Poaching Chicken for Elegant Dishes

Poaching Chicken ©M-J de Mesterton

Add water and the flavouring of your choice to boneless chicken breasts. Simmer for forty minutes, cool and freeze for future use, or slice and use with sauce or gravy, perhaps made with the same poaching-liquid in which you cooked the chicken. I will return at the next opportunity with an original recipe or two, employing poached chicken breast meat. ~~M-J de Mesterton

Some Easy-to-Store Kitchen Essentials and Survival Foods

Ingredients for a Well-Stocked Pantry
Elegant Survival Kitchen Essentials

• Frozen Apple Juice Concentrate or Bottled Apple Juice

• Cornstarch

• Unbleached White Flour

• Rye Flour

• Yeast

• Gelatine

• Almond Extract

• Vanilla, Imitation or Pure Extract

• Rum Extract or Flavoring

• Aluminum-Free Baking Powder

• Baking Soda

• Hershey’s Cocoa Powder

• Chocolate Chips

• Cinnamon

• Salt

• Peppercorns

• Dried Red Chiles

• Dehydrated Mixed Vegetables

• Brown Rice

• White or Basmati Rice

• Corn Meal or Grits

• Dried Pasta

• Alfalfa Seeds

• Wheat Berries

• Dried Parsley

• Dried Chives

• Dehydrated Onion

• Dehydrated Garlic or Garlic Powder

• Soy Sauce

• Powdered Ginger

• Toasted Sesame Oil

• Sesame Tahini Paste, Joyva brand of Brooklyn is best
• Almond Butter
  

• Popcorn, loose: Jolly Time Organic is better than Orville Redenbacher, at one-third the cost
• Peanut or Corn Oil

• Olive Oil

• Mustard Powder, Colman’s English

• Spanish or Hungarian Paprika

• Capers

• Green Peppercorns in Brine

• Rose’s Lime Juice

• Maggi or another brand of Chicken Bouillon Powder

• Canned Tomato Paste: store brand

• Canned Whole Tomatoes: store brand

• Canned Beets: store brand or generic

• Canned Small, Peeled Potatoes: store brand or generic

• Canned Green Chiles, whole or chopped

• Coconut Milk, Canned

• Whole Water Chestnuts, Canned

• Canned Ham

• Canned Vienna Sausage

• Canned Beef (usually from Argentina)

• Canned Pineapple, No Sugar Added

• Peanut Butter

• Raw Walnuts

• Almonds

• Powdered Sugar

• Brown Sugar

• White Sugar

• Molasses

• Honey

• Apple Cider Vinegar

• White Vinegar

• Boxed Red Wine, and a Cube of White Wine, both for Cooking

• Frozen Peas

• Dried Split Peas, Green or Yellow

• Freeze-Dried Coffee

• Coffee Creamer (not Coffee-Mate, which contains aluminum–check ingredients)

• Coffee Beans

• Tea Bags

• Non-Fat Dry Milk

• Powdered Buttermilk

• Powdered Eggs for Emergencies

• Bottled Lemon Juice
• Herbes de Provence (a combination of marjoram, thyme, rosemary and savory, available at Costco)
  

To Be Continued….

Compiled by M-J de Mesterton, 2008

Copyright M-J de Mesterton

Elegant Survival Wine Recommendations

Photograph copyright M-J de Mesterton 2007

In today’s International Herald Tribune, Eric Asimov says that there are “Rewards for Drinking on the Cheap”, and then alludes to the Frank Zappa song, “Cheepnis”, from the early 1970s. He seems to believe that spending twenty-five dollars is “cheap”. Then, he cites some pleasant wines that cost 15 and 12 dollars. He hasn’t read Elegant Survival. I’ll go you one better, Mr. Asimov: I’ll sing the opening line of Cheepnis, and show you what REAL cheap wine is!

I ate a hot dog–it tasted real goo-ood–and then I watched a movie from Hollywoo–ood!~~Frank Zappa

In the past, I’ve recommended a Provençal wine, Le Pigeoulet (8-10 USD), an Argentinian red from Vistalba Cortea de la Estancia Carlos Pulenta for circa 11 USD, and now the topper of my list of low-cost good wines, which I have been touting for nine months: Torres Malena Garnacha Spanish red table wine, a steal at 6 USD–about which I have heard nothing but stellar reports, both at our parties and on the internet.

Then, there is my old fave from France: Parallèle”45″Côtes du Rhône Paul Jaboulet: always dependable and reasonably-priced at 6-8 USD.

Photo Copyright M-J de Mesterton 2006

I appreciate his piece on cheaper wines, though. Eric Asimov is well-motivated, and apparently a fellow Zappa fan. I’m glad that somebody is scouting-out inexpensive wines. I’ve always believed that there are high-quality wines costing little, and what we consider to be low-quality wines costing a lot. Because I’m so happy with the aforementioned bottles, I’m not looking for more wines to recommend these days, but if I discover one, I’ll share it here. Come to think of it, we’ll be visiting a friend who is a wine distributor this weekend…meanwhile, I recommend reading Eric Asimov’s article!