Recipes with alcohol: savory dishes with alcohol as an ingredient
Most people are familiar with alcoholic desserts like brandy-soaked Christmas pudding, vodka jelly, or Irish cream cheesecake, but I like to see the faces of dinner guests when I inform them that your tasty starter or main course has an unusual alcoholic ingredient. . Quirky recipes are interesting to cook and fun to serve, and cooking with alcohol opens up a host of possibilities.
When cooking with alcohol, much of the alcohol burns off, leaving you with the taste but not the intoxicating effects, although the degree to which this is the case is debatable, so use your own judgment if cooking for minors or those who dislike alcohol. alcohol. .
There are many options (and, in fact, even an online cookbook cook with alcohol) but these are four of my personal favorites:
Pernod, the liquorice/anise liqueur, has a bit of ‘Marmite’ to it: people either like it or they hate it. Personally, I don’t mind drinking it neat, but I’ve found that it adds a very unusual and delicious flavor to some dishes. Oysters Rockefeller is a famous Cajun entree most commonly associated with New Orleans. However, I prefer to do it with crab. Buy the best crab you can, as less strongly flavored meat will be overwhelmed by the other ingredients. The recipe can also be made substituting shrimp. The “Crab Rockefeller” recipe at Crab Shack is a good starting point.
Vodka is not just for tonic! Although its flavor is subtle when used in savory cooking, it can add a nice depth to certain dishes, my favorite being pasta sauces. Nigella Lawson suggests penne alla vodka, which is a lovely vegetarian main course (and I’ve found that the sauce in this recipe also complements the meatballs very well). Personally, I prefer to go easy on the tomatoes for a deliciously creamy dish.
Chicken cooked in wine, like coq au vin, is a sophisticated main dish, but I personally prefer the more rustic, homey combination of chicken and apple cider. In particular, I love Hugh Fernley-Wittingstall’s recipe for Chicken Cider Stew with Rosemary and Meatballs. The slow cooking process makes for wonderfully tender meat in a slightly sweet cider sauce, complemented by the slightly salty and spicy meatballs.
Cooking with Guinness is great, although I usually buy double the amount required, as much of it ends up disappearing from the kitchen and into people’s glasses if I turn my head for too long. There’s nothing better than a delicious Guinness and meatloaf, and the best recipe I’ve found is straight from the source, on the Guinness website. The website also suggests using the leftovers in a pancake with smoked cheddar cheese, which is quick and tasty.
Combining food and alcohol in one dish is sheer brilliance; There’s little room for error in putting two of the best things in life together… Plus, it’s a joy to see the look on your guests’ faces when you tell them they’re having vodka for dinner…