The Art of Backing Into A Meal
In food preparationdom, it is important to time things correctly. For normal everyday meals that you feed to the poor slobs that you call your masses, this is not such a big deal. Company? Holidays? Catering? Well you better have your shit in order.
I am coordinating and making most of the food for a wedding. One hundred fifty guests, all heavy apps and I've got help with the cooking. The key is organization. Plan your work and work your plan. Fail to plan, plan to fail (both passed on by Dad, not originated by him, but repeated a lot.
Tonight while making dinner I was reminded of timing. I go onto auto pilot in a Rachel Ray style (without the annoying factor) gathering up all pots, all utensils, all ingredients in one pass. I then assess what I'm making and back into the meal. That is to say, I determine which takes the longest. Here, let me give you a practical application:
Filet Mignon (3 minutes each side in a screaming hot pan on the stove top, 5 more minutes in the oven for medium rare) 11 minutes total.
Green Beans (5 minutes on the stove)
Basmati Rice (killer recipe, a must have staple, you will LOVE this, please try it - 20 minutes total)
Now I start. Grab a sauce pan for the rice, the lid, a sauce pan for the beans, a saute pan for the filet, preheat the oven - convection 400. I'm moving quickly, please keep up...
I grab the green beans - the family likes them canned (gak!) I concede. I grab a can of chicken stock, I grab a cup of basmati rice. You still with me? Pans on the stove, canola oil in the rice pan and filet pan. Green beans dumped into their pan - sometimes I'll throw in a strip of bacon. I heat the rice pan to medium and toss the rice into the oil - shallots sauteed before adds wonderful flavor. I stir the rice and stir and stir until it turns from pearly to white, I pour in the can of chicken stock, add a bay leaf, cover and let cook on low for 17 minutes - you will love this, I promise - and leave the lid alone.
I check the timer now, from 17 we're counting down. Turn the beans on - they just need to be heated. no big whoop. I set the table - Sundays we eat in the dining room with cloth napkins and music. Try as I might to infuse etiquette into our children they still manage to talk with food in their mouth - pisses me off.
12 minutes left, I turn the saute' pan to high and get it smokin'. . . filets are seasoned and at room temperature. Three minutes each side, then the pan gets thrown into the oven for 5 minutes, mine gets removed after 3 minutes and that's so it's rare - next time I may skip this all together for my piece.
As the clock is winding down, know what I'm doing? Dishes, cleanup as you go - this is efficiency. Wash everything you've used, grab your serving dishes and alert the troops, "One minute!!!"
The beans go in a bowl, the rice goes in a bowl - both pans are washed. The filets are resting - my but they worked hard. The filet pan gets washed, but Christ almighty watch the handle - I once burned my palm to hell grabbing a saute pan that had been steaming in the oven.
Everything is on the table and the total time was less than 30 minutes - it's true, it can be done.
Organize, mise en place - look that up.
I am coordinating and making most of the food for a wedding. One hundred fifty guests, all heavy apps and I've got help with the cooking. The key is organization. Plan your work and work your plan. Fail to plan, plan to fail (both passed on by Dad, not originated by him, but repeated a lot.
Tonight while making dinner I was reminded of timing. I go onto auto pilot in a Rachel Ray style (without the annoying factor) gathering up all pots, all utensils, all ingredients in one pass. I then assess what I'm making and back into the meal. That is to say, I determine which takes the longest. Here, let me give you a practical application:
Filet Mignon (3 minutes each side in a screaming hot pan on the stove top, 5 more minutes in the oven for medium rare) 11 minutes total.
Green Beans (5 minutes on the stove)
Basmati Rice (killer recipe, a must have staple, you will LOVE this, please try it - 20 minutes total)
Now I start. Grab a sauce pan for the rice, the lid, a sauce pan for the beans, a saute pan for the filet, preheat the oven - convection 400. I'm moving quickly, please keep up...
I grab the green beans - the family likes them canned (gak!) I concede. I grab a can of chicken stock, I grab a cup of basmati rice. You still with me? Pans on the stove, canola oil in the rice pan and filet pan. Green beans dumped into their pan - sometimes I'll throw in a strip of bacon. I heat the rice pan to medium and toss the rice into the oil - shallots sauteed before adds wonderful flavor. I stir the rice and stir and stir until it turns from pearly to white, I pour in the can of chicken stock, add a bay leaf, cover and let cook on low for 17 minutes - you will love this, I promise - and leave the lid alone.
I check the timer now, from 17 we're counting down. Turn the beans on - they just need to be heated. no big whoop. I set the table - Sundays we eat in the dining room with cloth napkins and music. Try as I might to infuse etiquette into our children they still manage to talk with food in their mouth - pisses me off.
12 minutes left, I turn the saute' pan to high and get it smokin'. . . filets are seasoned and at room temperature. Three minutes each side, then the pan gets thrown into the oven for 5 minutes, mine gets removed after 3 minutes and that's so it's rare - next time I may skip this all together for my piece.
As the clock is winding down, know what I'm doing? Dishes, cleanup as you go - this is efficiency. Wash everything you've used, grab your serving dishes and alert the troops, "One minute!!!"
The beans go in a bowl, the rice goes in a bowl - both pans are washed. The filets are resting - my but they worked hard. The filet pan gets washed, but Christ almighty watch the handle - I once burned my palm to hell grabbing a saute pan that had been steaming in the oven.
Everything is on the table and the total time was less than 30 minutes - it's true, it can be done.
Organize, mise en place - look that up.
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