tips & tricks: the mandolin

as you expand your cooking horizons and get a bit more adventurous in the kitchen, you will want to invest in a few tools that help make things more efficient. as my husband says, "you need the right tool for the right job."

i love making home made potato chips, pickled cucumbers or crispy fried onions. but all three require very thin, precise cuts. and for most of my schooling (which included six years of my own trial and error, and my former prep cook husband's encouragement) i did not have the patience or skill to make the slices necessary. i probably still don't when it comes to potato chips. so one of the first tools i invested in was a mandolin. it comes with adjustable blades for different cuts (slices, julienne, french fry) as well as a handy dandy handle to protect your fingers. i actually have two sizes now. one for our kitchen and one for our catering bag. they are easy to use, easy to clean and can cut the time of a ten minute prep job to just minutes. and of course they have them on amazon. we love amazon. you can find the large on HERE and the smaller one HERE. 

mind all ten fingers when using the mandolin. i don't always use my handle now that i'm comfortable, but i highly recommend it until you are comfortable with your tool. 

you can adjust each of the three blade attachments for larger or thinner cuts. the handle is great for steady slicing. 

place these bad boys on a parchment lined baking sheet, brush with an oil that has a high smoking temp and bake for 10-15 minutes at 400 f. lightly salt and serve. 

if i ever need a bunch of onions or shallots sliced for fried or caramelized shallots, i bust out the mandolin. nothing faster than the swipe of the hand. watch those fingers. this is not a test!

perfect slices. every time. 

xo, a