A recipe that calls for red wine and cherries!

Now that fall cooking is underway, it is a great time to start adding wine to your recipes. Of course, since you are unlikely to use the entire bottle of wine in the recipe, there will undoubtedly be enough wine left to enjoy while creating your masterpiece or to serve with dinner. 

Below are seven suggestions for adding wine to your recipes.

1. When baking a box cake, substitute wine for the water. Terry well remembers when he was in elementary school, his mother taught him this trick.
2. When cooking meat, start off by marinating the beef, pork or chicken in a little wine. The addition of wine tends to help tenderize the meat making it tender and  and adds hints of robustness. We prefer using red wine for beef dishes and white wine for chicken.
3. Risotto dishes frequently call for wine. We prefer using a slightly oaked Chardonnay when cooking risotto. We discovered that Chardonnay is a great cooking wine.
4.  I find some types of fish to be rather bland unless cooked with oil, onions etc. Next time you plan to cook fish, add a little wine.
5. When cooking tomato-based recipes try adding a little red wine.
6.  Keep in mind that many grocery stores sell cooking wine. If you want to cook with wine, head for your nearest wine shop and purchase a bottle of wine.
7. Wine for cooking does not need to be expensive. Save your expensive wines for your wine glass.

The Wine Trail Traveler website offers dozens of recipes that use wine as an ingredient. Terry created a chili recipe that uses Cabernet Franc. Check it out online. It’s fun to experiment when cooking for family or friends!

While planning your holiday meals, check out the numerous recipes and perhaps add a couple of the recipes as your personal favorites.

What wines do you add to your recipes when cooking? We’d love to hear from you!

Cheers!
Kathy