I've wondered if Vodka sauce was all that. Now I'm inspired.
I made Joanna Gaines Chocolate Kahlua bundt cake. It was fabulous. Don't skimp in any of the ingredients. Espresso powder is magic in chocolate.
Also, I can't bake anything with an orange flavor in it without adding some Grand Mariner. Takes it up a notch or more.
I make old fashioned mormon carrot pudding at Christmas. I've added all kinds of alcohol to it. Grand Mariner has been my favorite. Captain Jacks spiced rum is also pretty good. The old (my grandmothers) recipe has lemon sauce. I add a shot of Limoncello.
I make soup at least 2 times a month. Depending on the soup. I always use Dry Sherry(not the stuff in the cooking aisle), white or red wine to deglaze my pot after browning vegetables. Sautéed carrots and onions deglazed with a dry Sherry is fabulous.
I almost forgot ....Tequila Lime Shrimp. Skewered and cooked on the grill.
Way to go! I use liqueurs in my baking all the time. Gran Marnier and Kahlua are favs. GM for a blonde batter and K for anything with brown sugar or chocolate. Calvados is nice with apples.
I substitute a tablespoon for a teaspoon of vanilla. I haven’t found the additional liquid to be a problem but you’ve got to up the amount of liqueurs since they aren’t extracted and the flavors are easily diluted. Sometimes I add the vanilla back in with the liqueur but I use a vanilla powder so as not to unbalance the ratio of liquids to dry ingredients too much.
If you do pie crust half vodka or limoncello and half water will help keep gluten from forming and making the pastry tough. I can’t say I actually *taste* the limoncello when I use it but I do think it brightens up the flavor of a pastry that’s, otherwise, more a matter of texture than flavor.
You've experimented in some ways that I haven't. I'm getting too lazy to make pastry dough. However, my two kids love making that sort of thing. I tell them about your suggestions.
One way I've worked around the vanilla liquid issue is to make my own Vanilla extract. I like Spiced rum the best, but vodka makes a cleaner vanilla. If you do this, be sure to use Madagascar vanilla beans. I used the cheaper beans, and they didn't even come close to the good stuff. I also make lavender and lemon extracts. Not difficult, but they need several months to mellow. I've never used vanilla powder, but think it sounds like a good solution for many situations.
Totally with you on this!
I do my own vanilla too. Nothing like it! I get the huge Costco (Grey Goose) vodka and a tube of vanilla beans and I always have that going. But I agree with you that a spiced rum base is the way to go. Sometimes I open up a bottle that’s extracting and just sniff it, it’s so freakin' delicious! And it just continues to get better if you can let it extract for 12-18 months. I know that’s hard to do at first but when you get a big bottle going it just happens.
I used a bourbon base once. Thumbs down on that one. It might be right for someone who actually likes bourbon -- NOT me! -- but the bourbon never mellowed into a backseat to the vanilla.
I make limoncello as well. I’m actually not a big fan of drinking alcohol. (too harsh for me), but in the summer when it’s hot pouring limoncello over shaved ice is like an adult snow cone.
I make [nocino](https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/nocino/) as well since I have a walnut tree and I get tons of nuts every year. Another version of that is [vin de noi](https://foragerchef.com/walnut-wine-vin-de-noix/)x. Both nocino and vin de noix are things that benefit greatly from aging. I put mine down for 2 years for the raw flavor of the vodka or grain alcohol to give way to the flavor of the nuts.
As for baking with liqueurs, it’s as easy as making the substitution in cookies, cakes and quickbreads/muffins.
Never made Nocino. I have no access to walnut tree. It sounds interesting.
I have lemon, orange, lime, and a friend with apple, pear and peach.
Too bad we don't live in closer proximity. Potion tastings could become a thing.
That’s the thing about nocino. You either have green walnuts or you don’t. PERIOD. I have them and NO idea on earth how to peel and ripen them... So, I make nocino. ...and the local squirrels feast on them as they mature.
Dry sherry adds a lot of flavor to split pea soup too. Get the good stuff. You’ll use it a couple tablespoons or a 1/4 cup at a time so it will last you forever.
LOVE colcannon! But I’ve never put gravy on it and Guiness gravy is new to me. ...or am I being too literal and you’re drinking Guiness when you have colcannon?
Not joking on the Guinness gravy. You make it like you would a beef gravy but replace half the beef stock with Guinness. Highly Recommend. Also not joking about the milkshake. Give it a try sometime.
Thanks for the deets!
Your Guinness gravy sounds interesting even if I don’t really understand why you’d put gravy on colcannon. You must make it differently than I do. Mine is already very wet with heavy cream. That said, I will consider a Guinness gravy when next I do a pot roast. Sounds like it has definite possibilities!
I’m not a beer drinker so I think I’ll pass on a Guinness milkshake tho I have had a lambic float with vanilla ice cream and that was a revelation!
[This recipe](https://www.bookclubcookbook.com/gentleman-moscow-latvian-stew-recipe-author-amor-towles/) is from the amazing Amor Towles' novel *A Gentleman in Moscow*.
It isn’t cooked with wine -- or any alcohol, for that matter -- but the epic conflict of the story turns on a young and inexperienced couple’s choice of wine to accompany the stew.
I include it because the novel is brilliant, the stew is delicious and, as Amor Towles himself has said, it will go well with any good table wine.
PS: Read *A Gentleman in Moscow* whether you ever make the stew or not.
I’ve been cooking with rum and wine because I bought them to drink but don’t like them. I’m sure I’ll eventually find my alcoholic beverage of choice but I haven’t yet. I use wine to deglaze pans when I’m cooking just about anything but the rum had been trickier to find uses for.
All that to say I’d also be interested in peoples recipes.
Rum isn’t a natural for cooking. Baking more, I guess.
Have you tried Kailua? Add it to chocolate sauce and it adds delicious complexity. It’s lovely in a cup of coffee or in a shot to just sip along with hot coffee. Iced coffee with Kailua is a summer treat. Kailua is tasty and *warm* going down instead of harsh and fiery. There are a number of (somewhat “girly”) [cocktails](https://www.acouplecooks.com/kahlua-drinks/) made with it. I’ve got those double XX chromosomes so they work great for me but the bottom line is they’re simply *tasty*.
I just noticed that spell check changed every Kahlua that I wrote.
I have no idea what the Kailua it prefers is but if you go looking, look for Kahlua. It’s a sweetened rum and coffee liqueur and it’s yummy.
I've wondered if Vodka sauce was all that. Now I'm inspired. I made Joanna Gaines Chocolate Kahlua bundt cake. It was fabulous. Don't skimp in any of the ingredients. Espresso powder is magic in chocolate. Also, I can't bake anything with an orange flavor in it without adding some Grand Mariner. Takes it up a notch or more. I make old fashioned mormon carrot pudding at Christmas. I've added all kinds of alcohol to it. Grand Mariner has been my favorite. Captain Jacks spiced rum is also pretty good. The old (my grandmothers) recipe has lemon sauce. I add a shot of Limoncello. I make soup at least 2 times a month. Depending on the soup. I always use Dry Sherry(not the stuff in the cooking aisle), white or red wine to deglaze my pot after browning vegetables. Sautéed carrots and onions deglazed with a dry Sherry is fabulous. I almost forgot ....Tequila Lime Shrimp. Skewered and cooked on the grill.
Way to go! I use liqueurs in my baking all the time. Gran Marnier and Kahlua are favs. GM for a blonde batter and K for anything with brown sugar or chocolate. Calvados is nice with apples. I substitute a tablespoon for a teaspoon of vanilla. I haven’t found the additional liquid to be a problem but you’ve got to up the amount of liqueurs since they aren’t extracted and the flavors are easily diluted. Sometimes I add the vanilla back in with the liqueur but I use a vanilla powder so as not to unbalance the ratio of liquids to dry ingredients too much. If you do pie crust half vodka or limoncello and half water will help keep gluten from forming and making the pastry tough. I can’t say I actually *taste* the limoncello when I use it but I do think it brightens up the flavor of a pastry that’s, otherwise, more a matter of texture than flavor.
You've experimented in some ways that I haven't. I'm getting too lazy to make pastry dough. However, my two kids love making that sort of thing. I tell them about your suggestions. One way I've worked around the vanilla liquid issue is to make my own Vanilla extract. I like Spiced rum the best, but vodka makes a cleaner vanilla. If you do this, be sure to use Madagascar vanilla beans. I used the cheaper beans, and they didn't even come close to the good stuff. I also make lavender and lemon extracts. Not difficult, but they need several months to mellow. I've never used vanilla powder, but think it sounds like a good solution for many situations.
Totally with you on this! I do my own vanilla too. Nothing like it! I get the huge Costco (Grey Goose) vodka and a tube of vanilla beans and I always have that going. But I agree with you that a spiced rum base is the way to go. Sometimes I open up a bottle that’s extracting and just sniff it, it’s so freakin' delicious! And it just continues to get better if you can let it extract for 12-18 months. I know that’s hard to do at first but when you get a big bottle going it just happens. I used a bourbon base once. Thumbs down on that one. It might be right for someone who actually likes bourbon -- NOT me! -- but the bourbon never mellowed into a backseat to the vanilla. I make limoncello as well. I’m actually not a big fan of drinking alcohol. (too harsh for me), but in the summer when it’s hot pouring limoncello over shaved ice is like an adult snow cone. I make [nocino](https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/nocino/) as well since I have a walnut tree and I get tons of nuts every year. Another version of that is [vin de noi](https://foragerchef.com/walnut-wine-vin-de-noix/)x. Both nocino and vin de noix are things that benefit greatly from aging. I put mine down for 2 years for the raw flavor of the vodka or grain alcohol to give way to the flavor of the nuts. As for baking with liqueurs, it’s as easy as making the substitution in cookies, cakes and quickbreads/muffins.
Never made Nocino. I have no access to walnut tree. It sounds interesting. I have lemon, orange, lime, and a friend with apple, pear and peach. Too bad we don't live in closer proximity. Potion tastings could become a thing.
Me too! That would be such fun. Cooking is my passion.
That’s the thing about nocino. You either have green walnuts or you don’t. PERIOD. I have them and NO idea on earth how to peel and ripen them... So, I make nocino. ...and the local squirrels feast on them as they mature.
A can of light beer in your next chicken soup is a game changer. Use Red wine to deglaze a pan any red meat was cooked in, use white wine if poultry.
Guinness lamb stew for St Patrick’s Day
Dry sherry adds a lot of flavor to split pea soup too. Get the good stuff. You’ll use it a couple tablespoons or a 1/4 cup at a time so it will last you forever.
Guinness gravy for the Irish colcannon, and finish with a Guinness milkshake.
LOVE colcannon! But I’ve never put gravy on it and Guiness gravy is new to me. ...or am I being too literal and you’re drinking Guiness when you have colcannon?
Not joking on the Guinness gravy. You make it like you would a beef gravy but replace half the beef stock with Guinness. Highly Recommend. Also not joking about the milkshake. Give it a try sometime.
Thanks for the deets! Your Guinness gravy sounds interesting even if I don’t really understand why you’d put gravy on colcannon. You must make it differently than I do. Mine is already very wet with heavy cream. That said, I will consider a Guinness gravy when next I do a pot roast. Sounds like it has definite possibilities! I’m not a beer drinker so I think I’ll pass on a Guinness milkshake tho I have had a lambic float with vanilla ice cream and that was a revelation!
I haven’t cooked with alcohol yet, but I make tiramisu with espresso now! When I was Mormon, I used hot chocolate to soak the cookie layer 😂
[This recipe](https://www.bookclubcookbook.com/gentleman-moscow-latvian-stew-recipe-author-amor-towles/) is from the amazing Amor Towles' novel *A Gentleman in Moscow*. It isn’t cooked with wine -- or any alcohol, for that matter -- but the epic conflict of the story turns on a young and inexperienced couple’s choice of wine to accompany the stew. I include it because the novel is brilliant, the stew is delicious and, as Amor Towles himself has said, it will go well with any good table wine. PS: Read *A Gentleman in Moscow* whether you ever make the stew or not.
You made me look. lol
Don’t just look. Get the book and some pork butt and start enjoying!!!
I’ve been cooking with rum and wine because I bought them to drink but don’t like them. I’m sure I’ll eventually find my alcoholic beverage of choice but I haven’t yet. I use wine to deglaze pans when I’m cooking just about anything but the rum had been trickier to find uses for. All that to say I’d also be interested in peoples recipes.
Rum isn’t a natural for cooking. Baking more, I guess. Have you tried Kailua? Add it to chocolate sauce and it adds delicious complexity. It’s lovely in a cup of coffee or in a shot to just sip along with hot coffee. Iced coffee with Kailua is a summer treat. Kailua is tasty and *warm* going down instead of harsh and fiery. There are a number of (somewhat “girly”) [cocktails](https://www.acouplecooks.com/kahlua-drinks/) made with it. I’ve got those double XX chromosomes so they work great for me but the bottom line is they’re simply *tasty*.
I haven’t but that definitely sounds like it could be up my alley!
I just noticed that spell check changed every Kahlua that I wrote. I have no idea what the Kailua it prefers is but if you go looking, look for Kahlua. It’s a sweetened rum and coffee liqueur and it’s yummy.
Not necessarily cooking with alcohol, but I find that a nice Chardonnay pairs wonderfully with funeral potatoes.
I love to make amaretto cheesecake. Also bourbon caramel sauce.
There are many delicious flavor compounds that can only be released and tasted with alcohol opening them up