Add wine and dine (+recipes)

In his 1949 book, With a Jug of Wine, Morrison Wood wrote: "It is, of course, entirely possible to cook without using wine. It is also possible to wear suits and dresses made out of gunny sacks, but who wants to?"
The glut of wine means we can savour cut-price top drops more often with dinner and also enhance our cooking. Adding a dash of wine can transform a good dish into a superior culinary experience. Cooks throughout history have discovered that wine adds a little magic when it is added to a recipe. Wine improves marinades, dressings, sauces, casseroles, desserts and bakes.
The complex combination of flavours of wine provide body and depth to dishes as well as tenderising and adding moisture. Its acidity softens the tissues of tougher cuts of meat, its sweetness marries well with herbs and spices.
Traditional matches of wine and food can often be disregarded in cooking.
Red wine is not normally an accompaniment for fish or egg dishes. But several traditional French dishes use eggs and fish and red wine to perfection. Poaching salmon in pinot noir, for instance, helps counteract the richness of the fish.
I once attended a cooking school in Paris called Le Pot au Feu. For the first dish a bottle of burgundy was simmered with a bay leaf and some mixed herbs. It was reduced to half its volume. Eggs were poached in this reduction and lifted to one side. Then 200g of butter was whisked into the reduction until it thickened. The eggs were served with toast and the rich sauce on top.
Divine.
RECIPES
TASTY THAI-STYLE MUSSELS
36 medium greenshell mussels
Sauce
2 tbsp  each of olive oil, grated root ginger
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 kaffir lime leaves
3/4 cup each of riesling, light coconut cream
2 cups fish stock
2 tsp  each of curry powder, Thai chilli paste, fish sauce, lemon juice
1/2 cup each: coriander leaves, finely sliced spring onions
Scrub mussels and remove beards. Heat oil in a large saucepan or stock pot on medium-low. Saute the ginger, onion, garlic, lime leaves and lemon rind until softened. Add wine and coconut cream and simmer until the liquid has almost evaporated.
Add stock, curry powder, chilli paste and fish sauce and lemon juice and simmer for 5 minutes.
Put mussels in a steamer basket. Cover and steam over the liquid until the mussels open, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove them to a bowl as they open. Discard any that don't open. - Serves 4 as a light meal.
RISOTTO WITH SAGE
3 tbsp  olive oil
1 onion and 1 carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup sauvignon blanc
1 1/2 cups arborio risotto rice
5 1/2  cups chicken stock
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp  chopped fresh sage
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and saute for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until soft and fragrant.
Stir in the rice and heat until the grains are shiny, about 1 minute. Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates.
Add  a cup of chicken stock and bring to the boil, stirring constantly.
Cook the rice briskly, stirring constantly, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Repeat using  a cup of stock each time, cooking until the rice is soft. Add the parmesan, pepper and sage. Serve in wide bowls. Top with extra sage leaves if preferred.
- Serves 4.
VINTNER'S APPLES

2 cups riesling
1/2 cup sugar
pinch saffron
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
4-6 apples
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup plain flour
2 tsp  baking powder
75g chilled butter, chopped
1 cup pitted dates, chopped
1/2 cup each of chopped walnuts, milk
Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease a 23cm baking dish. Combine sauce ingredients  in a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer 3 minutes.
Put sugar, flour and baking powder in processor and blend for a few seconds.  Add butter and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Tip into a bowl. Add the dates and nuts. Pour in the milk and mix well. Spoon into the prepared dish.
Pour the hot wine mixture over the top. Bake 40-45 minutes, until golden.
- Serves 8.
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