Knife Skillz

My knife skills suck.

I've tried to think of a nicer way to say it, but there's no pussyfooting around this one. The defining realization was a few years ago as I was driving myself to the emergency room, blood seeping through the gauze around my hand and dripping down the steering wheel. I had been trying to carve wild boar off a leg bone when something slipped and I cut partly through the extensor tendon on my pointer finger. My wife came home while I was being treated, to discover a chef's knife half submerged in a pot of tepid stew, lights on everywhere and blood splattered across the floor. (She may never forgive me.)

After a few hours of outpatient surgery and many months of recovery, I've recovered all my finger flexibility. But the original problem remains: I'm dangerous to myself and other because I've never been properly trained in how to slice and dice my food. Proper cutting is essential to good cooking.

This tutorial explains common knife techniques as applied to common vegetables, for both right- and left-handed cooks. I've already begun putting several techniques into practice, and it makes a world of difference. Look ma! I've still got all my fingers!

[Originally found by way of the Accidental Hedonist.]