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Sunday, August 21, 2011

Tipsy Dinner



On Friday I mentioned that I tend to go with white wine when I cook chicken. But moving unearthed a ton of alcohol that I can't drink. Including a giant bottle of vermouth. Which is fantastic for martinis, but doesn't do much good sitting in the liquor cabinet. (On a side note, all our alcohol has officially been moved out of the nursery and into the cabinet - yay!)

Vermouth is a great alternative to white wine, although I'd be willing to bet most of you are more likely to have wine on hand than vermouth. So really, I'm reaching out to all you martini drinkers, alcoholics, and James Bond wanna-bes (shaken, not stirred). Here's another alternative to just drinking that stuff. Cook with it! For those of you who don't have giant bottles of vermouth in your childrens' bedroom, this recipe can just as easily be made with white wine.

The cinnamon and tomato paste are my nod to Greek dishes, and if that's your thing, you could also use Ouzo instead of wine or vermouth. Although I'm tempted to believe that most of you are even less likely to have Ouzo than you are to have vermouth. Even in Thathouse I think we parted with the Ouzo prior to moving because it just doesn't get used enough to justify moving it. Thatboy spent a night pouring out our bits and pieces of unconventional liquors, but not before making him a mixed drink encompassing all of them. I warned him to leave the Ouzo out (like leaving rootbeer out of a suicide), but as usual, he didn't heed my warning. He only had a sip before dumping his concoction down the sink.


Chicken in Vermouth
3 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 onion, chopped
1 lb chicken tenders
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1/2 tsp tomato paste
cinnamon
salt
  1. Melt both butter and oil in a skillet. Saute the onions until they are translucent.
  2. Brown the chicken tenders with the onions, then remove the chicken from the pan.
  3. Add the vermouth to the onions and bring to a boil.
  4. Lower heat to a simmer and stir in tomato paste, a dash of the cinnamon, and salt.
  5. Add the chicken back in, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

3 comments:

  1. I do believe I have some vermouth tucked in the back of the liquor cipboard.

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  2. I bought vermouth for some random recipe a few years ago and haven't done anything with it since! Need to get on that.

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  3. I do like cooking with vermouth, but ever since we've been buying good boxed wine, I've been using that instead when I need it to cook. Need to dig out the vermouth again!

    ReplyDelete