Rahsaan wrote:I often do whatever is most efficient, i.e. cutting and prepping first what needs to cook the longest and then moving on to other components of the meal that need less cooking. Efficiency is key when you have a hungry 2 year old but you still enjoy semi-elaborate homemade meals like I do!
I often compare the process to a military operation, because it requires careful planning and execution. For whatever reason my wife is not as organized and when she cooks its usually much less efficient and much more chaotic.
I don't know if it's my project management training, but this is exactly what I do. Call it "critical path" prep. Actually, since we're cooking, it should be «la chemin critique».
If I know that, for instance, the chicken is going to need to marinate, grill, and rest, I don't even get my other ingredients out ahead of time. I just get going on the chicken until the carrots will be the limiting item. So the overall series of tasks is: marinate chicken, put water on to boil for carrots, turn on grill, peel carrots, put chicken on grill, start carrots, get out plates and glasses, flip chicken, take chicken off, drain carrots, and serve. Typically everything is ready to serve at the same time.
True, if ingredients are missing or spoiled, I might not find out until the meal is underway, and sometimes I misjudge the timing of the various tasks and end up with dishes being ready at different times. On the whole, it is much more efficient when one gets home at, say, 6 and dinner needs to be on the table in 45 minutes. It took a lot of practice to get to the point where I could plan in my head, though!
If I didn't have to work outside the home, I can definitely see the virtues of the mise en place, and obviously in a restaurant it is essential, but I like my system.