On the Edge : Cutting Everything Down to Size

The food processor has made life a lot easier in the kitchen, but there are times when only a knife will do. The following recipes all require a sharp edge.

A butcher will bone a leg of lamb for you--but there’s something extremely satisfying about doing the job yourself. The recipe comes from Mario Martinoli of Mario’s Cooking for Friends.

MARIO MARTINOLI’S ROAST LEG OF LAMB WITH ROSEMARY AND GARLIC

1 (4-pound) leg of lamb without shank

Salt, pepper

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 long sprig rosemary

Rosemary leaves from several sprigs

Olive oil

Red wine

Using sharp boning knife, trim outside fat from leg. Dislodge meat around end of leg bone. Make small cut lengthwise down to bone and continue cutting from thigh downward, scraping around bone until exposed. As meat becomes disattached, lift up and remove large bone at knee joint.

Spread lamb open, cutting out visible fat and tendons. To make meat flatter and more even in thickness, cut lengthwise slashes. Season lamb to taste with salt and pepper. Place sliced garlic in folds of meat. Place long rosemary sprig in center. Roll leg of lamb in remaining rosemary leaves and tie up.

Coat pan or roaster with olive oil and place over high heat. Sear lamb completely to seal in juices. Roast lamb at 350 degrees until internal temperature reaches 135 degrees.

Add some red wine to pan to pick up essence of roast. Slice lamb thinly and serve warm with pan juices. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Once you’ve mastered the use of a cleaver (see above), dicing the chicken for this recipe can be done in a flash. A cleaver will also make short work of the vegetables, which would become too finely minced if chopped in the food processor.

EMPRESS PAVILION MINCED CHICKEN WITH LETTUCE CUPS

1/4 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce

1 teaspoon cornstarch

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Black pepper

1/2 pound boneless chicken breast, finely diced

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup diced water chestnuts

1/4 cup diced onion

1/4 cup diced green onion

1/8 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 teaspoon oyster sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

Hoisin sauce

4 to 6 lettuce cups

Combine 1/4 cup soy sauce, cornstarch, 3 tablespoons sesame oil and pepper to taste in medium bowl. Add chicken breast. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature. Remove from marinade.

Heat skillet or small wok over high heat. Add vegetable oil. Add 1 clove minced garlic and chicken mixture. Stir-fry 3 minutes. Remove chicken with slotted spoon onto plate.

Remove all but 1 tablespoon oil from skillet. Add remaining garlic and stir-fry until light golden. Add water chestnuts, onion, green onion and cilantro. Stir-fry 1 minute. Add remaining soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Stir-fry 2 minutes. Add pine nuts and chicken mixture. Heat 1 minute. Place in serving dish.

To serve, lightly spread hoisin sauce in each lettuce cup, then top with serving of chicken mixture. Roll up to eat. Makes 4 servings.

The main difference between chopped chicken livers and chicken liver pate is the chopping; we like to use a big curved mezzaluna for this recipe.

CHOPPED CHICKEN LIVERS

1 pound chicken livers

Kosher salt or coarse salt

2 extra-large eggs, hard-cooked and roughly cut up

1 medium onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

1/3 to 1/2 cup griebenes (cracklings), optional

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

3 to 4 tablespoons schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) or as needed

Lettuce leaves

Sliced or grated black or white radishes or black radish and onion conserve

Trim chicken livers, removing any bits of fat adhering. (It is not really necessary to remove connective tissue.) Dampen large, clean sheet of brown wrapping paper by quickly passing both sides under cold running water. Place wet paper on broiler pan. Arrange livers on paper, leaving little space between each. Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt.

Broil about 10 minutes, watching carefully to make sure edges don’t burn. Livers are done when tops are brown but not black and inside is firm but still faintly pink near bottom. (Livers need not be turned.)

Remove livers from paper. Brush off excess salt. Livers may be chopped on board with French chef’s knife, or in big wooden bowl with curved hand chopper, somewhat like lunette. Cut livers coarsely and add roughly cut-up eggs, coarsely chopped onion and griebenes. Chop steadily until mixture is well blended. (Final texture should not be too fine, but rather like medium-fine chopped nuts.) As you chop, season to taste with salt and pepper. (End result should be quite peppery and well salted.)

Gently mix in only as much chicken fat as necessary to make mixture hold together enough to be picked up on fork. Since mixture will be chilled, it will hold together more than when it was warm, so do not add too much fat. Pack into crock or bowl, cover and chill.

Chopped liver tastes better if chilled several hours before it is served, or chill 24 hours. Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving.

Serve on lettuce, garnished with sliced or grated radishes or with black radish and onion relish. Matzohs were considered essential to this dish, but crackers or toast can be substituted. Makes about 6 servings.

Boning a whole chicken for stuffing is easier done than said. Use a sharp boning knife -- some chefs even prefer a small paring knife while others supplement the task with poultry shears . Strong, confident hands help crack joints and push flesh away from the bones. The skin is first cut along the back. This is not only an easier process than cutting along the breast side but results in a better - looking bird. To retain the natural shape of this stuffed chicken, we left the bones in the wings and drumsticks intact.

BALLOTINE OF CHICKEN WITH PEPPERS AND GOAT CHEESE

1 (3-pound) whole chicken

Salt, pepper

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 1/2 cups marinated or roasted peppers

2 (4-ounce) logs goat cheese

Basil leaves

2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or melted butter

Using sharp boning knife, bone chicken for stuffing, leaving wing and drumstick bones intact. Lift up skin by neck and slide knife on each side of wishbone. Using thumb and forefinger, push bone out, prying at point where bone is held in breastbone. Place chicken on its breast and make incision through skin of back from neck to tail.

Starting with one side, push knife close to bone, releasing carcass from flesh. Cut through ball joint of wing but keep wing attached to breast. Repeat on other side.

Place 2 fingers on each side of breastbone and pull down to free bone. (Or use knife to scrape down side of breastbone to remove meat.) Look for white tendon on each side of breast meat and pull out, scraping free against knife.

With chicken on its side, cut off small oyster meat to joint of hip. Open up leg and crack at joint of hip. Cut through joint to sever large sinew. Pull leg free from carcass. Repeat on other side. Pull whole carcass free of meat. Free each thigh bone by scraping meat down off bone with knife then cut around joint.

Trim off excess fat from chicken. Season bird all over with salt, pepper and garlic. Spread out on counter and stuff with drained peppers. Place 1 log goat cheese along center and 1/2 log into each thigh cavity. Reform chicken back to natural shape. Insert some basil leaves underneath skin. Secure opening with wood picks or sew up with needle and thick thread. Cross legs and attach together with kitchen twine. Tuck wings akimbo.

Place chicken, seam side down, on roasting pan and brush with olive oil or melted butter. Roast at 350 degrees 1 1/2 hours or until golden brown, basting with drippings or more olive oil. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes. Remove wood picks and twine before serving. Serve warm or cold, garnished with sprigs fresh herbs, if desired. Makes about 6 servings.

If you use a pre-made pie crust, the only real work in making apple pie is in peeling the apples. Once you get in practi c e, you’ll find that a paring knife is actually much more efficient than a vegetable peeler. The point is to move the apple, not the knife, drawing the knife toward you as you rotate the fruit in the opposite direction.

ABBY MANDEL’S EASY APPLE PIE

3 pounds tart apples, Jonathans, greenings, Granny Smiths

3/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/8 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced

Pillsbury All Ready Pie Crust for 2 crust 9-inch pie

Peel apples. Core and cut into 1/3-inch slices.

Combine 3/4 cup sugar, flour, vanilla, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in large plastic bag. Add apples, one at time, and shake to coat apples.

Prepare bottom and top pastry crusts following directions on pie crust package and using 9-inch pie plate. Mound spiced apples in center of bottom crust, adding all flour and sugar mixture from bag. (Don’t worry if they will seem piled very high, they cook down). Dot with butter.

Cover apples with top pastry. Pierce or slash top crust so steam can escape. Mix remaining 1 teaspoon sugar and 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle over top. Place pie on baking sheet.

Bake at 450 degrees 15 minutes on center rack of oven. Reduce oven to 425 degrees and continue to bake until bottom crust is browned, about 40 to 45 minutes longer. Serve warm with scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired. Makes 1 (9-inch) pie.