We've all done it: purchased a bottle of wine on spec because a friend recommended it/we liked the label (if it's called Bitch Red Wine, it's got to be good, right?)/it just seemed like a good idea at the time/it was cheap (pick one or more). You get it home, uncork it, have a taste, and feel your taste buds clamoring to leave your mouth for safer pastures as the little guy in charge of your stomach dives for the Eject button (see "Osmosis Jones").
I know it's tempting to make the Grand Gesture and pour it down the sink - after all, the drains have been sluggish lately - but refrain. What you have here is COOKING WINE.
Dump the red wine in a beef stew or over a roast before you put it in the oven. Use the white wine to deglaze a pan and make a lovely sauce base for chicken or fish. Poach fish fillets in it. Stir a little into the mushrooms you are sauteeing to add extra flavor (either red or white will work for mushrooms). Save it for your next batch of trash can punch. Serve it to your in-laws.
A favorite recipe at my house: Brown seasoned (with salt & pepper or Cavender's Greek Seasoning) pork chops on both sides in butter or olive oil, add a couple of tablespoons of chopped garlic and about half a cup of white wine and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chops. (Actually, my rule of thumb is to start a pot of potato chunks to boil for mashed potatoes and when they just start to boil, begin the pork chops. By the time the potatoes are done, the pork chops are done.) Remove the chops to a platter and thicken the gravy (I use a little cornstarch mixed with water). Serve with mashed potatoes and whatever veg takes your fancy (squash, perhaps?). And, of course, a GOOD white wine (pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, or one of the German whites) for drinking.
I'm not much of a chardonnay drinker, since I like very dry wines and I think chardonnays as a wine category have been served to death, but if you have a favorite, let me know!
:P
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