Receta Mise en place
I tend to always cook with everything laid out in front of me, ready to go. It takes only a few moments and it allows me to enjoy the act of cooking. It’s also a must when preparing something quick, like stir fry.
A week ahead of time I write out my menu, decide which dish will go into which serving vessel, decide how the oven/range scenrio looks and if a dish needs to be altered. Everyone knows how Thanksgiving and Christmas go with running out of oven or stove top space! Then, the most importnat part is creating a time line. This time line allows me to see what I need done and at what point. I can leave the kitchen and safely know that I don’t need to start on something else until a set time. It takes the rush and panic out of the day. After this, I do what everyone does, I check my pantry and compare it to my recipe ingredants I will need that day.
The day of I will make sure I have all of my ingredients nearby. For Christmas dinner, I don’t pre-chop since I have that scheduled out in my time line. If I were doing an ordinary dinner I go ahead and chop all of my veggies, etc. ahead of time.
I keep my timeline handy, right next to my stove, and will refer to it throughout the course of cooking. It’s also nice because if I’m off playing with my daughter my husband can take a glance at it and know what is next and even help Mise en place is instituted in every professional kitchen for good reason, it works, and should be in place in your kitchen as well!