(this post is also titled, why I must justify purchasing this knife)

Butchering your own meat from a primal cut is not new. In fact it’s done in small towns with local butchers for quite some time. Toronto chef Ryan Donovan has started having demostrations of how to do it and this hopefully starts a trend. Already you can buy whole loins of beef from Costco to make your own steaks, this just allows even more freedom.

Squeemish? All meat has to come from animals…

I spotted this book at Indigo and received it for Christmas with some gentle hinting. It’s not a common book, barely available in the USA and only available through select stores due to it’s UK publishing house. It’s got loads of pictures, in full color, and has recipes which are pretty simple to make. The description below is from Amazon:

This book offers advice on how to make the world’s best zuppa inglese; how to coat meat with flour and not get your hands dirty; how to keep your friands light and stop your souffles sinking; how to chiffonade a handful of fresh basil in 10 seconds; how to make a perfect beer batter for fish, and perfect chips to go with it; how to buy a fresh crab and get rid of the ‘funny’ bits; how to whip egg whites. This book provides advice on how to cook…everything. This book include a timeless collection of essential recipes that will save you trawling through old books to find Apple Charlotte, Bearnaise Sauce or pizza dough. All recipes have been triple-tested in the Murdoch Books Test Kitchen for guaranteed results.