Timing is Everything

How is it that some people can cook up a storm but when you are invited to their place for dinner it is somehow “without”? Then you visit someone else that doesn’t have any great culinary skills but when you sit down to the meal everything is somehow perfect. What really makes the difference? In a word – timing. Yes, timing is everything.

Timing a meal takes a little bit of thinking. You need to know what you plan to cook and how you plan to prepare it. Each component takes time. Each dish takes a specific amount of time to get from planning to chopping and cooking to plating. A real good example of this is if you have ever seen Iron Chef. They are presented with a given amount of time to prepare, cook and plate their various dishes.

Let’s take an example of the following meal plan:
Grilled Mahi Mahi
Brown Rice
Steamed Broccoli

The first thing to do is understand how long each component will take to prepare and cook. In this case, let’s say the fish is in small portioned amounts as opposed to a big slab. It only needs to marinade for about 15 minutes which is about the same time it takes for the gas grill to get well heated. After that, we are looking at 5-7 minutes of cooking time then my all too famous 5 minute wait time (I will not let my family touch any grilled meat until it has rested for 5 minutes). Brown rice takes about 45 minutes to cook and it will be about 10 minutes on steam for the broccoli. Therefore, the first thing I would do is put the brown rice on to boil. In about 25 minutes, I will start the BarBQ and season the fish. When the rice is done it can sit with the fire off steaming until the rest of dinner is ready. So according to my time schedule, the BarB is ready, I turn on the broccoli water to boil, throw the fish on the grill. When the fish is done cover with foil and let rest. Meanwhile, the broccoli is just about finished so it’s time to grate the cheese (if you don’t want cheese on the broccoli that’s ok just skip this step). As soon as the fish has finished its nap, the broccoli is done and the rice is perfectly steamed. Voila!  A perfectly timed meal.

The same timing method can be used for any other meal plan. It’s as simple as figuring out what you want to eat and how long each item takes. You’ll be bringing friends and family together in no time!