Dinner Woes

[taxlady]

Another reason to do "mise en place" is so you know that you have all the ingredients. No surprise that the yogourt is furry or you're out of something you were sure you plenty of.

There's only two of us here too. Some of the same dishwasher annoyances. However, we have a small (`2/3 size), portable dishwasher, so we can usually fill it every day. BTW, I wouldn't buy a small one again. It doesn't really fit pots and pans well.

I hand wash my stainless steel frying pan because it doesn't get clean enough in the dishwasher, even on the "pots and pans" cycle. It used to get clean in the dishwasher before they took the environmentally nasty stuff out of the dishwasher detergents.

I really should get more in the habit of doing mise-en-place. It goes so much smoother when I do. It does turn into a bit of a circus when I don't.

 

[Kayelle]

I just use the cutting board and paper towels, or in case of fresh veges, I'll use a plate or bowl we're going to eat on to hold stuff. We also have those little glass custard cups, as well as some plastic cups to hold small amounts of stuff like spices. If only spices go in, they just get a quick rinse out and into the drying side of the double sink.

Last night when I was cutting up things for the tasso pasta, I julienned the yellow squash and zucchini on the cutting board and put them in a pile together, since they go into pan at same time. Then, I julienned the carrots and onions, piled them up together. I then needed to julienne the tasso but was running real short of working room on the cutting board, so used the paper towels that I had let the squash and carrots drain on after washing to hold the squash since they were the last things to go in, as well as the lightest. Though I did end up sliding the paper towels and the veges onto the cutting board to transfer the squash into the pan when it was time.

There's all kinds of ways you can set up your mise en place without having additional things to clean up.

+ however many on running out of forks and/or spoons before the dishwasher is full with just 2 in the house. I will wash stainless pans in the dishwasher though, especially if it's close to getting full.

I agree Medtrain, and do my mise en place much like you do. In addition to using paper towels for ingredients, I often take advantage of paper plates for things like grated cheese and chopped veggies. I also make piles on my large cutting board, and transfer to the stove using a bench scraper.