Beware of the Dreaded Meanwhile
This cooking cartoon idea came to me years ago when I was preparing a recipe and halfway through it said,
Meanwhile, cook the pasta until al dente in a pot of boiling water.
Wait a minute, couldn’t you have told me to bring a pot of water to boil to cook the pasta at the beginning of the recipe. Now I have to take the time to bring the water to a boil even though I’m halfway through preparing the rest of the recipe.
The lesson I learned from this and many other “Meanwhile” experiences is to read through the entire recipe before starting. If you don’t, you just may finding yourself as I have finding out I was suppose to “roast a chicken the day before” in order to make this dish.
I’m sure you’ve had this experience once or twice in your lifetime.
- Meanwhile, soak the beans overnight
- Meanwhile, marinate the meat for 3 hours
- Meanwhile, let the dough rise
- Meanwhile, refrigerate for 30 minutes
- Meanwhile, bring the butter to room temperature
- Meanwhile steam the vegetables
- Meanwhile, de-vein the shrimp
- Meanwhile, I think you get the idea
I have a post(s) called How NOT to Start a Recipe that talks about this issue plus many more common mistakes people make before starting a recipe and ways to avoid them.
What Are Your Meanwhile Moments?
If you have experienced a “meanwhile” moment in your cooking, I would love to hear about it. Please let me know in the comments section below.
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