Cooking With Wine

When the weather is warm you can usually detect the smell of BBQ in the air. There are a number of good BBQ sauces on the market but nothing quite beats making your own. This smoky chipotle red wine bbq sauce is a fantastic accompaniment to any grilled meat.

Recipe: 

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup dry red wine

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, add olive oil, garlic, chipotle powder, and cumin. Allow to heat through, while stirring, for 1 minute. Add red wine and brown sugar. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add in soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly before using.

(Recipe from About.com. Photo from MegaBBQ.com)

A fun way to entertain with wine is to add a splash to your next fondue, like this recipe for Cocoa Vin Fondue. Leftover fondue can be served as a rich chocolate sauce for ice cream, pound cake, or waffles. For an ideal pairing, try serving with Selection California Enigma. Impressive indeed!

Recipe:

4 chickens, 2 1/2 pounds each, quartered 
1 head of garlic, peeled and finely pureed 
1/4 cup dried oregano 
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 
1/2 cup red wine vinegar 
1/2 cup olive oil 
1 cup pitted prunes 
1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives 
1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice 
6 bay leaves 
1 cup brown sugar 
1 cup white wine 
1/4 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl combine chicken, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Cover, refrigerate and let marinate overnight. 

3. Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them. 

4. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with pan juices. To test if the chicken is done prick the largest piece of the thigh with a knife and if the juices run clear it’s done. 

5. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, remove the bay leaves from the sauce and pour the remaining pan ingredients over the chicken. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Serves 10-12.

(Recipe from The Silver Palate Cookbook)

Chicken Cacciatore is a popular Italian dish. Cacciatore in Italian translates to “hunter” so this meal was often prepared for husbands after a long day of hunting. It is a simple but delicious recipe utilizing ingredients that are commonly found in most pantries.

Recipe:

• 4 chicken thighs
• 2 chicken breasts with skin and backbone, halved crosswise
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons drained capers
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice

Directions:

1. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.

2. In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes for the breast pieces, and 20 minutes for the thighs.

3. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.

(Recipe from Giada De Larentiis and The Food Network)

The risotto is a truly impressive dish that is really a meal all on it’s own. Risottos are wonderfully luxurious and utterly delicious. They do have a reputation of being difficult to make but with just a little attention and good ingredients, a perfect risotto is your to be had. 

Another appealing element of a risotto is it’s versatility. A basic risotto is fabulous by itself however, the addition of, say, a variety of sauteed mushrooms, a pinch of saffron, steamed asparagus or the zest of lemon can take this dish to a whole new level.

Basic Risotto Recipe:

5 cups stock, chicken, vegetable or fish
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, finely diced
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine, such as a Pinot Gris
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese, finely grated
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a saucepan bring the stock to a simmer.

2. In another saucepan, melt the butter with the olive oil and saute shallots over low-med heat for about 10 minutes.

3. Add the rice to the shallots and stir, coating all of the grains with the oil and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Add the wine to the rice and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Slowly add the hot stock to the mixture one cup at a time until each cup is absorbed, stirring constantly until rice is is tender but still slightly firm in the center and the mixture is creamy, about 18 minutes.

5. Add the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste and stir well. Serve immediately.

 Serves 4.

This is a lovely appetizer made even better when served along with prosciutto, gorgonzola and walnuts.

Recipe:

1 cup dessert wine
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
6 whole black peppercorns
1 cup dried figs, stems removed

Directions:

 1. Place the dessert wine, sugar and water into a medium size pot over a medium heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves.  Add the star anise, cinnamon and peppercorns, increase the heat and bring to a boil. Add the figs and simmer for 20 – 25 minutes, or until figs have softened. Turn the figs several times throughout the process.  Remove from the heat and allow to steep for an hour minimum. Remove the figs from the mixture and serve.