Menu Planning Problems

Last weekend Kitchen Goals exhibited at the Great American Cooking Expo. This was a great opportunity not only to showcase our business, but to interact with the cooking public. Over the next few posts I will talk about some of the interesting conversations I had at the expo.

How do I know what I'll want to eat on Friday when it is only Monday?

This question came from a married couple in their 30’s. They both worked long hours which meant dinner was usually around 9pm when they are usually very tired and not in the mood for creative cooking. We started talking about planning ahead and using the time they did have on their days off to get a jumpstart on their workday meals.

This included how they could prepare items liked chopped vegetables for multiple meals at once and store them in a ready-to-use state. For example, the same peppers and onions for fajitas on Tuesday can be combined with carrots and other items for a stir-fry on Thursday.

Their next question was... "how do I know I'll want stir-fry on Thursday?"

My honest answer is, you don't! I'd love to be able to say that every person can "have it all" with every meal, but that just isn't reasonable. If you are the type that needs to wait until 9pm on Thursday to decide what you want to eat at 9pm on Thursday you have a few choices.

1) Have every possible fresh ingredient on hand to make any potential dish.
2) Stop at a restaurant on the way home that serves what you crave.
3) Stop by the grocery store on the way home and buy the ingredients you need.
4) Cook at home with non-perishable ingredients (e.g. boxed mac and cheese).

Having everything on hand and ready to go isn’t reasonable. Unless you have a very boring diet, you’d want to have a variety of items available. Just having chicken, beef and pork in a ready to cook (not frozen) state every night of the week will inevitably lead to waste. Buying steaks on Sunday because you “might” want them on Wednesday is an expensive gamble.

Having those ingredients on hand to be able to make a wide variety of dishes is the job of a restaurant, so you can certainly leave it to them. Just be prepared for restaurant prices.

For most of us, the days of shopping every day are long gone. We don’t have the time to leisurely stroll between the baker, green grocer and butcher to pick up our ingredients for the day. And I don’t know about you, but if I’m already pressed for time, the last thing I need is an extra 20-30 minutes in the store each day. Plus, if you go into a grocery store with a specific item in mind, you are more likely to pay a higher price for it, than if you base your menu on the store’s current sale items. Saving money isn’t everyone’s goal, but it usually comes up.

Daily diet of non-perishable ingredients…. Enough said.

Through conversation I learned that their true Kitchen Goal was not to eat whatever they wanted whenever they wanted it. Their Kitchen Goal was, ‘…to enjoy a variety of home-cooked meals that fit into our busy schedule.’

When you are pressed for time, efficiency is very important. We all do this in one way or another, even if it is as simple as picking up the dry cleaning on the way home from work compared to making a separate trip.

Efficient Kitchen Solution: Plan your meals in advance. Let’s look at some benefits.

First off, this takes one choice off of your for the next few days.

Next, if you like the meal selections, you can actually look forward to the upcoming dishes. If anyone had a hot lunch program as a child, or if your child has one at school now, you know how they can look forward to something like Pizza Day. As adults in control of your own kitchen, you don’t have to endure 4 days of “mystery meat” to get to your Pizza Day. Instead, fill your week with meals you will look forward to.

And, you will be more efficient. For example, while Tuesday’s dinner is cooking, you can take out an ingredient for Wednesday to defrost, or start an overnight marinade.

This also allows for efficient grocery shopping and ingredient usage. Let’s take something simple like a 1 pound package of sliced bacon. Generally once you open something like bacon, you want to use it all within a short period of time. If there are just two of you eating, a pound of bacon can go a long way once it is opened. You can start with a couple of nice BLT sandwiches, have some slices at breakfast the next day, and if you have any left over, chop it for bacon bits for a salad or baked potato.

The Bottom Line – Determine what will make you as happy as Pizza Day, then fill your week with those meals and shop accordingly.

What's for Dinner?

When people know what I do, they always ask, “So, what’s for dinner at your house tonight?” Many are surprised to learn that every night it not a make-it-from-scratch-sit-down-and-dine experience. That’s a great opportunity for me to remind them of the company’s motto: Real Food – Real People – Real Lives

My wife and I dine out on occasion. Leftovers don’t end up in the trash, they get “repurposed” and even though I enjoy making pizza from scratch, last night we had a pie delivered. I have to eat, just like everyone else, and like everyone else, my schedule doesn’t always allow me to prepare what I want, when I want it. That may sound crazy, like the shoe cobbler walking around barefoot. But, with I’m a real person, living a real life. Sometimes I have to remind myself, that I carry a chef’s knife, not a magic wand.

Basically, I’m not a food snob. I’ll admit that I have succumbed to the temptation of White Castle on a drive home from a long day, and more than once my late night dinner companion was my old buddy, Cap’n Crunch.

For me, a scratch cooked dinner 365 days a year wasn’t my goal. My kitchen goal is to enjoy what I eat and the process of making it. My kitchen goal really should be to drop a few pounds, but that’s another blog post. With MY goal in mind, I’m quite happy with how my food-related life is going and I hope that everyone who reads this can be happy with their own kitchen goal and the path it takes to achieve it.

Bill Rancic Discusses Coupons on Rachel Ray Show

Bill Rancic (the original Apprentice) was just on The Rachel Ray Show talking about saving money while shopping for groceries. The woman they profiled spends about $800 per month on groceries for her family of 5. That’s about average from what I see with my clients.

Interesting statistic I learned from the show - highest users of coupons are those that earn $75k or more. Lowest users of coupons are those that earn $25k or less. Through some of Bill’s recommendations that would take about 30 minutes a week, this person could save over $6,500 a year which came out to over $250 per hour. Think about how much you need to earn to bring home $6,500 after the tax man gets his cut.

I’m not just a coupon user, I also advocate smart planning and shopping. Regardless of the method, it really demonstrates the financial impact you can have for your household by making just a few minor changes.

People are always amazed at how easy it can be to make the changes and how they can not only save money, but improve the quality of their lives in the process.

See the rest of the story @ http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/segments/view/ive-never-used-coupon/

Is there a chef in the house?

Last night I was at a networking event with 40 or so professionals from my area. I had a great time and that was even BEFORE I won a raffle prize provided by a local dentist which included a fancy electric toothbrush.

For those not familiar with a networking event, it looks like a party, but everyone is there to 1) network, 2) have fun. This crowd had everyone from bankers and accountants to hypnotists and home inspectors.

If you know me, you probably know I'm a bit of a social butterfly, so these events are always fun for me. After everyone in the room had a chance to give a quick 30-second introduction of themselves, I was quite busy answering a number of food related questions.

Not that I needed additional evidence that people really do have food questions and will seek the advice of a professional, but it is alway nice to be so popular in a crowd. Aside from the question, "what do you think of tonight's (food) spread?"

Where do you get good chicken stock?
How do I stop my bacon from curling up?
Should I put foil on a spiral ham?  How can I reheat it and reheat it again?
How can I prevent freezerburn?
Can you recommend a good knife and a cutting board?
How do you clean your cutting boards?

I happily answered all the questions I could and in my typical fashion was one of the last people to leave the party (with fancy toothbrush in hand)!

This morning I was discussing my evening with a friend that happens to be an attorney. He laughed and said that it sounded like his typical experience of people asking him for legal advice at parties. He went on to say that I was lucky that I can engage in a conversation and not worry if the person asking the question is already getting advice from another chef.  He was right. I am lucky. I get to share my knowledge and skills with people and make their lives just a little better. Even better, people want to learn.

Inaugural Post

Welcome to the first post from Kitchen Goals. We plan for this to be a two-way communication tool for our visitors, students and clients alike. In addition to responses to your questions, we will also use the blog to share random thoughts and updates that don't necessarily require their own pages on our website.

We hope you enjoy what we have to say, but we welcome your feedback either way.

Cheers