Class was back in the Danger-Shop-as-kitchen-stations again today, and Hannibal nodded at the students. "Last week, we learned about knives, how to choose them, how important they are for cooking." He picked up his own, which was not a creation of the room. "But there is more to using them than just slicing things with the sharp edge and hoping they cut," he told them a bit dryly, his thumb skimming lightly over the blade.

Hannibal playing with knives Cutting Techniques

"This week, I'm going to show you the difference between mincing, dicing, chopping, slicing, julienning, and a few other cuts you may encounter. There are many different types of cuts. You can use them to add visual distinction to your work, but they are also important to ensure everything cooks at the proper rate. If you have large and small pieces, you'll end up with some overdone and some underdone." Which was a bad thing. You could probably guess that from his frown.

He waved his knife to gesture them closer. "We will also learn proper technique, as I'd prefer no-one lose a finger." Though that could be interesting, too. "When to start with the tip on the food," he demonstrated on a potato, "when to start with the tip on the board," there went a bit of celery, "and when to use it as a pivot." And that was garlic.

"Later, we will learn about different cuts of meat. For today, we will only cover slicing, as that is a common mistake that can make a very big difference in your food." He pulled a fairly rare piece of meat over to demonstrate. "Meat is muscle fibers. Muscles travel in a specific direction; like wood, they have a grain." He showed them the long side of the meat.

"Because they're designed for strength, pulling muscle with the grain - or chewing it - is very difficult." He sliced a bit with the grain and tugged on it to show them. "So, when you're slicing meat, you should always cut against the grain." He did a bit of that. "This makes it much more tender." He pulled that piece apart fairly easily.

"So, you all have various vegetables and some meat at your stations. Today you'll be making an autumn-vegetable bisque and pan-frying the meat to go with it.


ETA:
Halfway through the class, after realizing that all this jumpiness was far from normal, Hannibal stalked off and brewed some nice, relaxing tea, and offered it to everyone, calling for their attention. "Chamomile, lavender, and poppy - it will probably taste vile, but it should prove quite soothing without putting you to sleep. Unless you have an extremely low tolerance for opiates, in which case I would recommend that you have someone keep an eye on you. In either case, please don't try driving anywhere after class for a few hours. If you are on any psychoactive drugs, please avoid it."