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I am a Shun fan for life - I have 8. I would agree with going in to a store and holding them yourself. Sur La Table is having a sharpening event and is putting a big focus on knives in general. Mine are all Elite or Bob Kramer, but some people prefer the Ken Onion because of the handle. My other 3 knives are Wusthof - a santoku, paring, and butcher. Their scissors are great as well - cut anything! I would also take a look at the Henckels Miyabi line - brand new (I think).

Not trying to knock less expensive knives, but even with good care mine have not held up, suffering rust and bending problems at the tip. Even my Henckels set from Target got shelved.

Enjoy!

I prefer a 5 1/2" Santoku (I have little hands) over the classic 7" Chef Knife.

This statement alone proves what I'm about to say... Buying "the right knife" is a very personal choice. What fits your hand and your needs might not fit another's. I have a friend who, like you, has little bitty hands. I found a 5" chef's knife for her because an 8" or my 10" chef would seem like a machete in her hands.

Santoku is a very good blade style for someone with small hands as it seems to concentrate force on the entire blade vs. the heel or the tip. This is a double edged sword so to speak because there are times when one might need to distribute force. You'd need a parer for close "knife tip" work but should still be able to press down pretty hard on a santoku at the "heel" end. You should NOT try to "cleave" a bone as you would be able to with a chef's knife. Santokus are not built for this purpose and you might damage it. (i.e. I usually cleave through chicken bones when I am making stock to expose the marrow which is gelatinous and gives body to the stock. You'd want to use a heavier-duty knife for this vs. a santoku.)

Messermeister is an excellent German brand and I love how their knives feel in my hand. The forged line is amazing - balanced with just the right amount of "heft." This 5" Rocking Knife might be a good option for you. There is also this 4" Petite Chef's Knife that might suit your needs - and your hand. It would allow you to perform the rougher tasks better done by a chef's knife but it would be small enough for you to have maximum control when using it.

You can try some ceramic knife.I always use my Fuboon ceramic knife.I enjoy it to cut.

Not be exactly what you are looking for, but this is a great and versatile basil vinaigrette from the Black Dog Restaurant on Martha's Vineyard.

Fresh Basil Vinaigrette

2 Cloves Garlic
½ tsp. Salt
½ - ¾ c. Fresh Basil Leaves, Loosely Packed
¼ c. Olive Oil
¼ c. Canola Oil
1/8 c. Red Wine Vinegar
2 tsp. Dijon Mustard
¼ tsp. Pepper

Put salt and garlic in food processor or blender and pulse to chop. Add remaining ingredients (expect oils) and pulse to mix. Finally, add oil slowly to vinaigrette to emulsify. I usually double.

Great on green salad, drizzled over a caprese salad, or as a marinade.

@phishie - Yum. I wanna go to your fair!

My first thought actually goes to the local bowling alley in town. They make the best smothered nachos and the french fries are always perfect. But there is nothing better than a corn dog at the fair.

@SqueezeBottle I will skip that rendition, it is not something I would serve.
I don't reinvent wheels unless there is good reason to and after reading the recipe over twice I stick with my first impression.

To all the people poo-pooing Blumenthal's recipe, I suggest you try it first. I've taken tips from his recipe and added star anise and fish sauce to my ragu bolognese and the results have been surprisingly good. The amounts of ketchup, worcestershire and sherry vinegar he puts in the recipe are quite small so they don't affect the results that much. I wouldn't peg the bad results on that. I do think however that using anise was a bad idea. Anise and star anise are two quite different spices. Anise doesn't give that meatiness boost and might just have made the dish taste sweeter.

ok I just saw this
"ketchup, worcestershire, fish sauce, and sherry vinegar." Shaking my head. This is BBQ sauce, might even be sloppy joes.
That is not bolognese. I am sorry just because Heston Blumenthal calls it bolognese doesn't make it so. It is not anything close to it. It is a sauce of some sort, and you can keep telling me its good but facts are facts.
I personally do not like sweets with my savory and I stick by my original call of bullshit.
@phishie bless your heart for trying to follow the recipe of a "imaginative" chef. How about you try it the conventional way before you start innovating.

@phishie - Maybe you could turn it into sloppy joe's? I just went in to look at Blumenthal's ingredients and they should definitely work. You could totally use it as a SJ starter (though how much does that suck really, all that work for a freakin' sandwich). In reading it, I don't quite get his thought process here, but, to each his own I guess. For me, Marcella Hazan's bolognese is my go to. I love it.

Fish sauce in your bolognese?!

Here's a video of Batali making his bolognese... @derosa and @hungrychristel-- he makes it differently from the Epicurious recipe. I haven't tried either one. But, I will when I get home!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqBqiGM1O54

If there is too much anise, could you go sort of the Indian/curry route and spice it up in that vein?

I hate it when a sauce ends up tasting weird. Good luck!

I am calling bullshit on Heston Blumenthal.Star anise now come on.

Thank you. I'm glad mine wasn't the only stomach that twisted at reading star anise. Whoever this guy is, he's got no place creating a sauce with stuff from outer space and calling it "bolognese." It makes me want to wretch when I see that.

Worse than vanilla lobster, I tell you.