The french phrase used in cooking, mise en place, means everything in place. In basic terms, it's the preparation of all ingredients, whether chopped, diced, sliced or zested, prior to cooking the meal. It's laying out your clothes the night before school, it's the elaborate outline of a thesis. It's doing the work before the work, in case the work is hard.
I like to make simple, classic Sunday dinners for us. It's no secret that I suffer from the Sunday blues, so something about closing out the weekend and preparing for the week ahead demands comforting recipes with achievable results. Tonight, I chopped, measured and placed my ingredients across what feels like a counter top the size of a football field. I now have to climb inside deep cabinets - I'm telling you, secret drug tunnel to Mexico deep - to retrieve pots and pans. We have two entrances, a parking spot that holds an actual automobile, a guest room where humans can sleep. In this space, no maintenance man to unclog the drain. It will be as functional, tidy, as beautiful as we make it. We're going to have to do the work.
The good news? Everything is in place.
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Its about time. I have been waiting weeks for a new post. Miss you. Jill
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