Mandoline

I have been fascinated with madolines since I first saw them…  I even bought one but was intimidated of using it until a year after I bought it.  Now, I can’t stop using it… 

Even with decent knife skills, using a mandoline will ensure you’ll have very even, professional looking slices of whatever you want to slice.  I have used it for several dishes shown here in KarmaFree Cooking, like:

Comme Çi Comme Ça Salade Niçoise – I used it to slice the carrots and the radishes

Eggplant Parmesan

Creamy Potatoes

Eggplant Stacks

And most recently…  

Potatoes à la Angie

There are many mandolines available in the market.  I bought mine at Bed, Bath and Beyond and it shouldn’t have cost me over $25.  I bought this one because I did not want to spend over $100, as some models are, for something that I wasn’t sure if after all I was going to give a whole lot of use to.  I’ve been known to want some gadgets for a long time and then finding out that I do not like them after all.

The one thing I need to stress a lot is to be VERY CAREFUL with the blade.  My version is an inexpensive one and its blade is super sharp.  I once tried to catch the mandoline on its way to the floor and my finger met the blade…  I won’t go into the details, but I still have a scar in my finger.   Always use the handle to manage whatever you’re slicing and NEVER EVER try to catch a sharp falling kitchen utensil… let it drop to the floor and pick it from there.  Never try to catch anything sharp in mid-air.

That’s my nugget of wisdom for the day…