Stress Free Cooking
by
Barbara Seelig Brown's
Lifestyle Designs

Cooking with Wine

I don't want this to happen to you! Once when I was prepping to teach a cooking class, I was handed a bottle of white wine with a screw top and could not bring myself to use it with the fine quality food stuffs that had been purchased for the class. Unfortunately, the clerk in the wine shop was not well versed in wine and sold this to the person marketing for the class. With a little know how cooking with wine can be fun, add depth, an extra layer of flavor, and make your dishes more interesting. Just follow these guidelines.

Cook with a wine that is drinkable. Even for cooking, the wine should have a cork!

Cook with the same wine (grape variety) that you will be drinking with the meal. This means if you are cooking Italian and you will be serving Chianti with the meal you want to cook with Chianti or Sangiovese. Sangiovese is Chianti's California cousin, made from the same grape as Chianti, but cannot be called Chianti as that denotes the region in Italy where Sangiovese is turned into Chianti. You might not want to cook with a $20-40 bottle of wine, but you should at least choose a decent $10 bottle of the same variety. When selecting the wine for the meal, consider what is in the dish, as well as what the main food item is.

Consider the type and strength of seasonings in the dish when selecting a wine. For example, fruity Zinfandels go well with highly spiced foods, Riojas with Mexican, and sweeter wines such as German Gewurztraminer's or France's Alsatian's go well with Asian food. Of course, you can always make exceptions and there will always be exceptions so use the guidelines, but remember to enjoy your favorite wine with whatever you feel is appropriate.

Most wine experts feel that it is almost impossible to pair wine with Artichokes. They contain a chemical called cynarin that stimulates the sweetness receptors in taste buds and makes everything taste exceptionally sweet for a short time. Cynar is so sweet that there was once talk of replacing sugar with it. There is an Italian aperitif called Cynar that is made from artichokes and similarly makes food taste sweeter. This is a good illustration of when it is necessary to match the wine with rest of the meal.

Vermouth is a nice alternative to wine for cooking. If you don't generally keep wine on hand, try Vermouth, it keeps for quite a long time in the refrigerator if tightly sealed, certainly longer than an open bottle of wine. It is extremely food friendly as it is a fortified wine made from 20 some herbs and spices that vary depending on the brand that you select (visit www.campariusa.com for more info on Vermouth).

It is also nice to keep the wines local; meaning that Italian wine is served with Italian food and French with French food, etc.

Marinating with wine helps to tenderize the surface of the meat that it comes in contact with, but you also need to add a healthy oil such as extra virgin olive oil, to help the marinade penetrate the muscle and collagen. Marinating seafood for too long a period can actually toughen it as it tender to start.

Wine is a conductor of flavor and therefore carries and enhances flavors in your cooking.

Wine should be added in the early cooking stages so that the alcohol has time to evaporate from the dish.

When adding alcohol to your cooking, please remove the pan from the heat so that there are no unwanted flare-ups.

As there are many choices of wines, so are there two choices before us, either shop in a reputable wine store where you trust the staff, or do your own homework. Hopefully, this column will help you with your selection.

Here are some recipes which are good illustrations of cooking with wine:

Mediterranean Lamb Shanks and White Beans Braised in Red Wine

4 Lamb Shanks, approximately 3/4 to 1 pound each
3/4 C. All purpose flour
2 Tbl. ground Coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbl. Fennel seed
1 tsp. Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 orange
1 C. Red wine such as Merlot or Zinfandel
1 C. Knorr Chicken Broth
2 bay leaves
4 C. White Beans, rinsed well

Equipment: Braiser or Rondeau, or ovenproof Sauté pan with lid
Greater Zester (zesting tool)

Mix flour with fennel, coriander, cumin and salt.

Dredge (dip) lamb shanks in flour mixture and coat well.

Thinly film pan with olive oil and add garlic. Heat until garlic is fragrant. Add lamb shanks carefully and brown on both sides. This will take 3-5 minutes per side.
Add the zest of the orange and grind some black pepper over the shanks.

Turn pan to low and add the wine, stock, bay leaves, and juice of the orange. Bring to boil.

Add the beans, turn heat to low and braise 11/2 - 2 hours over very low heat or place in a 300( oven.

Stir occasionally. Adjust seasonings and serve with a nice fruity red Zinfandel.

Mushroom Wine Sauce

This wonderful sauce is very versatile and can be used on anything! The type of stock and wine can be varied to complement the entree.
1 10 oz. package mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. flour
1 shallot, minced
1/2 C. Italian parsley, minced
1/2 C. white or red wine
1/2 - 1 C. beef, chicken or vegetable stock
Melt butter in a large sauté pan.
Add shallots and mushrooms and cook until wilted.
Add flour and cook 3 minutes.
Add 1/2 C. stock and wine and blend well. Cook 3-5 minutes and add additional stock to desired consistency. Add fresh parsley.

Turkey & Sun Dried Tomato Meatloaf with Red Wine Serves 4-6

1 lb. ground turkey breast
1 C. Sun Dried Tomatoes, cut in bits
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1/4 C. fresh basil, chopped, or 1 tsp. dry basil leaves, rubbed between your fingers to bring out the flavor
2 Tbl. Fresh oregano, chopped or 1/2 tsp. dry oregano, rubbed between your fingers to bring out the flavor
1/4 C. Pignoli nuts, toasted & roughly chopped
1/4 C. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 egg whites or 1 whole egg
1 C. dry bread cubes, soaked in either wine or chicken stock
1 C. dry red wine (Sangiovese or Chianti style) or chicken stock
Preheat oven to 400(.
Soak bread cubes in wine.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Do not over-mix. This will produce a tough meatloaf.
Form into a loaf and bake in an open oval or rectangular baking dish about 45 minutes or until done. Do not use a loaf pan.
Timesaver: Can also be made into individual meatloaves or meatballs and baked 15-20 mins.

For additional information on wine, you can visit the websites of your favorite wineries. I find the DeLoach Vineyards site very informative @ www.deloachvineyards.com. The Garden State Wine Club (www.gswineclub.com) also offers recipes to go with their monthly selections.

Food & Wine Pairing - Italian White Wines - Health Benefits of Wine

Stress Free Cooking by Barbara Seelig Brown's Lifestyle Designs

Cooking with Wine

Stress Free Cooking
by
Barbara Seelig Brown's
Lifestyle Designs