Today is about tips rather than a recipe. No, not tips as in 20% of your bill, either (unless you plan to apply a price tag to your home-cooked dinner and put the appropriate tip into a piggy bank).
My husband is famous for saying that his meal would be worth $15 at a restaurant (that's how I know something was a hit, when he compares the home-cooking to a restaurant).
You may not have noticed it yet, but I cook with alcohol quite frequently even though I rarely drink alcohol. I usually use beer - even though I've never really enjoyed drinking beer myself. (Please, no hate comments - at least I cook with it!)
Funny story . . . I remember stopping at the liquor store back in Louisville several years ago (just after I moved to Ohio). I bet the clerk thought we were high rollers or else having one giant party. We had 3 fifths of bourbon, 2 large bottles of vodka, a couple of flavors of rum and some Kahlua. I'm not sure, but that may not have been all. The poor guy just looked at us and gave us the two hundred dollar total. Hubby blinked, but I paid it and we boxed it up. I just opened the last bottle of bourbon this year.
Anyway, back to the beer. I'm sure you've all heard about hot dogs or brats steeped in beer or steamed buns over the beer bath. Beer works well for a great many things. When I make chicken or beef broth, I use a 12 oz bottle of beer for a portion of the liquid used in my pressure cooker. I've also used beer or wine in soups, to cook beef roasts and so forth.
I have a rule of thumb, though. In any situation where you would use a white wine (fish, chicken), I use a pale ale or light-colored beer (popular from microbreweries). Likewise, in a situation where a red or dark wine would be used, I use a dark amber beer or an Oktoberfest type beer.
Beer, wine or hard spirits can be greatly used in marinades to assist in tenderizing the meat. I have a Maple Bourbon Turkey brine that I use prior to deep frying my turkey. In that recipe, Makers Mark™ Kentucky Bourbon is in the starring role. I splash a little into my green beans or lima beans when cooking. With bourbon, a tiny amount adds an abundance of flavor.
Going forward, I'll try to share some recipes which feature alcohol in some form from time to time. Just don't think badly of me.
Hugz, MizWasy
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