Let’s say She and I are on a cruise. She’s enjoying a French 75 (a cocktail made with lemon, gin, simple syrup and a brut champagne) and I’m sipping a killer Negroni (made with gin, campari, and vermouth). Let’s say She and I are sitting on deck, watching the ship’s wake and enjoying the sun.
BAM! We hit a rogue iceberg that has wandered into the South Pacific. Bedlam ensues, She and I rush to our muster station, drinks in hand, ready to escape a Titanic demise. Then let’s say we find ourselves alone, bobbing along in our lifeboat, unsure where the other survivors went.
Now let’s say She and I find ourselves on a lonely little island. Alone, cast away.
What do I wish I had on that deserted little island? Minus the obvious answer of food, fresh water and shelter? Oh, and a TV and an Xbox. And a satellite phone. Hmmm, and an appropriately stocked bar.
Desert Island Music.
The Beastie Boys, The Dirty Heads, 311, Slightly Stoopid, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Metallica, The Gorillaz, Tears for Fears, Eminem, The Foo Fighters, Outkast, The Shins, Modest Mouse, and Vampire Weekend.
Desert Island Books.
The Lord of The Rings, The Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O’Brien, The Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin, Kitchen Confidential by Bourdain, Bread is Gold by Bottura, maybe a few Lawhead books, and a couple of books She wants me to read that I haven’t gotten around to yet.
Desert Island TV and Movies.
The Lord of The Rings, The Shawshank Redemption, Chef, The Hundred Foot Journey, Game of Thrones, Archer, Dodgeball, Every Star Wars movie, about half the Star Trek movies, and A Chef’s Table.
Desert Island Video Games.
Skyrim, Fallout 4, The Uncharted Franchise, Borderlands, Horizon Zero Dawn, The Last of Us, Red Dead Redemption, Dying Light, Witcher 3, and the Bioshock series.
Desert Island Spice Drawer.
There are a lot of great ingredients that won’t be on this list. This list is my must-haves, the stuff I use most often, the stuff I can’t do without.
Salt. If I could only have one kind of salt, it’d be kosher salt. Kosher salt has a less sharp, or “less salty” taste than table salt (one teaspoon of iodized table salt delivers the same punch as one tablespoon of kosher salt). Kosher salt is the best for meats as it soaks into the meat better and has a rounder taste. It’s also not expensive.
If I could have two kinds of salt, I’d add grey sea salt or pink himalayan salt. They have a more complex flavor than table or kosher salt, but are more expensive.
I personally don’t like the taste of iodized salt, and since most of us have an appropriate amount of iodine in our diets I choose to not have any. Now, if you’re pregnant, you may actually need more iodine in your diet, so you may want to have some around.
Black pepper. I prefer to grind it myself, as the flavor of pepper begins to fade after it’s ground. I keep a pepper grinder handy for small amounts, and I have a cheap electric coffee grinder for when I need to grind up larger quantities.
The Rest of The List.
Dried Red Pepper flakes.
Onion powder.
Garlic powder.
Chili powder.
Curry powder.
Dried Italian Herbs.
Seasoned Salt.
Lemon Pepper.
Cayenne pepper.
Brown sugar.
Cumin.
Fennel.
Paprika.
Allspice.
Cinnamon.
Chinese 5-spice powder.
Beef and Chicken bouillon/powder/granules.
Done and done. Now I can cook some shit. When they deliver my groceries to our Desert Island (remember, I said I’ll have a satellite phone) I’ll be able to make all kinds of killer stuff.
They just better remember my popcorn popper.
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