in Cincinnati, where he was married in 1857. His movement to Louisville can be tracked by birth records; in 1859 he had one daughter born in the Cincinnati area and another daughter was born in 1860 in Louisville. Gotta love genealogy.
Want to know more about our history? Check out my blog post here, or the website here. Sorry about the broken pictures, they were on the old website and so went away when it did. I can't find the digital files and I don't really feel like dangling off a ladder again to take new pics. You'll just have to wait for me to find a flatbed scanner. I'm sure you're just dying of antici...pation.
Now, we can't be entirely certain that 1861 was the year that the Store was founded, but it's a good guess. Why? Because it was the first year that it appeared in the Louisville City Directory, showing up as A. Heimerdinger--Cutler and Sewing Machine Repair. We know it couldn't have been founded too many years previous to that because August originally settled in Cincinnati, where he was married in 1857. His movement to Louisville can be tracked by birth records; in 1859 he had one daughter born in the Cincinnati area and another daughter was born in 1860 in Louisville. Gotta love genealogy.
Want to know more about our history? Check out my blog post here, or the website here. Sorry about the broken pictures, they were on the old website and so went away when it did. I can't find the digital files and I don't really feel like dangling off a ladder again to take new pics. You'll just have to wait for me to find a flatbed scanner. I'm sure you're just dying of antici...pation.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Chef Edward Lee is Amazing!
... but that's not news to anyone from Louisville who has had the great (and delicious) fortune to eat at his restraunt, 610 Magnolia, located a stone's throw from Central Park. 610 serves what they describe as New American Farm to Table Cuisine--I describe it as amazing. Not only is it some of the best food I've ever eaten, but it is also the only place in the world that could ever get my notoriously anti-fruit father to eat fig paste. Voluntarily.
But now the world (OK, everyone who watches Food Network) knows how awesome Edward Lee is, too.
Tonight on Iron Chef America Chef Lee took on the new Iron Chef, Jose Garces. Alton Brown pronounced himself Vice Chairman for the night, as we were sadly without the Chairman's presence. That seemed to suit Alton, he's always complaining that he never gets to eat the things he's smelling and talking about.
For those not familiar with this show, Iron Chef America is based on a Japanese show that I highly recommend. A challenger selects which of the Iron Chefs he wishes to cook against, they are given a secret ingredient, and they have one hour to create five dishes for three judges. They are then judged based on taste, plating, and originality, with taste having the strongest weighting.
Bobby Flay is one of the better known and oft challenged Iron Chefs, so I was really excited to see Chef Lee challenge Iron Chef Garces. You can get a full bio of Chef Garces here, but he is the least tried of all the Iron Chefs. You might have seen him on a previous season of the show The Next Iron Chef, you might have heard of one of his restraunts in Philadelphia, or you might have picked up a copy of his cook book Latin Evolution
.He specializes in the cuisines of Spain and Latin America, trying to bring to the fore what came before while showing off the potential of dishes. Garces says his mantra is that 'authentic' and 'innovative' are not contradictory words. A very nice change from Bobby Flay's southwestern style everything.
I admit to a bit of disappointment over the choice of judges for this episode.Of the three, one admitted to having never eaten any of the secret ingredients and one of the other two is notable mostly for his fashion designing. It's always fun to see two foodie judges contradict and subtly snub one another.
But I haven't gotten to the most interesting part of the show yet: the Secret Ingredient. Rumor has is that the contestants are given a list of five possible secret ingredients ahead of time, so that they can prepare potential menus. However, nobody can get that confirmed; we are left to speculate. Tonight's Secret Ingredient was... Tongue and Cheek! Ignoring any and all possible puns, what was presented to the challengers was tongue (beef, lamb, and duck) and cheek (beef and halibut). This presents a challenge, as both of these need to be cooked for longer times to avoid toughness. Our chefs got around this by using lots and lots of pressure cookers.
I think one of the most notable parts of Battle Tongue and Cheek was the somewhat relaxed pace of the two contestants. Normally the chefs jog around the kitchen and move at a hurried pace. Neither chef tonight displayed that frenetic energy. Both moved briskly but smoothly, with the challenger Chef Lee bringing a bit of pressure as he finished his plating with nearly a full minute to spare. Panicked plating that goes down at the last second is much more typical of challengers on Iron Chef America, but as one viewer commented to me "Not that I know him, but seeing how his restaurant is-- I couldn't imagine a frantic kitchen."
I'm missing nuances, but generally speaking, here are the dishes as presented to the judges:
As challenger, Chef Lee presented first. He described the secret ingredients as "historically humble" and usually "misunderstood" and told the judges that he planned to pair them with "equally modest" ingredients so that the secret ingredients would shine. His first dish was a cow tongue Reuben, served with a pickled okra mayonnaise and some sauerkraut soup with a cow tongue crouton. It was a little sandwich square, reminiscent of the itty BLTs served at 610. The second dish presented to the judges was a duck tongue wrapped in Thai basil and tempura deep-fried. It was served over a tongue curry broth with mussels that were, I believe, cooked in the same broth. It sounds disjointed, but apparently the tastes were wonderful together and had a very inviting smell. Halibut cheeks stuffed with a shrimp something-or-other were served third. I would give you more details, but I was too busy drooling at the screen. The general consensus of my viewing party was that it looked "really good, really really good." However good it was, the fourth dish was the one that wowed the judges. It was a lamb tongue and pork cheek arancini. If you follow that link, Chef Lee's looked about a million times better than the ones in the picture there. They were served in a wide bowl with this lovely green sauce. The fifth and final dish was a braised beef cheek served over corn grits with bourbon iced tea in a mason jar. The beef cheek was cooked in a barbecue sauce that included local sorghum molasses and black (fermented) garlic. His presentation included corn husks and some of the paper from the garlic. I think the bourbon made this a particularly hard act to follow.
Iron Chef Garces presented his take on the secret ingredient "with the world as a backdrop." His first dish was a deconstructed greek salad using the beef tongue, served with a lot of little dips and dots of things all over the plate, like a preserved lemon cream and a kalamata olive puree. His second dish took the tasters to Asia with a pork cheek bao that was served with a little salad of pickled stuff in a mason jar. The third dish was an italian beef cheek pappardalle, which my spell-check absolutely hates. In reality, it was a yummy looking noodle dish made with pine nuts and presented to the judges to eat out of a clear blue glass bowl with a ridiculously long fork. Iron Chef Garces' very small fourth dish was a bit lost on an expanse of white plate, but it was a slightly salty Halibut al Ajillo--Spanish-style halibut cheeks with garlic and I think some chorizo. The fifth dish, to me, had the most interesting presentation, but then I'm a fan of lots of little bowls of ingredients. This final dish was a do-it-yourself trip to Mexico City, with the secret ingredients as taco filling. I would love to tell you what all the little bowls of things to put with it were, but at this point my notes are just too scribbled and drool covered to make it out. One was a sauce made with chilies that was a bit on the spicy side for one of the judges.
After a break (and a commercial for those of us at home) the judges came to their decisions. Chef Garces was given twenty-five for taste, eleven for plating, and twelve for originality. Chef Lee was also given twenty-five for taste, but he broke free from any potential tie by being awarded fourteens in both plating and originality.
For deliciousness that you can taste yourself, and a truly fine dining experience, 610 Magnolia is absolutely one of the best places in town to eat. Even with constraints on time and ingredients, Chef Edward Lee was able to prove the superiority of the wonderful things he prepares. Might be worth seeing what he can do when he has plenty of time, hmm?
You can watch this episode at 1 am tonight (tomorrow) and again on the 11th at 9 pm eastern.
But now the world (OK, everyone who watches Food Network) knows how awesome Edward Lee is, too.
Tonight on Iron Chef America Chef Lee took on the new Iron Chef, Jose Garces. Alton Brown pronounced himself Vice Chairman for the night, as we were sadly without the Chairman's presence. That seemed to suit Alton, he's always complaining that he never gets to eat the things he's smelling and talking about.
For those not familiar with this show, Iron Chef America is based on a Japanese show that I highly recommend. A challenger selects which of the Iron Chefs he wishes to cook against, they are given a secret ingredient, and they have one hour to create five dishes for three judges. They are then judged based on taste, plating, and originality, with taste having the strongest weighting.
Bobby Flay is one of the better known and oft challenged Iron Chefs, so I was really excited to see Chef Lee challenge Iron Chef Garces. You can get a full bio of Chef Garces here, but he is the least tried of all the Iron Chefs. You might have seen him on a previous season of the show The Next Iron Chef, you might have heard of one of his restraunts in Philadelphia, or you might have picked up a copy of his cook book Latin Evolution
.He specializes in the cuisines of Spain and Latin America, trying to bring to the fore what came before while showing off the potential of dishes. Garces says his mantra is that 'authentic' and 'innovative' are not contradictory words. A very nice change from Bobby Flay's southwestern style everything. I admit to a bit of disappointment over the choice of judges for this episode.Of the three, one admitted to having never eaten any of the secret ingredients and one of the other two is notable mostly for his fashion designing. It's always fun to see two foodie judges contradict and subtly snub one another.
But I haven't gotten to the most interesting part of the show yet: the Secret Ingredient. Rumor has is that the contestants are given a list of five possible secret ingredients ahead of time, so that they can prepare potential menus. However, nobody can get that confirmed; we are left to speculate. Tonight's Secret Ingredient was... Tongue and Cheek! Ignoring any and all possible puns, what was presented to the challengers was tongue (beef, lamb, and duck) and cheek (beef and halibut). This presents a challenge, as both of these need to be cooked for longer times to avoid toughness. Our chefs got around this by using lots and lots of pressure cookers.
I think one of the most notable parts of Battle Tongue and Cheek was the somewhat relaxed pace of the two contestants. Normally the chefs jog around the kitchen and move at a hurried pace. Neither chef tonight displayed that frenetic energy. Both moved briskly but smoothly, with the challenger Chef Lee bringing a bit of pressure as he finished his plating with nearly a full minute to spare. Panicked plating that goes down at the last second is much more typical of challengers on Iron Chef America, but as one viewer commented to me "Not that I know him, but seeing how his restaurant is-- I couldn't imagine a frantic kitchen."
I'm missing nuances, but generally speaking, here are the dishes as presented to the judges:
As challenger, Chef Lee presented first. He described the secret ingredients as "historically humble" and usually "misunderstood" and told the judges that he planned to pair them with "equally modest" ingredients so that the secret ingredients would shine. His first dish was a cow tongue Reuben, served with a pickled okra mayonnaise and some sauerkraut soup with a cow tongue crouton. It was a little sandwich square, reminiscent of the itty BLTs served at 610. The second dish presented to the judges was a duck tongue wrapped in Thai basil and tempura deep-fried. It was served over a tongue curry broth with mussels that were, I believe, cooked in the same broth. It sounds disjointed, but apparently the tastes were wonderful together and had a very inviting smell. Halibut cheeks stuffed with a shrimp something-or-other were served third. I would give you more details, but I was too busy drooling at the screen. The general consensus of my viewing party was that it looked "really good, really really good." However good it was, the fourth dish was the one that wowed the judges. It was a lamb tongue and pork cheek arancini. If you follow that link, Chef Lee's looked about a million times better than the ones in the picture there. They were served in a wide bowl with this lovely green sauce. The fifth and final dish was a braised beef cheek served over corn grits with bourbon iced tea in a mason jar. The beef cheek was cooked in a barbecue sauce that included local sorghum molasses and black (fermented) garlic. His presentation included corn husks and some of the paper from the garlic. I think the bourbon made this a particularly hard act to follow.
Iron Chef Garces presented his take on the secret ingredient "with the world as a backdrop." His first dish was a deconstructed greek salad using the beef tongue, served with a lot of little dips and dots of things all over the plate, like a preserved lemon cream and a kalamata olive puree. His second dish took the tasters to Asia with a pork cheek bao that was served with a little salad of pickled stuff in a mason jar. The third dish was an italian beef cheek pappardalle, which my spell-check absolutely hates. In reality, it was a yummy looking noodle dish made with pine nuts and presented to the judges to eat out of a clear blue glass bowl with a ridiculously long fork. Iron Chef Garces' very small fourth dish was a bit lost on an expanse of white plate, but it was a slightly salty Halibut al Ajillo--Spanish-style halibut cheeks with garlic and I think some chorizo. The fifth dish, to me, had the most interesting presentation, but then I'm a fan of lots of little bowls of ingredients. This final dish was a do-it-yourself trip to Mexico City, with the secret ingredients as taco filling. I would love to tell you what all the little bowls of things to put with it were, but at this point my notes are just too scribbled and drool covered to make it out. One was a sauce made with chilies that was a bit on the spicy side for one of the judges.
After a break (and a commercial for those of us at home) the judges came to their decisions. Chef Garces was given twenty-five for taste, eleven for plating, and twelve for originality. Chef Lee was also given twenty-five for taste, but he broke free from any potential tie by being awarded fourteens in both plating and originality.
For deliciousness that you can taste yourself, and a truly fine dining experience, 610 Magnolia is absolutely one of the best places in town to eat. Even with constraints on time and ingredients, Chef Edward Lee was able to prove the superiority of the wonderful things he prepares. Might be worth seeing what he can do when he has plenty of time, hmm?
You can watch this episode at 1 am tonight (tomorrow) and again on the 11th at 9 pm eastern.
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