Sharpening those knife skills!

Ever watch in fear as someone you love looks alarmingly close to chopping off their index finger while dicing an onion? Ever feel that moment of panic while you're slicing that little clove of garlic that won't quite hold still or the lemon that rolls away as you're slicing some wheels for garnish? I'm guessing most of us amateur cooks would probably answer yes to both. If that rings at all true, then read this amusing tale from slate.com author Sara Dickerson about her experience trying to get her prep averse husband to overcome his extremity threatening kitchen clumsiness by learning new (aka: safe) knife skills by watching and reading Norman Weinstein's book/DVD Mastering Knife Skills. Sara's column is an entertaining bit of food writing, with my favorite passage her quote from French gourmand Grimod de la Reynière, who said in his 1808 Host's Manual: "The host who does not know how to carve, nor to serve is like someone who has a fine library and cannot read. The one is almost as shameful as the other."