my room is a 'mise en place'...trust me, mom.

FOOD PREP/TERMINOLOGY:

A 'mise en place' (pronounced [meez ohn plahs]) is a very common term used in restaurants (but it sounds uber cool when used at home amongst friends). It's a French term that literally means, "putting in place". But in the culinary world, it refers to your set up of ingredients as you prepare to cook. I'm sure that many of you have done this before as it comes natural to home cooks everywhere.

Here's a great example of a mise en place for one of my favorite dishes; fried rice! Note: Salt, pepper, and olive/vegetable oil are not usually a part of the mise en place.

Ok ready? Here we go:

-Cooked rice

-Beaten eggs

-Diced proteins

-Diced veggies

-White pepper

-Sesame Oil

But at a restaurant, you'll typically see a large cooling station that holds the entire mise en place for most, if not all, of the dishes for that service. Just think of how Subway is set up...that's an awesome mise en place. But here's a priceless picture (priceless because it was free, thus price-less) of culinary giant, Tom Colicchio, with a part of his mise en place (in the silver bowls).

That's it? That's it! This mise en place would typically be set up right next to your stove/cooking station for easy access while you cook. The main purpose of having a mise en place is for organization and so you're not cutting/preparing an ingredient while you're cooking, possibly leading to overcooking your dish. This is quite important...so make sure you cut your veggies, marinate your proteins, and grab those seasonings BEFORE your start cooking. Cook like a boy scout...be prepared.

At least I think that's what boy scouts say...I never made it past being a cub scout.