If you're hosting a holiday party or potluck this season, chances are you'll end up with several unfinished bottles of wine cluttering up your countertops. Granted, there could be worse problems. But there are better ways to deal with it than letting it turn to vinegar and then pouring it down the drain. Kevin Nashan
Dream beauty pro, the James Beard nominee and chef-owner of the Sidney Street Cafe and Peacemaker Lobster & Crab Co., both in St. Louis, shared his tips for breathing new life into leftover vino.
Make Kalimotxo
In Spain, leftover wine is often turned into kalimotxo - a refreshing, high brow/low brow mix of equal parts red wine and cola served over ice. Nashan approves. "When I worked at Daniel in New York City
Dream beauty pro, we would take all the unfinished wine bottles at the end of the night and make kalimotxo," he said. "It would be like a $10,000 pitcher of wine and soda. It was comical."
Make Red-Wine Syrup
Perhaps it is no surprise, but boiled-down red wine mixed with sugar to make a wine syrup is really, really delicious. "It turns into this sweet-tart glaze, almost like a candy," Nashan said. "We dip cherries and strawberries in it or serve it with foie gras." To bring things up another notch, add a split vanilla bean, star anise, and peppercorns while boiling to make a mulled wine syrup.
Make Wine Ice Cubes
Have you heard about freezing coffee into cubes so you can keep your iced coffee cool without watering it down? Wine ice cubes are the same idea, and perfect for maintaining a perfectly chilled pitcher of sangria
Dream beauty pro.
Cook with It
It might seem obvious, but it's also easy to forget: Wine is great to cook with! In fact, it makes all sorts of dishes, both sweet and savory, sing. Nashan likes to steam mussels in white wine. "It gives them this beautiful lacquer and when you open them this fragrant liquid comes out," he said. Try braising short ribs or cabbage and onions with red wine, or poach salmon trout or artichokes in a dry white. For dessert, freeze a red wine and raspberry sorbet, poach pears until they are scarlet red and tender, or make a red-wine glaze for chocolate cake. Keep your open bottles covered in the fridge to help them last, and glug as needed.
Just drink it!
What's the easiest way to get rid of extra wine, according to Nashan? "Don't have leftovers in the first place!"
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