--- title: The Knife Block Blog | Tips for better cooking | Anne Quinn (2) description: (2) --- - [Home](https://www.mychefquinn.com/) - [About Chef Quinn](https://www.mychefquinn.com/About-Chef-Quinn) - [The Knife Block](https://www.mychefquinn.com/The-Knife-Block) [![My Chef Quinn](https://www.mychefquinn.com/hs-fs/file-26338774-png/images/my-chef-quinn_com-knife-logo-22.png)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/) ![lways use fresh ingredients!](https://www.mychefquinn.com/hs-fs/file-26340803-png/images/vegetables-3.png) # The Knife Block ## Anne Quinn ### Recent Posts ## [Mise en place, it’s all about the preparation](https://www.mychefquinn.com/The-Knife-Block/bid/41335/Mise-en-place-it-s-all-about-the-preparation) [ Posted by Anne Quinn on Sun, Jun 06, 2010 ](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/author/anne-quinn) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://www.mychefquinn.com/hs-fs/file-26338710-jpg/images/mise-en-place.jpg) ](https://www.mychefquinn.com/The-Knife-Block/bid/41335/Mise-en-place-it-s-all-about-the-preparation) [Mise en place](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_place) is a French phrase meaning "putting in place". In English it's pronounced (roughly) Meez ahn plahs. With respect to cooking this means gathering and measuring all of the components of your recipe prior to starting to cook. In cooking school before we could begin a recipe, we had to have our "meez" checked. Prior to cooking school, I wasn't really in the habit of "meezing" unless I was baking. For savory concoctions, I would work on the fly getting things together while other components were in process. In my head I saw the lack of "meez" preparation as more efficient. You chop your onions and begin sweating them in your pan with olive oil and then start chopping the next thing. Seems fine, right? Well, not really. [Read More](https://www.mychefquinn.com/The-Knife-Block/bid/41335/Mise-en-place-it-s-all-about-the-preparation) --- **My Chef Quinn offers a variety of cooking services to help you get more out of your kitchen.  Click these links to find out more:** - [Private Cooking Lessons](https://www.mychefquinn.com/lets-cook/cooking-lessons-individual-group/) - [Cooking parties ](https://www.mychefquinn.com/lets-cook/cooking-parties/) - [Personal Chef Services](https://www.mychefquinn.com/lets-cook/personal-chef/) Tags: [mise en place](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/mise-en-place), [kitchen prep](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/kitchen-prep) ## [Can you really cook a chicken with a pop-up thermometer?](https://www.mychefquinn.com/The-Knife-Block/bid/41002/Can-you-really-cook-a-chicken-with-a-pop-up-thermometer) [ Posted by Anne Quinn on Mon, May 31, 2010 ](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/author/anne-quinn) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://www.mychefquinn.com/hs-fs/file-26340367-jpg/images/pop-up-thermometer.jpg) ](https://www.mychefquinn.com/The-Knife-Block/bid/41002/Can-you-really-cook-a-chicken-with-a-pop-up-thermometer) "Do you rely on those plastic pop-up thermometers in your chicken?"  I was asked this question the other day by an acquaintance who found out I cook professionally. My answer was no. I rely on my instant-read thermometer because in my experience the pop-up thermometer yields a dry, over cooked bird. I decided to do a little research on the pop-up thermometers we find lodged in the breasts of those grocery store roasters. (graphic on the left courtesy of [How Stuff Works](http://www.howstuffworks.com/). ) [Read More](https://www.mychefquinn.com/The-Knife-Block/bid/41002/Can-you-really-cook-a-chicken-with-a-pop-up-thermometer) --- **My Chef Quinn offers a variety of cooking services to help you get more out of your kitchen.  Click these links to find out more:** - [Private Cooking Lessons](https://www.mychefquinn.com/lets-cook/cooking-lessons-individual-group/) - [Cooking parties ](https://www.mychefquinn.com/lets-cook/cooking-parties/) - [Personal Chef Services](https://www.mychefquinn.com/lets-cook/personal-chef/) Tags: [high heat cooking](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/high-heat-cooking), [instant read thermometers](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/instant-read-thermometers), [cooking poultry](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/cooking-poultry) [Previous](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/author/anne-quinn/page/1) [All posts](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/all) ### Subscribe to The Knife Block via Email ### Latest Posts ### Browse by Tag - [Carmelizing (2)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/carmelizing) - [Chuck White (2)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/chuck-white) - [Compound Butter (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/compound-butter) - [Concentrating Flavors (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/concentrating-flavors) - [Cooking on Location (2)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/cooking-on-location) - [cooking poultry (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/cooking-poultry) - [Cooking with onions (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/cooking-with-onions) - [Food Trucks (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/food-trucks) - [Grilled Cheese (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/grilled-cheese) - [Herbed Butter (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/herbed-butter) - [Herbs (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/herbs) - [high heat cooking (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/high-heat-cooking) - [instant read thermometers (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/instant-read-thermometers) - [Kitchen Knives (3)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/kitchen-knives) - [kitchen prep (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/kitchen-prep) - [Knife Block (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/knife-block) - [mise en place (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/mise-en-place) - [Olive Oil (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/olive-oil) - [Pasta Sauces (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/pasta-sauces) - [Pesto (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/pesto) - [Roasting Tomatoes (1)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/roasting-tomatoes) - [Sheryl Crow (2)](https://www.mychefquinn.com/the-knife-block/topic/sheryl-crow) © 2016 www.mychefquinn.com