OK, so I started thinking about last night's dinner, reading the mise en place thread and how much room we do or don't have in the kitchen, whether or not we do or don't get stuff ready for the night's meal, whether or not mise en place could simply mean having everything basically there in house, and not necessarily all in bowls and ready to add to the pot.... here's how things went for me last night.
Mise en place pacanis.
The menu: grilled steak, baked potatoes, garlic bread, mushroom and onions and broccoli.
The steak had been thawing on one of those aluminum plates, so it was winding down to becoming room temp. Time to start dinner.
Put a pan on the stove, turn on the burner, add some EVOO.
Start cutting an onion and add to pan. The oil is ready.
Cut mushrooms and add to pan. Season with pepper.
Take out two potatoes, prick with a knife, set on a plate and nuke for 3 minutes.
Flip onions and mushrooms and add salt.
Start grill. Come back inside. Think about the order of things and take a drink.
Realize I started the mushrooms and onions waaay to early to be having baked potatoes too, so turn the burner practically off.
Take potatoes out of microwave and set on the grill, lid down.
Putter around for an undetermined amount of time, realizing the potatoes are going to take a while. Feel steak, it's still very cool. Take another drink. OK...... [time lapse] .....
Go outside and roll potatoes over.
Take broccoli out of fridge and prepare. Place broccoli in a pot with a small amount of cold water on the stove.
Shake mushrooms and onions, the oil is getting thin, add a big glob of butter and turn up heat. Grab a spoonful of flour and shake it on after the butter has melted. Stir, stir, stir and add some beef broth and more pepper. Looks OK so I turn down the heat again. Turn the burner on under the broccoli.
Go outside and squeeze potatoes. They're done. Move off to an unlit portion of grill and go into the house to get the steak. Mushroom sauce thickened up too much, add some more broth.
Cut some bread thick for garlic bread and butter one side (it was a heel).
Put the steak on the grill and close lid.
Go into house and the broccoli steaming, so dump water, add EVOO, salt, pepper and slivered almonds. Shake to coat and set back on burner. Smash a clove of garlic and peel.
Take bread outside, flip steak, season other side and set bread by potatoes to start warming up and draw the butter into it. Decide to leave lid open so steak can color up without cooking too fast.
I flipped the steak a couple more times, moved the bread onto a hot burner butter side down, turned heat back up on the shroom sauce and added some rosemary that was in the fridge..... things were humming along at this point.
Take potatoes into house, plate them and dress them. Shake the broccoli, turn up the heat, remove lid.
Take plate outside, fiddle with steak, pick a side to place up, plate it, move bread to where steak was. Take plate inside and put broccoli on. Grab camera. Put sauce on the steak. Grab the bread. Rub with raw garlic and set on plate.
Dinner is done. Snap a few pics, refill glass, enjoy. Total lapsed time..... not sure. Somewhere between 30 and 50 minutes
So that's how a typical dinner gets prepared by me. I'm sure others are more organized.....
Mise en place pacanis.
The menu: grilled steak, baked potatoes, garlic bread, mushroom and onions and broccoli.
The steak had been thawing on one of those aluminum plates, so it was winding down to becoming room temp. Time to start dinner.
Put a pan on the stove, turn on the burner, add some EVOO.
Start cutting an onion and add to pan. The oil is ready.
Cut mushrooms and add to pan. Season with pepper.
Take out two potatoes, prick with a knife, set on a plate and nuke for 3 minutes.
Flip onions and mushrooms and add salt.
Start grill. Come back inside. Think about the order of things and take a drink.
Realize I started the mushrooms and onions waaay to early to be having baked potatoes too, so turn the burner practically off.
Take potatoes out of microwave and set on the grill, lid down.
Putter around for an undetermined amount of time, realizing the potatoes are going to take a while. Feel steak, it's still very cool. Take another drink. OK...... [time lapse] .....
Go outside and roll potatoes over.
Take broccoli out of fridge and prepare. Place broccoli in a pot with a small amount of cold water on the stove.
Shake mushrooms and onions, the oil is getting thin, add a big glob of butter and turn up heat. Grab a spoonful of flour and shake it on after the butter has melted. Stir, stir, stir and add some beef broth and more pepper. Looks OK so I turn down the heat again. Turn the burner on under the broccoli.
Go outside and squeeze potatoes. They're done. Move off to an unlit portion of grill and go into the house to get the steak. Mushroom sauce thickened up too much, add some more broth.
Cut some bread thick for garlic bread and butter one side (it was a heel).
Put the steak on the grill and close lid.
Go into house and the broccoli steaming, so dump water, add EVOO, salt, pepper and slivered almonds. Shake to coat and set back on burner. Smash a clove of garlic and peel.
Take bread outside, flip steak, season other side and set bread by potatoes to start warming up and draw the butter into it. Decide to leave lid open so steak can color up without cooking too fast.
I flipped the steak a couple more times, moved the bread onto a hot burner butter side down, turned heat back up on the shroom sauce and added some rosemary that was in the fridge..... things were humming along at this point.
Take potatoes into house, plate them and dress them. Shake the broccoli, turn up the heat, remove lid.
Take plate outside, fiddle with steak, pick a side to place up, plate it, move bread to where steak was. Take plate inside and put broccoli on. Grab camera. Put sauce on the steak. Grab the bread. Rub with raw garlic and set on plate.
Dinner is done. Snap a few pics, refill glass, enjoy. Total lapsed time..... not sure. Somewhere between 30 and 50 minutes
So that's how a typical dinner gets prepared by me. I'm sure others are more organized.....