Go to any beginner cooking class and one of the first things they will teach you is knife skills. The secret to all good cooks and chefs is to have good knife skills complemented by a set of quality knives. You don’t need to go and buy out something that is $100, a basic one will do, but make sure you have a variety for the type of cooking you will do. This article from Gizmodo goes over basic skills that anyone can learn and goes over the basic knife types.

I think that many beginners can get away with forgoing the chef knife and instead picking up a Japan-inspired Santoku (pictured below). The flat-edged blade is easier for everyday use and that style has been picked up by most knife manufacturers.

I was walking out of the Bay Centre concourse today and when I turned around I saw huge signs for Longos with “coming soon” attached to them. This looks like it’s going to take up the space vacated by Beddingtons. Another walking distance grocery store for Yorkville is great! I bet the store managers are disappointed the 1 Bloor East project is not going up anytime soon.

Gizmodo wrote an article about induction cooking recently. A technology I love but have yet to install in the kitchen. Until this year, all induction cooktops came in single element portable units, or cooktops installed into a countertop. This year, Sears Kenmore was the first to release both a freestanding and slide-in model. In July, GE just a freestanding model too, the GE Profile 30″ Freestanding Induction Range. Look to see more induction options into next year. These are great alternatives for condos or houses that do not have access to gas ranges. You get excellent temperature control, instant on/off and low power consumption.

The only downside? You need cookware that is magnetic. Most premium cookware is, you can test it using a fridge magnet. If it’s not magnetic, buy some stainless steel cookware instead of aluminum and you should be fine.

At Williams Sonoma, they are running a sale on select All-Clad items. Specifically the 8″, 10″ and 12″ non-stick stainless fry pans are on sale. The 10″ was $115 with a cover and the 12″ was $149. I didn’t get the price of the 8″, I already have one.

Prices aren’t bad, the sale prices on the American website are $80 and $100.

They’re running out of stock in the stores, so if you’re an All-Clad fan, get these quickly.

This blog highlights some interesting statistics presented in some great graphics. Called Information is Beautiful, it’s a blog that covers everything from Twitter to the destruction of mankind from nukes.

Today is another LCBO Vintages Release. While the LCBO did not highlight any wines from the release, they did create a special report on wines from Rhone, my favorite wine region. Here are the wines they featured:

• CÔTES-DU-RHÔNE 2006 DOMAINE PAUL HENRY, $14,95
• VISAN 2007 DOMAINE MONTMARTEL, $16,95
• SABLET LE GRAVILLAS 2007, $17,95
• RASTEAU 2007 OGIER, $19,95
• CAIRANNE LES BUISSONS 2003 SANTA DUC, $17,95
• LES GALETS ROUGES CHÂTEAU MOURGUES DU GRÈS 2007, $14,95
• ROSÉ MILLE X 2008, $13,95
• CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE HAUTE PIERRE 2007 DELAS,  $35,95
• CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE 2006 DOMAINE DE CRISTIA, $39,95
• VACQUEYRAS DOMAINE SAINT-PIERRE 2005, $24,95
• TAVEL CUVÉE TABLEAU 2008, $18,95
• MUSCAT DE BEAUMES-DE-VENISE 2007 DOMAINE DES BERNARDINS, $17,95
• CROZES-HERMITAGE BLANC LA MATINIÈRE 2007 FERRATON PÈRE & FILS, $21,95
• CROZES-HERMITAGE LA MATINIÈRE 2006 FERRATON PÈRE & FILS, $21,95
• CORNAS CUVÉE CHARLEMAGNE CAVES DUMAZET 2005, $44,95
• SAINT-JOSEPH LES CABOLES DOMAINE DE PIERRE BLANCHE 2007, $24,95

One of my favorite albums is a jazz album by Miles Davis – Kind of Blue. Kind of Bloop is an 8-Bit remix of the entire album using old-school technology. I’ve heard a few of the samples and it takes a bit to get used to, still kudos to the remixers for keeping the music alive in one form or another.

If you’ve never heard Kind of Blue before, be sure to check it out on iTunes or online.

The 2010 model year is a bad one for Honda. For the first time that I can remember, they do not have a sports car in the lineup. Early in the 90′s they had the NSX, Integra and even the Prelude holding up the bottom end. Sadly the NSX is no longer in product and the Integra/RSX is no longer available either. The S2000 debuted in 2000 but 2009 was the last model year in the series. Across both the Acura and Honda brands, there’s nary a sports car in the lineup. Earlier this year, Honda pulled out of F1 racing and the replacement sponsor scored a few wins in their absence.

It’s rivals, however, still have quite a few sporting models. Toyota even still has the Celica, and Nissan has the 370z, GT-R and arguably, the Altima Coupe. Even Hyundai has the new Genesis Coupe which is a spectacular car that even comes with Brembos.

Is this the trend for all companies going forward? Will the push for fuel efficiency and economical  cars kill the sports car? Will limited sales numbers and political incorrect nature of high-horsepower and poor fuel economy put the end to sports car demand?

The S90 is a camera everyone has been waiting for Canon to create for quite some time. Small, compact and fitted with a bright f2.0 lens, it competes with the Panasonic Lumix LX3 and it’s Leica brethren. With it’s 28-105mm lens (f2.0-4.9), it offers a wider telephoto range than the LX3 but not as bright. Stil, the differences should be minimal and it seems to be about $100 cheaper than the LX3.

A unique control is affixed to the base of the lens. A control ring that can be turned to change various settings on the camera, depending on what mode is selected. It harkens back to the days where you used the ring on a lens to set the aperture.

No Canadian pricing was announced. It should be in stores in late September.

I saw this posted on BlogTO and I bet his traffic has increased significantly. Toronto Sushi is a blog dedicated to reviewing the sushi joints of Toronto – and boy do we have a lot of them. He has been to my favorite, Yuzu, and I hope he tries some of the more eclectic places like Hashimoto and Sushi Kaji.