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the Savings issue

Mise en place: I’ve never actually heard Stephen say this (it’s French for “putting in place”), but if you hang around the kitchen, you’ll see him set up his ingredients and equipment before he gets going. I don’t tend to be that organized, but when I do pull out what I need, I find things move along more quickly. Also, I now use a bowl to put all the scraps in as I cook, making clean up a little easier.

K itchen Hacks by Suzette Norris

M ost summers, my sister Katherine and her family escape the Louisiana heat and come up to New York to visit. I was born and raised in New Orleans but married a New Yorker. We live way north now — just a few hours from the Canadian border.Up here, the seafood is expensive, but the summers are sunny, cool and bug free — perfect for serving big family meals out on the deck. If you really want to save time in the kitchen, get a brother-in- law who cooks for a living and invite him to stay all summer. Not practical? No, but over the years my brother-in-law Stephen Huth, a Metairie chef, has taught me some tricks of his trade (these days called kitchen hacks) that have helped me get healthy, tasty meals on the table faster: Sharp edges mean better chopping: More than once, Stephen has walked into my kitchen, turned around and headed to the store to buy some “decent” knives. There’s nothing more time consuming than trying to prepare food with a bad, blunt knife. Using good

A void meal prep bottlenecks: If you’re entertaining a lot of people, select dishes that can be made one to three days ahead so you can work on the feast a little at a time. Combine those recipes with a couple of easy-to-assemble dishes and a few prepared sides (Rouses mini muffalettas or a custom-made platter of fruit or vegetables) that you can pick up at the very last minute. Working this way means you spend less time in the kitchen and are more relaxed when folks ring the doorbell. Like I said, with Stephen around, life in the kitchen is happy. But what happens after the summer guests leave and you find yourself schlepping home from work at 5:30pm without a vacationing chef in the kitchen? The first step is to redefine “cooking”. Instead of constructing individual meals, it’s easier to make pots of things like beans, rice, pasta. With those basics on hand, weeknight meal prep is just a matter of assembling burritos or mixing a few ingredients into rice, pasta or a baked potato. Salad-type meals are quick and healthy, and can be made more interesting by adding some prepared ingredients,

equipment in the kitchen makes food prep easier and safer. There are lots of videos on the Internet about proper chopping techniques and how to keep your favorite kitchen knife sharp. HACK IT! Sprinkle a bit of salt on your cutting board before chopping herbs. It will hold them in place and make the job easier.

such as hummus, pitted olives and feta or tabouli. Rouses rotisserie chickens can work magic in all sorts of meals (see Quick Fix , page 14). Some other tips to save time during the week: Double up: If you make a pot of red beans or beef stew, double the recipe and freeze the leftovers for another week. Cut it up : Even with a sharp knife, chopping vegetables is time-consuming. On Saturday

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MY ROUSES EVERYDAY SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2015