Putting it all together

by Erin King (née Sernasie)

Now that you have your hardware and your pantry set up, it's time to pull it all together. I'm going to walk you through a day of cooking from shopping list to clean up. If you can get and stay organized, this will be a breeze.

First up, the shopping list; this is where I believe many people make their first mistake. Oftentimes, people plan their shopping list around their menu. They decide what they want to make and then assemble a list of ingredients. In my opinion this makes no sense. It puts too much pressure on the shopper to get every ingredient needed and leaves no room for error. As a personal chef, I have learned that Murphy's Law works its magic in the kitchen just as well as everywhere else in life. Some days it seems like everything that can go wrong does. I like to account for that when I am cooking by giving myself loose guidelines so that there is lots of room for improvisation. I suggest you do the same. That is also why I use recipes only as reference materials and rarely follow them to the letter. The better I am at improvising the better I am at bending the rules when I need to.

When I make my list I have a system that works every time, and by the way, never shop without a list.

Group like-foods together, meats with meats, veggies with veggies and so on. This way, when you're at the store, you will be able to get each item in a given area and make your way around the store without having to backtrack. You should be able to do your shopping in one turn around the store if you do it this way. Also, if you shop mainly in one store, take note of the layout. If the first thing you see is fresh produce, make that the first thing on your list, and so on. Cross the items out with a highlighter as you select them because you will be using this list later.

What I do is build the menu around the protein. This is the first thing I consider when making my list. I know what my family likes and what I like to eat and I start there. Mine usually looks something like this: two chicken, two salmon and one each of beef and pork. I usually get skinless chicken thighs, a great, inexpensive and meaty cut, salmon because it is the one of the only fish my husband likes (and I love it). It is so versatile. Lastly, I like to include a big steak and pork tenderloin. I get this same roster of meats almost every week but every week I make different meals out of them. I also usually throw in a package of veggie ground beef and I make loads of different and satisfying vegetarian meals from that. (I will cover those recipes in the special diets article.)

Find out what your best, most versatile proteins are, what your family enjoys the most and then put them on your list first. After you get proficient with these, you can experiment with new items, putting them into the rotation one at a time.

Once I make my proteins list, I list my fresh veggies next. Just as I do for the meats, I list my favorites and my easiest to cook and go from there. My list usually looks something like this: eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, red peppers, asparagus, broccoli, celery, carrots, onion and garlic. You will always find some combination of these in my fridge. For me, these are magic. I can do just about anything with them and they are quick, easy and always tasty. Sometimes I buy rapini; it is a great steamer.

Next I consider what I need in the dairy section. There are certain things I buy every time that I use often. These include: milk, yogurt - plain for cooking and fruity for eating, cheese -I always get old cheddar and blue cheese, and margarine or butter.

Now I look at what starches I want for the week. Potatoes, rice and some type of pasta will probably be in order. There is also couscous, quinoa, millet, buckwheat and a host of other grain like sides to choose from. To be honest though, I stick with the old favorites when I am putting together a weeks worth.

After that I look in my fridge. Yes, I physically open the fridge and see what is low so I don't miss anything. I do this in the cupboards too.

Now that you have your master list, think of any special extras you may like. Feta cheese for something Greek inspired, maybe some raisins for the pork or fresh cilantro. If you have stocked your pantry properly you should already have the spices and sauces you need. A packet or two of ready-made chili spice and a jar of teriyaki or honey garlic sauce should find their way into your cart now if you haven't already stocked them in your pantry.

So now that you've shopped, let's get into the kitchen and get going. This is the time to sit down and decide what you are going to do. Get out a piece of paper; again don't attempt this without the master list of everything you are going to cook. It is too much to try to do from memory. Sit down with your shopping list and use it to cross-reference. My list would probably look something like this:

• BBQ Baked Chicken thighs with roasted potatoes and asparagus
• Teriyaki Chicken thighs with mushrooms and red pepper and rice
• Balsamic Glazed Roasted Pork loin with Apple Strawberry compote with garlic and old cheddar mashed potatoes and broccoli
• Mexican Baked Salmon with salsa, rice and beans and carrots and celery (diced and cooked in the beans)
• Grilled Lemon Salmon with rice and asparagus and zucchini
• Grilled Marinated Beef Steak on Salad with grilled eggplant and zucchini

Basically I have just looked at all of the ingredients and thought of 5 different ways to cook them. I like to bake foods when I am preparing en masse because it is a very simple way to do lots of things at once. It also frees up counter and range top space and gives me room to do everything else.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. For me that is the magic number, you can cook just about anything at that heat. It's high enough to give a good crust when you need it but won't burn too quickly. If you want you can set your oven anywhere from 350° to 425° and it will be fine. Your potatoes might not brown as nicely at 350° but you won't have to worry about keeping such a close eye on things. Find the heat that you are comfortable with and use that one.

Get a big pot of water boiling. You will need it later.

First put the meat in the oven. Remember to keep your digital meat thermometer handy for this. You don't want to have to spend time pulling open your meat or guessing if things are done; the less stress and the less guesswork the better. 160 degrees Fahrenheit is the magic number, 170° if it is on a bone. When it comes to chicken, pork or any other meat that needs to be done all the way through in order to be edible, that is your number, remember it. For fish or beef they can be as done as you like them, but you can't take that chance with pork or poultry.

Now get that baking sheet and the parchment and foil I had you buy earlier. I like to make little "boats" with these. Get a piece of foil slightly bigger than the space you will need to fit your meat on and then line it with parchment and fold up the edges to create a lip. Do this all the way around and you have a nice little self-contained baking dish. I line the boats with parchment because I don't like to cook directly on foil. Food doesn't stick to parchment and doesn't burn like it does on a baking sheet or on foil.

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