Kitchen Revolution
As I may have mentioned, we stayed with the inimitable Matt and Erika for a couple of days during our Grand tour of Texas last month. While we were there, something happened that revolutionized my kitchen.
I admit, when I was offered a glass of wine, I felt a certain amount of trepidation when I glanced over and saw the box wine on the shelf. "Oh no," Matt said, "we keep that around for cooking. You wouldn't want to drink it or anything, but it's fine for cooking, and it keeps well enough to cook with for at least a month or so." I was intrigued.
When we got back, we went to Target and got their "wine cubes" in a cabernet blend and a chardonnay blend. Oh my gosh. It's great, because any time a soup needs a little hit of flavor, it's no big thing to splash a bit of wine in there. Need a pan deglazed? You're set. No big drama over whether we have a bottle open, or do you really want to squander that nice wine on sauce. No wondering if we've got a bottle of white at home when we want chicken picatta. It's just another staple, like flour or rice.
You wouldn't think that box wine would be a kitchen revolution, but it's really changed the contents of my mental "List of things that are easy to make in a pinch."
Two thumbs up.
I admit, when I was offered a glass of wine, I felt a certain amount of trepidation when I glanced over and saw the box wine on the shelf. "Oh no," Matt said, "we keep that around for cooking. You wouldn't want to drink it or anything, but it's fine for cooking, and it keeps well enough to cook with for at least a month or so." I was intrigued.
When we got back, we went to Target and got their "wine cubes" in a cabernet blend and a chardonnay blend. Oh my gosh. It's great, because any time a soup needs a little hit of flavor, it's no big thing to splash a bit of wine in there. Need a pan deglazed? You're set. No big drama over whether we have a bottle open, or do you really want to squander that nice wine on sauce. No wondering if we've got a bottle of white at home when we want chicken picatta. It's just another staple, like flour or rice.
You wouldn't think that box wine would be a kitchen revolution, but it's really changed the contents of my mental "List of things that are easy to make in a pinch."
Two thumbs up.