Getting Started - Mise-en-place

My kids (well, one in particular) have been after me for a while now to put together a collection of recipes for their favorite dishes from my kitchen. So that's what this blog is about, and we'll see where else it may go. Mimi is what my two little granddaughters call me. They are big helpers in Mimi's kitchen when they visit. I suspect that this will be more than about food and cooking itself, but also about life, family, home, art and creativity. Food is so much more than just a means of sustenance.

It seems appropriate, therefore, to start with the concept of mise-en-place.

Mise en place at a Thai cooking school

Mise-en-place (pronounced [miz on plas]) is a French phrase which means "everything in place", as in set up. It is used in professional kitchens to refer to organizing and arranging the ingredients (e.g., cuts of meat,relishes, sauces, par-cooked items, spices, freshly chopped vegetables, and other components) that a cook will require for the menu items that he or she expects to prepare during his/her shift.^{[1] -- from Wiki}

 If you know me at all, you know that I can get a little OCD about things being in their proper place and having a proper place for all things. It's a life philosophy (and a spiritual principle) that I embrace. When things are out of order, displaced and chaotic in my physical space it is often an indicator that things are wacky on some other plane in my life. Likewise, I believe that physical order is the foundation to peace, harmony, serenity and all the other notions of old hippiedom I cling to. It is certainly necessary for success in the kitchen, especially if you are going to tackle things more complicated than peanut butter sandwiches. And for that, you don't need help from me.

But if you want to buy a house, direct a play, raise a child, guide a career path, change the world, or just make a really scrumptious Coq au Vin, you need to embrace the concept of mise-en-place and get everything in place beforehand so you can do the job right, without scrambling at the last minute for something you need and blowing the timing.

So this is my project for 2013. It's January 5, it's snowing outside, and that's always a good time to cook. I'm going to attempt to journal, via this blog, my forays in the kitchen and their relationship to my life, and hope it will be of some value to family and friends, and anyone else who's interested. There will be the dishes that are family favorites, other things I just like to make for the fun and challenge of it, and new experiments as well. I've cleared some counter-space (always at a premium), my camera is at the ready. The mise-en-place is set. Wish me luck with this little venture.