Pinterest LinkedIn Facebook Instagram YouTube

The Organized Kitchen: Mise En Place

The Organized Kitchen: Mise en Place plus a BONUS recipe for chocolate and sprinkle covered pretzel rods for Valentine's Day. Fun to make with your kids! Easy to adapt for food allergies. organizedartistry.com
Every year, my cousins host a Valentine’s Day pizza party. They order in pizzas, set up a huge salad bar on their counter, and people bring wine and desserts to round out the celebration. Last year, I made heart shaped brownies and although they were good, I wanted to get a bit more creative.

For inspiration, I walked into a store near me and found all types of cool looking confections including pretzel rods decorated with yummy-looking sugary stuff. I thought to myself, “I could make those!” I even had a feeling I owned a recipe for it and lo and behold, I did.

I had a ton of tasks to get done the morning I was making them so I turned to a basic organizing principle to help me accomplish my goal: to create chocolate-dipped and decorated pretzel rods in a short amount of time with a minimal mess in the kitchen. This basic organizing principle I utilized, well known to those in the world of cooking is:

Mise en Place

You may be asking, ‘What does the phrase Mise en Place mean?” According to TheReluctantGourmet.com, the phrase is pronounced MEEZ ahn plahs and means ‘to have all of your ingredients and cooking tools prepared before you start cooking’. Literally translated, it means, ‘to put in place.’ I think it’s French for ‘Get your stuff organized before you cook!’

Mise en Place takes the stress out of cooking and makes it a more pleasurable task. There’s no searching for the garlic press when your oil is hot. There’s no such thing as , “Uh, oh–I’m missing an ingredient.” Mise en Place (or ‘meez’ as the professionals say) allows you to be focused and prepared for cooking.

Here are the steps I took to Mise en Place–create an organized environment for my pretzel rod project:

1. I read the recipe and made notes as to what ingredients I needed. I added them to my shopping list, purchased them and kept them together in one bag so I they would be in one place when I was ready to make the recipe.

2. I cleared my counter space and unpacked the pretzel rods, chocolate chips and sprinkles. I set up two bowls for melting the two flavors of chocolate chips, two spatulas (for stirring the chocolate chips and spreading them on the pretzels) and three paper plates for the three pretzel toppings.

3. Next to my counter space, I set up a baking tray covered in wax paper and placed a wire rack on top of it. This is where the pretzel rods would relax while the chocolate was setting.

4. I placed half a bag of each type of chocolate chip into a bowl and put a spatula in each bowl. I placed a half cup of sprinkles and mini chocolate chips into each paper plate.

Now, I was ready to begin!

Organize your kitchen with the art of Mise en Place plus a recipe for Chocolate and sprinkle covered pretzel rods for Valentine's Day. Easy to make with your kids! organizedartistry.com

And, voila! The finished product…

Here’s the recipe I used. Try it–and don’t forget the Mise en Place. It will make creating these decorated pretzel rods so easy, you’ll want to make them for every occasion. Green sprinkles for St. Patrick’s Day? Red, white, and blue for Fourth of July? My cousin also hosts Mother’s Day. If you have any sprinkle color ideas for that day, I’d love to hear them!

Recipe: Decorated Pretzel Rods

One bag of Rold Gold Pretzel Rods
Half a bag of Nestle Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip Morsels
Half a bag of Nestle White Chocolate Chip Morsels
Multi-colored sprinkles
Pink and white sprinkles (Tip: sprinkles purchased less expensively in the ice cream aisle rather than the baking aisle…)

Follow Mise en Place steps 2-4 from above.

1. Melt mini chocolate chips and white chocolate chips in separate microwave safe bowls. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Microwave another 30 seconds if necessary and stir until smooth.
2. Start with one flavor of chocolate. Dip pretzel rod in chocolate and spread with spatula. Let any excess chocolate drip off and hold pretzel over plate of sprinkles.
3. Using a spoon or your hands, drop sprinkles onto chocolate part of pretzel rod while turning the pretzel so all chocolate is covered.
4. Place on wire rack to cool and set.
5. Repeat with all toppings until chocolate is finished.
6. Repeat all steps with white chocolate.
7. Taste one to make sure they’re OK…
8. Pack carefully to take to someone’s home. Yum!

How will Mise en Place make your life easier?


Subscribe to the Organized Artistry Newsletter! | organizedartistry.com

SaveSave

Share this post!

Categories: Basic Organizing Principles, Kitchen

12 responses to “The Organized Kitchen: Mise En Place”

  1. I love mixing salty and sweet so I’m sure these would be delicious! I’ve also found cooking to be much more enjoyable when I do all the prep work before I begin the actual cooking, but I didn’t know there was a name for it. Merci beaucoup!

  2. Glad you visited my blog and learned something new, Janet! Try the recipe–it’s yummy and it’s a unique treat to bring to someone’s home–especially if there are kids involved.

  3. Seana Turner says:

    I love chocolate and the salt of pretzels together – yum. Such a fun idea to host a little party because so many people are not in a relationship and then the holiday can feel like a downer. I want my whole life to be “mis en place”.. love that phrase!

    • Stacey Agin Murray says:

      My cousins got the idea years ago to make a V-Day party. They keep it simple with pizzas and salad and most people bring drinks or dessert. I love chocolate and pretzels together, too. I’ve dipped marshmallows in chocolate and sprinkles, and it was also a hit. This year I made those two and I dipped marshmallows in chocolate and then sprinkled crumbled Thin Mint cookies on top. YUM!

  4. Love making and eating Decorated Pretzel Rods. We did make them every few years for my kids’ birthday parties, and everyone loves them.

    • Stacey Agin Murray says:

      They are a dessert that both kids and adults like–sprinkles make everyone smile! My almost seven year old helped me make this year’s batch. It’s a good lesson in ‘cooking,’ planning, and patience. Oh, yeah–and they’re yummy, too!

  5. I’m a sweet/salty person also! These sound wonderful and easy. Thanks for sharing!

    • Stacey Agin Murray says:

      My palate loves sweet and salty together, too. And throw some sprinkles on it and it’s a party! A great activity to do with kids. Once the chocolate has hardened after a few minutes, they’re ready to be eaten. I use the same recipe with big marshmallows–equally as delish!

  6. So important for cooking, but also….what about mise en place for crafts or scrapbooking (photos, paper, glue, markers, etc.)? For gardening (tools, seeds, soil amendments, etc.)? For organizing (boxes, trash bags, post-its, sharpies, file folders, etc.)? I think it’s French for ‘Get your stuff organized before you ________!’

    • Stacey Agin Murray says:

      I love the idea of Mise en place for other areas of our lives that require organization at the onset of a task. It is technically a French culinary term but I don’t think any chef would mind if Professional Organizers started using the phrase. And I don’t think our clients would mind learning some French–especially if it leads them to a more organized life. Great ideas, Hazel. Thanks for sharing!

  7. Nicole Ramer says:

    Mise en Place is definitely a new term for me (thank you for pronouncing it)! My husband and I cook dinner together, so I can’t wait to see the look on his face when I tell him to Mise en Place! 😉

    • Stacey Agin Murray says:

      That’s so fabulous that you and your husband cook together! Mise en place is especially helpful if you’re trying a new recipe. Chefs swear by it. There won’t be any surprises if you’ve prepped the ingredients and assembled your cooking tools in advance. Happy cooking!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

What area of YOUR life needs organizing?

Contact Stacey to Get Started!
NAPO Member NAPO Golden Circle NAPO Specialist Residential Organizing NAPO Household Management NAPO Life Transitions Bergen Health and Life 2015 Virtual Organizing Services
Top