First off, mad congratulations are in order for Matt and the rest of the WordPress team for the 1.0 release. I’ll be upgrading this shortly from the post-0.8 CVS to the latest version, but I must say I’m impressed. (And yes, I got off my butt and began writing the Movable Type to WordPress import script, got it sketched out, and decided to get engaged. Fortunately, Matt picked it up and it’s now part of WP.)
Mise en place is a culinary term used to refer to preparing ingredients ahead of time. Things like dicing or chopping onions and carrots, having all the spices out off the spice rack (and possibly pre-measured), peeling potatos, that sort of thing. The idea is that when you start to cook, you’re stopping as little as possible to cut, wash, or otherwise prep ingredients. But what to do when you’re only cooking for one or two?
I don’t often have the luxury of cooking large amounts of food for people. This means that, despite the fact that it seems easier to work with larger quantities, it really doesn’t make sense for me to get up and chop up a few pounds of onions, mince a few heads of garlic, peel a few bunches of carrots, and have that ready – they’d all be dead and rotten by the time I used half of it. If I make risotto for myself for dinner, I need on the order of a quarter of an onion chopped. One friggin’ quarter! What am I supposed to do with the other three quarters of an onion? How long does chopped onion keep – if I chop it all up and throw it in tupperware in the fridge, when does it lose its flavor and oomph?
So, the question here is really two part:
- What things are the staples that make up your pantry?
- What do you do (if anything) for mise en place at home?
UPDATE: I should also mention that a large part of my difficulty with this is also that I’m essentially split between two kitchens. I may cook at my place on Monday, Christine’s on Tuesday, eat out Wednesday, cook at Christine’s on Thursday, and cook at my place again on Friday. I’m not guaranteed to be in the same kitchen for any real stretch of time. So, bonus points for tips and ideas that either keep well in the fridge or travel well.
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We do everything the hard way every time. No pre-prepped food. If we do have to use only part of an onion, we will chop the whole thing and put it in a a jar in the fridge. It is pretty nice to be able to pull it out already chopped. How long does it keep? I should keep track. I really don’t know, but I’d say a few weeks. You would know by looking at it when it’s no longer good to use. I can’t say that there is anything else that we will do that for. We generally only buy what we need. We plan our weeks’ menu at the beginning of each week.
I love this opportunity. I’m a psycho about my pantry. You should read Jamie Oliver’s first book, he has a great tutorial on pantry staples.
I think your problems will be partially solved once you two move in together
. But for now, my advice is chop the sort of vegetables that pose the onion-like delemma and freeze them in little baggies. My husband and I do this with chicken stock. We roast a little chicken every Sunday and make stock out of the carcass on Monday (unless our freezer is full of stock as it is now thanks to thanksgiving and Christmas). The onions will probably taste okay for a month out of the freezer. But, that is probably just too much work. My real thoughts? Just suck it up and throw the rest of the onion out if you don’t use the whole thing. They’re cheap! As for garlic, go to the farmer’s market and get a huge jar of minced garlic. There’s nothing like it, it lasts forever, and all you have to do is grab it out of the fridge.
Also, I use shallots instead of garlic and onions in my risotto. Yum I’m hungry.
My staples? The usual olive oil, various vinegars, rice, pasta, canned tomatoes, etc. Also, pine nuts and parmesan. Fresh herbs are great, we have a huge basil plant in our back yard that comes up to my chin. Fresh pesto every week! We always have chicken breasts and steaks in the freezer just in case we don’t make it to the store. My husband gets all the dry ingredients to make bread. Also, canned chick peas for hummus and other dry ingredients to make tabouli as well as black olives in the fridge in case of company or a serious Jones for getting my snack on.
Anyways, I could go on for hours. I love food. I love talking about food. I love reading about food. I love cooking food, buying food, mmm hongry right now…
I have a cookbook called Little Meals by Rozanne Gold that might interest you. I liked it well enough that it’s surviving the NJ purge.
My ex was always appalled that I used diced onion instead of chopping fresh every time, but it tastes OK and the effort is an issue for little miss swollen-hands. Making everything from scratch is mighty tasty, but sometimes it really is better to use the prepared stuff. (Although I concur with whoever said the problem will be solved when you move in together.)
My trick for keeping half an onion for another couple of days is to put it in a ziploc bag with a tablespoon of water so it doesn’t dry out.
My take is that the main purpose of mise en place in a restaurant is being able to quickly whip up a dish when it’s ordered, having the ingredients ready so each order doesn’t start a whir of prep work. It also means that the cooking process is handled in an efficient manner – no hurriedly chopping ingredients while your onions and garlic are simmering in oil, at risk of overcooking.
For home use, you don’t have the same need for quickly jumping on an unexpected order. In theory, you know what you’re going to be cooking ahead of time, and only will be cooking one meal. So for home use, don’t think of it as having tons of ingredients ready to go at the drop of a hat, ingredients that might then spoil. Think of it instead as prep work for each individual meal. I have a bunch of those small souffle cups that are great for holding chopped ingredients. I get all the ingredients ready before I start cooking. Then the cooking process goes quickly and smoothly.
And, of course, living in a New York apartment means the only staples I keep around are the totally non-perishable ones. Perishable things are purchased in close proximity to the actual cooking.
Okay, now I’m in the mood to cook.
Having everything prepped when you start is no fun. Where is the danger? Living on the edge? As for the onions – they freeze very well, and if frozen in a good quality freezer bag, they last a long time. Same for chopped carrots and a few other items. Freeze them in convenient sizes (1 quarter cup?) and they will be handy to use.
That said, are you sure it wouldn’t just be easier to elope?
I agree with Amy. Mise en place is what is needed at a station in a restaurant in order to handle the dishes coming off that station that night. It might change a bit night to night, depending on specials. Onion, garlic, parsley, chive, etc; sauces in squeeze bottles, salt and pepper… it is also the gear and where you want it. It is how you are laid out for the battle.
At home, things are different. I want things to be efficient, but speed is not important. I don’t need a prep chef or a sous. It’s about enjoying the journey, not getting there as quickly as possible.
What things are the staples that make up your pantry?
What things are the staples that make up your pantry?
This is a great site!
Great site.
The trick is to buy small-sized vegetables, ie onions when you don’t need large quantities. Voyla no need to keep chopped veggis in the freezer.
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