Cooking with Wine

[Sazoo]

DH & I are not big wine drinkers (I like some wines, but DH is really not much of a fan & I don't often crack open a bottle to drink alone). We've got several bottles of wine sitting around the house that we've had forever. We were thinking of getting rid of some of them, but I feel like it's such a waste to just pour them down the drain. I mentioned that maybe we could use some of them for cooking...but neither of us has ever made any recipes that include wine as an ingredient.

So, I'm looking for suggestions! Anyone care to share? We mostly have white wines, but I think there are a couple bottles of red.

TIA!

[SweetRed]

Here are two recipes DH and I LOVE that use wine in them.

Balsamic Mushrooms

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup olive oil (**)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons white wine
salt and pepper to taste

** I do NOT use that much oil. I just use some olive oil spray instead and it works great.
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DIRECTIONS:
Saute the garlic in olive oil for 1 to 2 minutes. Do not brown the garlic. Add mushrooms and cook 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in balsamic vinegar and wine, cook another 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.



PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS STUFFED WITH EGGPLANT AND GORGONZOLA

INGREDIENTS:
6 5- to 6-inch-diameter portobello mushrooms, stemmed
1/4 cup olive oil (**)
1 large eggplant, finely chopped
6 tablespoons chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup dry red wine
6 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

** Again, I don't use that much oil AT ALL. I just use either spray olive oil or a couple of teaspoons.

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DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Arrange mushrooms, rounded side down, on large baking sheet. Heat oil in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic. Sauté until eggplant is soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in red wine and simmer until liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; stir in Gorgonzola cheese and 1 tablespoon basil. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture evenly into mushroom caps. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover mushrooms with aluminum foil. Bake mushrooms for 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until cheese melts, filling bubbles and mushrooms are tender when pierced with sharp knife, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle mushrooms with remaining 1 tablespoon basil and serve warm.



I haven't made this one is a long time because DH is a veggie, but it was one of my favorite "special" kinda-quick meals. You can omit the mushrooms if you'd like and it's still really good.

CHICKEN WITH WHITE WINE AND MUSHROOMS

INGREDIENTS:
4 chicken breast halves with skin and bone
All purpose flour
1/4 cup olive oil
2/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped carrot
1/3 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 14 1/2- to 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 cup dry white wine

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DIRECTIONS:
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; dust with flour. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin side down, and sauté until brown, about 5 minutes. Turn chicken over and sauté 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to bowl. Add onion, carrot, celery, parsley and garlic to skillet; sauté 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté until starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices and wine. Boil sauce until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Return chicken to sauce. Cover skillet, reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is cooked through and tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer chicken and sauce to plates and serve.

Makes 4 servings.


I know I have others. I'll be back with my recipes book when I get a chance :)

[looch]

You could freeze some of it in ice cube trays, and when it's solid, pop them out and store in a ziploc.
You can add a cube or two of white wine to veggies and fish when they are steaming, or you could add it to some sauteed shrimp and toss with pasta and lemon juice.

If it's red wine, i would use the cubes to make pan sauces once i have sauteed steaks or red meat.

[maggieb]

If I have red wine around, I add it to my spaghetti sauce.

[pride&prejudice]

If you have white wine, then that's perfect for shrimp scampi. I don't have my recipe on hand, I'd have to look it up.

[jenjunum]

One of my favorite dishes is risotto. It's not as hard as you might think. Here's a recipe for a red wine risotto (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_29941,00.html). You can also make it with white wine and the risotto will stay white. This one will be pink.

Whenever I pan fry something I usually deglaze the pan with wine (or broth) to make a quick sauce. Just pour about a cup of wine into the pan and reduce it into a nice sauce. If you have a lot of excess oil in the pan you'll want to pour that off first.

My DH also is not a fan of wine. So I usually drink a glass and cook with it and then save the rest to cook with it in the next couple days.