"The Worst of Times"

[OliverB]

"But it was Chris Kimball, editor of Cook's Illustrated, who cut to the heart of it. "Utter bullshit," he said when I asked what he thought of cooking times"

I don't think much of Kimball and his (oh so folksy) publishing empire, but this makes me wonder then, why, Chris, do I find a book called "The best 30 Minute Recipes" published by your empire on my shelf? :laugh:

And why does a lot of your show and publications revolve around making a 3 day prep dinner in 45 minutes? That's an odd statement there, Mr Kimball...

But yes, those 30 min (or what ever time) recipes and books are crap. Either full of short cuts or simply unworkable. And anyway, if you have only 30 min, get some take out or make something simple as a sandwich, eggs, a soup, don't try to roast a turkey.

[Shalmanese]

I've discovered anecdotally that I'm usually somewhere between 3 - 5x faster than most of my friends in prep in the kitchen.

[Marya D.]

I know mise en place would ease my meal preparation,

Forgive me for not knowing where I read it, but just last week I read a pretty cogent argument for the home cook not to bother with a mis en place. Because we do not have 3 of the same entrees going at the same time, plus six other things, all at the same station, it makes sense to prep the next thing while the first thing is cooking.

This doesn't mean we should prep nothing, but it gives you something to do, to dice your celery while your potatoes and steak are cooking. It prevents you from having to dirty 10 prep bowls and then sit staring at a pot waiting for it to boil.

Overlapping tasks saves the home cook time, rather than costing it.

[Chris Amirault]

I'd like to read that argument, as it doesn't seem to reflect the realities of most mise en place in either a restaurant or home kitchen. Anyone who preps mise before putting a pot onto the stove to boil water doesn't understand the concept.

[Jenni]

I often find that I can cook a recipe quicker than the book says....

[therippa]

Kim, if you stick the handle of a wooden spoon into your pot and make a line with a sharpie at the liquid level, then it's very easy to figure out when you've boiled off about half -- just use the spoon handle to measure.

Janet, that's brilliant. I might even forget about the Sharpie and just lay the spoon aside and use the color and stickiness as a guide. Or use a cheapo chopstick or long cheapo wooden skewer.

Again, brilliant.

I have a very small rubber band I keep on a wooden spoon for this purpose...I just move it up and down as needed. If you know someone with braces ask them for a couple, they are about the size of a cheerio.