8 and a Bit ways to Cope with a “Leftover” Bottle of Port
In this post ...
Yesterday was lovely weather. No, honestly, it was.
My darling and I made our annual pilgrimage to the Allen Valley to wander among the bluebells and be amazed.
He then went for a long and manly cycle ride and I went to my friend’s house for a delicious lunch and a girly chat. As we were leaving she gave us a leftover bottle of Port because she said neither she nor he husband drink it. What a shame, how sad, yippee!
We do drink it but I feel this is an ideal opportunity to write about other uses for “leftover” port. Before I come up with all sorts of creative ideas, however, if you haven’t already I urge you try port with blue cheese, it’s an excellent combination.
Here’s how to make the sautéed grapes in this picture.
Blue Cheese Pâté
This is a good way to use leftover blue cheese and cheese scraps in general and leftover port. If the cheese is soft mash it with a spoonful of port, if firm grate first and then mash it together with a spoonful of port! A little or a lot of freshly ground pepper is good in this.
~ Add a splash of port to pan sauce after cooking duck or pigeon or even lamb. Here’s how to quickly and easily make a delicious pan sauce.
~ Stir into Cranberry Sauce.
~ Add to caramelised red onions or whole glazed onions for the final few minutes of cooking.
~ Make a marinade for Lamb or Game – equal parts of red wine, port and olive oil flavoured as you will with garlic, black pepper and fresh herbs.
~ Strawberries are happy with a spoonful of port stirred in (plus maybe a sprinkling of black pepper!)
~ Add port to poaching fruit – pears, figs and dried prunes spring to mind.
Port Syrup
~ Put equal quantities of port and sugar into a small deep pan and stir over medium low heat till the sugar has dissolved. “They do say” to brush any sugar grains from the sides of the pan with damp brush but I never bother.
~ When the liquid is clear turn up the heat till it boils and then turn it down again and simmer till thick which takes about 5 minutes. During this stage of the proceedings, don’t stir it but do pay attention.
~ The syrup is ready when it forms a thread if you drip a little off the spoon. If you have a sugar thermometer you are aiming for 223˚- 235˚F which is 106˚ – 112˚ C. I usually stop cooking at the lower temperature so that the syrup is still a bit runny when chilled.
Suzy Bowler
Having been a somewhat itinerant chef for over 30 years I was amazed, on my return to the UK, at the blatant food waste that now seems to be rife in the country; amazed and irritated. So much so that I decided to start a blog about spontaneous cooking from leftovers to show people that there are great alternatives to throwing food away.
3 Comments
Suzy
My real man loves it too but being a wimpy Geordie lad of only 6'2" he doesn't drink much and save it for special occasions like Paula. I don't – I just have a bit now and then but pretty well always if I eat blue cheese!
Paula
I only drink Port at Christmas but I always have a bottle in the cupboard as I use it to marinate meat.
Sue
'Unwanted Port', my first reaction on reading that was "there is NEVER an unwanted bottle of Port in this house".
My man loves the stuff, it would take a wrestle of unspeakable magnitude to wrench the bottle from his hands to use any in one of your recipes. I may have to resort to buying a 'secret' bottle of Port for experimental purposes 🙂
He sulks, because as he's Scottish everyone buys him Whiskey for special occasions and he HATES the stuff, maybe he should get his forehead tattooed with 'I LOVE PORT'. He sold the last bottle of (very expensive) whiskey he was bought at one of our car boot sales and used the proceeds to buy a cheaper bottle of port, the guy buying the whiskey couldn't believe his good fortune!!