Julia Child did not invent the concept of cooking with (or while drinking) wine. Wine as an essential cooking ingredient dates back to the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. The French discovered wine as a cooking ingredient at least as early as the Middle Ages, and their fascination has increased ever since. Even the English, not usually known for leading the way in the culinary world, have included wine in their recipes for at least the past few hundred years. The Americans have included wine in their dishes almost since turning the New World into a new nation. And these instances are recorded in the annals of history. Who knows how far back the practice of using wine in cooking really dates!
In general, adding wine to a dish turns a good dish into a gastronomic delight. That's good news for people who enjoy giving the gift of wine. It presents us with one more opportunity when giving wine to our friends and family. The better news is that using a premium wine in cooking is a total waste of good wine. You can give a relatively inexpensive gift of wine if its purpose is to add flavor and fragrance to the food. Consider giving your favorite gourmand the gift of wine for the kitchen on the next gift-giving occasion. Small, unknown estate wines are perfect for this purpose. Their price usually belies the quality of the wine, and your gift-giving dollar goes further. You can buy a better wine for less money if you research small estates and vineyards and select from their limited-run labels.
Show, Don't Tell
Rather than giving the wine and saying, "Oh, by the way, you can use this for cooking," you want to devise a clever method to give wine for cooking. If you give Sherry or Port wine, your recipient will probably pilfer a few ounces for the kitchen, but by combining a recipe and a bottle of wine, you show that you put some thought into the gift, and it's the thought behind the gift that speaks volumes.
Use your computer and color printer to create an illustrated recipe to accompany your wine. Try either of the following:
- Select a recipe card template. Modify it, if necessary, to include an appropriate image, and drop in your recipe.
- Select a wine label template. Add an appropriate image and drop your recipe into the text area. Attach the wine label to the back of the wine bottle. When you wrap the wine bottle, make sure that the back of the bottle is facing forward when your recipient opens the gift.
Classic Recipe Suggestions
If you have a family "Hall of Fame" recipe that uses wine, share the recipe with an appropriate bottle of wine. If your family doesn't have recipes worthy of sharing, use an Internet search engine to find simple recipes that are appropriate for your bottle of wine. We've included a few suggestions below to get you started.
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Wine | Recipe |
| Port | Holiday cheese ball |
| Sherry | Lobster bisque |
| Dry red wine | Beef marinade |
| Dry white wine | Fish recipe or sauce |
| Marsala | Veal Marsala or sabayon |
You'll think of other imaginative ways to package your gift of wine from the kitchen. Once you start down this path, there's no stopping—the ideas just keep flowing. Pass them on…
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