Before you begin cooking the ragout, set out your mise en place that is, everything you'll need for the job, prepped and measured beside the stove.

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But learning takes time and concentration, so now we get to claim peace and quiet as we drink wine and set up our mise en place, just like the guy on that cooking show and, if you think about it, just like our own fathers, back when they tinkered in the workshop or stopped by the corner pub on the way home.

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