Faster! Faster! Faster!

One of the comments that people make to me, about this blog, and about cooking generally, is that they don't have time. They would love to make good food every day, but it just doesn't fit into their schedule.

Believe it or not, I get it. I happen to love the joy of cooking a meal every night, but I love it MOST of the time, not all of the time. There are nights when the thought of greasy eggrolls and bad hot and sour soup are overwhelmingly inviting. And then there are nights when lifting a saute pan seems like too much work. They don't last, but they're there. And then there are the nights when you're so busy, or so overtired, that even mixing greens for salad is too much to consider. Indeed, last night, coming home from Guy's concert, that is exactly what happened. So when that happens, go with it, and take a break.

But I want to address the point raised by people who "just don't have time to cook, period." Nope, not accepting that. One of the things I enjoy doing when I cook with friends, is show them how to make a week's worth of really tasty, decent meals in about an hour and a half worth of time. I'm going to run down one such list, and tell you how I do it.

Tomato sauce
Grass fed london broil
Stuffed chicken breasts
pork or veal tenderloin
Fish in "papillote"

Tomato sauce is, of course, not a dinner in and of itself, but surely there will be one night when you can find the time to boil some pasta? All of the items, with the exception of the fish, can be made and cooled and then eaten later in the week. And all of the recipes are posted on this blog. All you have to do is find them.

What you need to do is a little planning. Of course, you need the food in the house, and you need to have sufficient pots and pans. Here's how I would do it.

First, I know that the dish that requires the hottest oven is the London broil, and the one which takes the lowest temperature, is the chicken breasts. Tomato sauce doesn't go into the oven at all. So, start by cranking up your oven to broil, and then get all your ingredients out, so they can come to a room temperature, or as close to it as possible. While that's happening, make a pot of tomato sauce. You'll find my recipe all the way back in the very first set of recipes that are in this blog. You can put that aside on a burner, and let it cook away for forty five minutes or an hour, while you do the rest.

To the london broil. Again, you have that recipe on this blog, but to go over it again, since it's so easy. I use a ribbed grill pan, but you can use a simple frying pan. I oil down the meat and the pan, and then, when it's hot, over medium heat, I cook the meat until I get a nice, dark sear on a side. I can usually tell this is happening by listening to it, and hearing the end of heavy duty bubbling. If I'm wrong - and sometimes I am, I let it cook some more. It never takes more than about five minutes. Then I do it on the other side, and when that happens, it goes under the broiler, for about ten minutes.

If you're trying to cook a lot in a hurry, you can't take a break. Let's move onto the tenderloin. Again, the recipes are here, but get out a frying pan that is big enough to hold the whole thing, and coat it with oil. If you've salted your meat, the night before, wonderful. If not, sprinkle it with salt, and pepper if you like, and when the oil is hot, again, sear it. You want to sear it on all sides, and tenderloins are somewhat oval or round, so you'll be doing some flipping and moving. Remember that while that's happening, your london broil is cooking. After ten minutes, protect your hand, and take it out of the oven. It may be undercooked, but that's ok. Remember, you're going to cook it again during the week.

Lower the oven to 400 or so, and slip in the tenderloin. That's going to take about fifteen minutes to cook, and it allows you time to adress the stuffed chicken breasts. Again, this is on the blog, but to reiterate: you make a narrow cut in chicken breasts, still on the bone, and stuff them with a small amount of whatever you like. For example, fontina cheese wrapped in prosciutto. Just slide it into the chicken breast and push it closed. Get yet another pan and slick it with oil. Try to get one that will hold four breasts, because these are wonderful. Sear them without moving them for about five minutes, flip them over and now, you're putting these into the oven, keeping it at 400, and letting them cook away for fifteen or even twenty mintues (you DO want the chicken to cook all the way through).

While they're cooking, yet another recipe from the blog! The fish in foil. You can look that one up too. You'll probably need about ten minutes to get them ready, and then they can go onto the empty rack in the oven, and cook away for ten minutes. Those, you're going to eat that night.

There are entries here on how to make a green veggie like asparagus, or snap peas, or peas, and you should make yourself a vegetable while the fish and chicken are finishing up.

Now, no starches or veggies other than the one with the fish are discussed here, because if you've looked at some of the entries, you'll "get" how easy these veggies are to cook. And by this time, your sauce is done, and you have what you need for a nice pasta dinner one night.

I would like someone to try to do this. See if it works. Tell me if you got it all done, how long it took, and if you were happy with the results. I bet you will be.