If you’re like many people, your kitchen is bursting with bottles of wine, especially after the holiday season. Why not start a New Year’s resolution this year by trying something new – using that wine to make spectacular dishes you and your friends will love?

The places wine can go

Wine has always been a major cooking staple at the most popular restaurants in town and continues to show up in a variety of dishes, both traditional and eclectic. Tim Zenner, executive chef of Liluma in the Central West End, for instance, has cooked with wine for years. “It adds a depth of flavor to a dish that cannot be normally achieved through the use of stocks or water, especially in reductions or butter sauces,” he remarked. The experience has paid off – customers flock to the restaurant for its signature dish, tilapia, which is paired with a wine-based beurre blanc and Missouri wild mushrooms.

At Brandt’s Market & Café in The Loop, wine is used liberally throughout the menu. “What dish doesn’t use wine?” said owner Jay Brandt. “Our chefs enjoy wine and are very talented in using it discerningly. Our duck has a fruit sauce with a Merlot, and we make a wild mushroom-port soup. Wine is absolutely wonderful in soups.”

Wine isn’t just fabulous in appetizers and entrées; it can also pop up in the most unexpected of places. “You can make ices and sorbets with wine to serve as an intermezzo or dessert depending on the wine you use,” said Margaret Kelly, of Kelly Twins Productions. “You can reduce berry wines, Concord [grape] wines, port and even some lighter reds to add to a finished caramel sauce.”

Laura Adams, sister of Bethlehem Valley Vineyards owner Dan Burkhardt, used the winery’s grapes in a wine cake she created after tasting a similar cake at Village Wine & Cheese in Columbia, Mo.

Using Bethlehem Valley’s Chardonel, Adams reduced the wine to make a base for a glaze composed of butter, powdered sugar and almond extract. She baked a single-ayer, classic white cake and substituted one cup of wine for the water in the recipe. “I would have to say that the wine adds moistness and that the cake ‘holds’ beautifully. It really does add flavor in a really elusive, indescribable, subtle way,” remarked Adams.

Tips and tricks for cooking with wine

There’s much more to cooking with wine than just pouring it into a sauce. Wine can be used in many different ways to add new flavors and textures to your dishes once you understand how it interacts with other ingredients.

Once you’ve selected your recipes and are ready to begin your wine-cooking adventure, knowing some hints from the professionals can help pull the whole plan together.

The first step, of course, is choosing the right wine for your dish. “Wine can balance a dish but should not overwhelm it,” said Kelly. “Acidity, fruitiness and/or sweetness from wines add to the complexity of flavor on your palate. In the same sense that chefs try to build a dish using different textures and colors, wine helps to enhance the flavor profile.”

Selecting the ideal wine may seem overwhelming once you’re standing in front of hundreds of bottles on the store shelf, but following some simple guidelines can make the process much easier. One hint, suggested by Brandt, is to never use a wine you wouldn’t drink. For instance, many cooking wines should be avoided since the majority have salt added, which will only make your food taste extra salty once the wine is cooked down.

Knowing the flavors of the wines before making a selection is extremely helpful as well. “Chardonnay, for example, is a perfect base for beurre blanc, because it’s buttery,” said Brandt. “Zinfandel is perfect for fruit sauce, because it has a fruity, cherry taste.”

Kelly suggested choosing the same wine to cook with a dish as you would to drink with it: “You might serve a Pinot Noir reduced down to a glaze and finished with butter over fish or chicken served with mushrooms.”

You should also pay attention to the potency of the wines. “Wines have a tendency to change during the cooking process,” explained Zenner. “Therefore, use a wine that will keep its original zing, wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, Burgundy or port wine.”

After working with chefs from around the globe, Zenner spilled a little secret about the industry – expensive wines are not always the best choice for cooking. “Inexpensive wines usually are good to cook with,” he noted. “The five-star chefs use dirt-cheap spirits to cook with where possible.”

Understanding some important tips once you’re back in the kitchen can help you create your masterpiece. For example, something as basic as pans and utensils can significantly affect the outcome of your dish. Said Zenner, “Avoid using aluminum dishes in cooking with wine because aluminum interferes with the tannins in the wine.”

Brandt also noted that learning the appropriate cooking times for wine is essential; red wine often takes longer to cook than white. In addition, overcooking can lead to a poor-tasting dish. Said Zenner, “Over-reducing wines in sauces like beurre blancs and beurre rouges often produces a brown sauce that is less than pleasing.”

With these guidelines, a little practice and lots of wine, you’ll be on your way to creating a meal your friends and family will never forget.

Learning from the experts

Want to make learning to cook with wine even easier? Then take some tips from the experts when you attend the St. Louis Food & Wine Experience at the Chase Park Plaza Jan. 29 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. or Jan. 30 from noon to 5 p.m. The weekend event, which benefits The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ educational programs, features cooking demonstrations, celebrity chefs and tastings of the area’s finest wines and food. For more information, contact The Rep at 314.968.7340 or visit www.repstl.org and click on the link under “Events and Opportunities.”

Wine-Braised Chicken with Garlic
Courtesy of The Kelly Twins

Yield: 4 servings

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Salt and pepper
4 Tbsp. olive oil
16 cloves garlic
2 cups Stone Hill Chardonel
2 cups chicken stock
1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp. dried)
1/2 cup cream or a few pats of butter, optional
Roasted potatoes or mashed potatoes with white Cheddar cheese

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Rinse the chicken parts and pat thoroughly dry. Season with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet. Brown the chicken on all sides, starting with the skin side first. Remove the pieces to paper towels and keep them warm.
• Add the garlic to the medium-hot pan. Sauté, stirring as needed, until it’s golden on all sides. Pour off any remaining oil from the pan.
• Add the wine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the stock, thyme and rosemary. Bring to a boil again.
• Return the chicken to the pan, nestling it in without overlapping as much as possible. It should not be completely submerged (only about two-thirds of the way). Bake for 20 minutes* or until there is no blood at the joint when pierced with a small knife.
• When the chicken is done, move the pan from the oven back to the burner. Remove the chicken from the liquid and assemble it for service by mounding roasted or mashed potatoes (or greens, if preferred) on each plate and topping them with 2 pieces of chicken.
• The sauce may be served as is or reduced with 1/2 cup cream, adjusting the seasoning with salt if necessary. The sauce may also be finished with a few pats of butter instead of cream. Pour the sauce over the chicken, arrange the garlic cloves 4 per plate and serve.

* Reduce the cooking time if boneless chicken breasts are used. Be aware, however, that bone-in chicken is preferred because it flavors the sauce better during the longer cooking time.

Crown Valley Winery Norton Beef Stew
Courtesy of Ken Kunkel, general manager at Eagle Lake Golf Club and Restaurant in Farmington, Mo.

Yield: 5 servings

2 lbs. beef rolled rump roast*
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic
1 1/4 cups Crown Valley Winery Norton
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 small bay leaf
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 sprigs parsley
3 slices bacon, diced
18 small white onions
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
2 tsp. butter or margarine
18 small mushroom caps

• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Coat the beef cubes with flour. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven and brown the beef cubes in it. Add the garlic; cook 1 minute. Remove the garlic and fat.
• Add the wine and enough water to just cover the meat. Stir in the bay leaf, salt and parsley. Cover and bake 2 hours.
• Fry the bacon just until limp. Drain off the fat. Add the onions; cook until light brown. Stir the bacon and onions into the beef cube mixture. Cover and bake until the beef cubes are tender, about 40 minutes.
• Stir in the tomato paste, thyme and pepper. Cover and bake 10 minutes.
Melt the butter in a 6-inch skillet. Sauté the mushrooms until tender; arrange on top and serve.

* Bottom round or boneless chuck roast can be substituted for the rolled rump roast.