Mise en Place

I would hardly call myself an organized person. I pay a lot of late fees, miss birthdays, make impulse purchases, and buy snacks when I already have a forgotten drawer full two feet away.  For every victory I achieve in organization, like changing my wardrobe from winter to spring, I am sure to incur at least one failure, like getting a notice that a small medical bill has gone to a collection agency because I forgot to pay it.  The one place that I really like to remain organized, however, is in the kitchen.

I mentioned before that I have received temporary and partial bans in the past from my mother’s kitchen because I would make horrific messes. A lot of the messes that I made stemmed from the fact I was extremely disorganized. I would forget a cup of sugar, forget to crack an egg, leave something on the burner too long, resulting in hasty last minute corrections laden with spills, splats, and yucks.  Thankfully, it is fairly easy to be organized in the kitchen with small amounts of planning and prep work.

One of my favorite culinary concepts is “mise en place”, which literally translates to, “put in place”. If you can follow the concept of mise en place, you can really get cooking in the kitchen (hehe).  You know how when you watch a cooking show, they have all those cute little bowls filled with the measured portions of the ingredients, and they just effortlessly dump everything in as they bop along? I mean, I’m sure Ina Garten has several slaves kitchen elves that do all this for her, but it’s really not that hard, and it makes life a lot easier.  Any home cook can do it, and feel super clever.

The first step to effective mise en place is reading a recipe thoroughly. I still don’t always do this, but I at least read the ingredients list, and pay attention to words like, chopped, minced, sliced, room temperature. 

most everything is out, the coffee isn't going in this recipe, though.

The second step is to pull out all your ingredients, although maybe first, while you are reading the recipe, you should check off (at least mentally) to make sure you have them in your pantry/fridge.  Some things like olive oil, salt, and pepper may be readily accessible near the stove and you don’t necessarily need to move them, but just make sure they are close by.  

chopped and loaded!

Once you have done these two things, you are ready to get moving. I sometimes move straight down the list of ingredients, finely slicing a piece of garlic, chopping tomatoes, cubing chicken, but I generally try to do all like ingredients together. I chop up all my vegetables, measure out all my spices, and pour all my liquids, giving my undivided to each ingredient group one at a time.

It is also important to keep in mind what tools you need to use for each part. Only have one good chopping knife? Do all your veg first and then your raw protein to avoid cross contamination and having to wash in between. The super pliable cutting mats can be useful to put over your cutting board if you are handling raw meat and don’t have a ton of counter space. I sometimes put them over the board, cut up the meat, then remove them and I can move on using the board below for other things without having to wash it right away.  As you finish doing what you need to do to each part, pay attention to what is all going to go to the same place at the same time. If you are going to put your garlic and onion in the pan all at once, they can share a mis en place bowl.  Are you going to add something to something else eventually? Make sure it is in a large enough bowl so you don’t get halfway through pouring and have an, “Oh shit! Splat!” moment.  

 I try to clean up as much as possible as I move along, and I believe it is critical. As long as you are not in a super rush, I suggest cleaning up between prep and cooking, or, getting one of your eaters to start cleaning up while you start cooking.  

Other important components/tips for getting your shit together mis en place:

•         Removing lids and wrappers before you start cooking. Fancy bottles of olive oil are a notorious pain in the ass. I also get irritated by things that when you remove the lid, there is another foil wrapper. Don’t feel bad if you end up violently puncturing said foil wrapper, rage against the packaging is always OK in the kitchen!
•         Uncork bottles of wine. Better yet, buy screw tops!
•          Baking? Take butter/eggs out of the fridge several hours before you start so they are room temp.
•         Buy a garlic press, trust me.
•        Don’t be afraid to pay a little extra for cheese that is already grate or veggies that are already sliced and washed---especially if you are cooking for a crowd, or, just trying to get some chow on the table after work.
•          When the can opener stops working, buy a new one. Don’t f&*% around. Of course, open all canned goods and drain/rinse as appropriate prior to beginning to cook.
•  Target sells little plastic colanders in the dollar section that hold about 2 cups of anything--- beans that need to be drained, fruits and veggies that need to be rinsed--- buy a few of these!
•          Invest in more than one rubber spatula. Williams Sonoma always marks the seasonal color ones down and they are top quality, or, just  go to Ikea.
•         I keep disposable paper bowls around that I sometime use as ingredients holders just to cut back on clean up. I try to avoid this, go green, but for messy ingredients, they can be very helpful.

Last night, I made something that having my mis en place applied to beautifully. Having all my veggies chopped, chicken cubed, cans opened, and seasoning out made this meal even easier than it already was. 

I wanted something homey and full of veg. I am also getting ready to move in about 6 weeks, so I am trying to pick stuff from my pantry that I already have and can use up. I have tons of spices from my trip to Turkey and although most are still vacuum sealed, I knew I had some open chicken seasoning that needed to be used up. Spices are actually not difficult to move, but I had noticed the canister the other day, and was craving something of the Mediterranean persuasion.  I stopped at the terminal on the way home and picked up $1 bags of red peppers and eggplants, as well as a red onion and a lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. 

Veg in the pan, ready to tan!

I decided to roast the veg and add them to the stew last minute because why not? I love roasted eggplant and I didn't want to simmer the veg to death. It also made cooking easier because once I had browned the chicken, I was done with any pan frying and I just had to stick the pan of vegetables in the oven while I finished up the sauce and the chicken. Once the sauce was made, the chicken put back in it to cook through, and the veg in the oven, I had about 15 minutes to CTFO. 

This was delicious and I would make it again. I had a carb heavy day so I skipped a starch, like cous cous or crusty bread, but an accompanying grain would've been tasty. I forgot to pick up feta, so I finished it off with some Pecorino Romano and a drizzle of olive oil. 

Mediterranean Chicken Stew (approx 4 servings)

1 red pepper, roughly chopped
1 eggplant, chopped into 1 in cubes
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red onion, chopped
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 cup white wine
1 lb chicken (I used boneless skinless breasts, but thighs would be good, or anything bone in)
2 tbs turkish chicken spice
1 tsp red pepper flakes
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop and prepare vegetables.  Toss the vegetables with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread over large baking sheet, but don't put it in the oven yet, set it aside.  

If using boneless, skinless breasts, cut into 1 1/2 in cubes. Season generously with salt and pepper and chicken spice. Heat about 1/4 cup of olive oil in skillet over med high heat. Place chicken in pan and stir ~ every 2 minutes, browning it on all sides. Once brown, remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Add onions to the same pan you just cooked the chicken in and season with salt and pepper. Add more oil if necessary.  Once onions begin to brown, add garlic and red pepper flakes, and sautee for about 30 more seconds. Deglaze the pan with the wine, allowing the alcohol to cook off, simmering for about a minute. Add the tomatoes.  Bring sauce to a simmer and place the chicken back in the pan.  Turn the heat to med-low, cover the pan, and put the vegetables in the oven. 

Sauce pool ready for the chicken to dive back in.

Allow the chicken to simmer and the vegetables to roast for about 15-20 minutes. When the vegetables are done, add them to the chicken and the sauce and stir. Let the stew sit for about 5 minutes over low heat to let the sauce seep in. 

Serve stew over top cous cous, or with crusty bread, or by itself with a sprinkle of feta or hard, sharp cheese on top and a drizzle of olive oil. 

om nom nom nom nom