alcohol in cooking

Philippa36

We never have wine left over although we do tend to splash some in when we have a bottle open if the recipe asks for it, usually red, don't often drink white wine. We do have a bottle of brandy, bought specifically for the Xmas cake two years ago and I know there is plenty left for this years cake too

We only have banana beer in the house (Asda's is the only place that I can find that sells it, but its delicious! ) but I don't think thats quite a strong enough taste for a casserole.

pavlovs_dog

plus im not sure about beef and banana together although i have been planning on adding some to a banana loaf cake

Philippa36

Mmmmmmmm but that means I have to buy twice as many bottles ~ one to drink one for the cake.........

nearlyrich

I keep a bottle of cheap sherry in the kitchen cupboard (hic) honest it's for trifles etc

I don't usually have unused wine here either:o so would open a decentish bottle and then drink the rest with the meal!

Beer, we have bitter in for DH, never made beef in beer type stuff so I am not much help am I?

Back to the cooking sherry !

Sarahsaver

If I would't drink it I wouldn't cook with it. You can always try a casserole with cheapo wine vs one with drinkable wine. Had some lovely red from aldis so it doesnt have to cost the earth. As for beer I would use guinness with beef, red wine in bolognese, or vinegar if you are low on dosh (after slow cooking the addition of vinegar actually tastes great) And vermouth in risotto, which again is cost effective.the only exception is i get the cheapo co op sherry for chinese cooking, but I dont like sherry anyhow!

thriftlady_2

Sarahsaver wrote:

If I would't drink it I wouldn't cook with it. You can always try a casserole with cheapo wine vs one with drinkable wine. Had some lovely red from aldis so it doesnt have to cost the earth. As for beer I would use guinness with beef, red wine in bolognese, or vinegar if you are low on dosh (after slow cooking the addition of vinegar actually tastes great)

But I wouldn't drink vinegar ! Surely if the vinegar is alright after a long slow cook a cheap wine would be too?

Sarahsaver

A spoonful of vinegar is a great cure for hiccups!
I would rather a good vinegar than a cheap wine! LOL;) mind you these days cheap wine is nowhere near as rank as it used to be...

dixie_dean_2

It's an interesting one, the old wine issue. Lot's of top chefs go down the "If it's not good enough for drinking..." route. However, I'd say 99% of people would not notice the difference in cooking between a £3 bottle and a £10 bottle and most of us probably drink somewhere in the middle. Traditionally white wine is actually used in Bolognese. And milk. And no garlic. But hey, do what you like. As for the stew, stout would probably be good. For an unusual twist you could try liquidising fish eyes. Or maybe not.

ti1980

You could get a good bottle of wine that is on offer though. So a £6.99 bottle reduced to £3.99 or something. That's what some friends of mine always do, buy a reasonable bottle (£6.99-£9.99 generally) when its on offer for under a fiver.

Sarahsaver

dixie_dean wrote:

It's an interesting one, the old wine issue. Lot's of top chefs go down the "If it's not good enough for drinking..." route. However, I'd say 99% of people would not notice the difference in cooking between a £3 bottle and a £10 bottle and most of us probably drink somewhere in the middle. Traditionally white wine is actually used in Bolognese. And milk. And no garlic. But hey, do what you like. As for the stew, stout would probably be good. For an unusual twist you could try liquidising fish eyes. Or maybe not.

Depends on whether you have had expensive wine before or not! Spose the rule of 'if you like it it is ok' applies here;)