Personal Chef Cooking Tips

I came across an interesting cooking tips list on how to cook faster. It got my attention because for me, trying to cook fast means mistakes, messes and stress. As a Personal Chef, I clearly love cooking and the best way for me to keep loving it, since I cook all day every day, is to be organized and efficient and that means planning. A client once told me I look like I’m at peace while I’m cooking. Here’s how I do it…

The most important part of my cook day is the five minutes I spending planning. I write everything out, actually I type it in Pages on my iPad, but that’s for an other post. It’s all logical. Oven goes on first giving me 15 minutes to prep whatever goes in it. Mindless items like rice or microwaveable whatever are next. Anything that can roast along with what’s in the oven is next. Then, things that need more prep. Once the bakeable items go into the oven I have a window of time to cook items that need more hands on time. Make sure to use your timer…yes, I have an app for that with multiple timers!

Here’s an actual menu and how I’d go about it:

The Menu
Chicken Pot Pie w/Applesauce
Turkey Chili w/Cornbread
Salmon w/Tomatoes, Shallots, Oregano, Thyme & Lemon w/Multigrain Rice

The Plan
Oven to 350 – I turn on the oven the minute I walk into the kitchen.
Make rice
Brown turkey for chile
Brown veggies for pot pie – can be done while chili meat is browning.
Finish chili
Finish pot pie
Make corn bread – goes into oven after pot pie.
Make applesauce
Prep salmon – it cookies right before serving at dinner time.

And, if your really organized, you’ll double the chili and cornbread and freeze half for another time!

If you’ve got a menu, maybe for Thanksgiving, and want some ideas on how to schedule your cooking session send it my way. I’ll use your example and post my plan for it. Oh, and I’ll also be posting the recipes listed here, so check back for updates!