Lessons from my Mom's Kitchen: Mise en place

My mom is a cosmopolitan soul residing in a SoCal woman's body. Her Southern accent sends my imagination sweeping into a Carolina dining room or a day at the races in Virginia. While she doesn't strickly speaking speak French, to hear her pronounce most words en francais is to assume she spent years abroad in Paris. And together our varieties of British dialects, culled from hours of BBC TV and movies, call to mind a tea room fit for a Queen's service. Somewhere between her Southern gentility, French connection, and English orderliness is my mother's commitment to mise en place, putting everything in it's place. In her kitchen this means washing, chopping, measuring and otherwise prepping ingredients for a dish so that the execution of it is fairly seemless. It also extends to setting the table the night before or morning of a dinner party, setting out serving dishes and making sure the bathroom is neat so there isn't a flurry of "last-minuteness".  These are habits I'm thankful were ingrained early on - it comes as second nature to me in my own home and makes hosting much, much easier.

When I'm on my own kitchen time, I enjoy a messy counter, strewn with a bevy of ingredients, discarded utensils and remnants of powders and oils where bowls have been moved. Messes are part of creating art. But once guests arrive, I am a minimalist. I have not yet mastered the art of simultaneously cooking and conversing (a skill I aspire to). Mise en placing prevents the neglect of an essential final ingredient, the missed moment of reacting to a guest's punchline, and the opportunity to sit down to the table without sweat dripping down my back from the rush of final exertions (oversharing?).

Some recipes demand the practice of mise en place to be executed well. Whether due to complexity, a page long list of ingredients, or the need to focus on a technique not tried before, putting things in place before assembly or stovetop time can save me a lot of grief. Putting my ducks in a row so as not to leave behind a fluffy duckling who straggles off the counter when I'm distracted. I recently applied the mise en place principle to Molly Wizenberg's recipe for Doran's Turkey Meatballs - the moment of dumping all the ingredients into the bowl, plunging my hands in and squishing was done with the greatest ease, and the savory result was delicious. They've been a favorite ever since @No41.

Doran's Turkey Meatballs (serves 4)

Meatball Ingredients
1/2 cup minced yellow onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup chopped pine nuts
1/2 cup golden raisins coursely chopped (I used purple raisins and they worked just as well)
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 lb ground turkey
Olive oil for pan

Sauce Ingredients
1 cup plain yogurt (not low fat or nonfat)
3 tblsp lemon juice
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt

Instructions
Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk to mix. Set aside at room temperature so the flavors meld.
Combine all dry ingredients for the meatballs. Add egg and mix. Add ground turkey and gently knead to incorporate the ingredients. Do not overmix or meat will get tough. Pinch off hunks and roll into balls. I would recommend keeping them small to medium size so they cook through easily on top of the stove.
Heat 2 tblsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When hot, add about half the meatballs, taking care not to crowd them. As they begin to turn color, turn them gently with tongs. Beware they can fall apart easily. Don't worry if a few pine nuts jump ship - it happens. The meatballs are ready when they are browned on all sides and pleasantly firm, but not rock-hard. Choose a larger one and cut it in half to verify doneness. Transfer to a paper-towel covered plate and repeat with the other half of the meatballs.

Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature with the yogurt sauce.

(Meatballs may be covered and refrigerated for up to a day or frozen in a heavy duty freezer bag for up to two weeks. If I serve them on a weeknight, I always make them the night before.)