The Forgotten Bottle of Red

How it happened, I do not know, but I am a bit ticked at myself for it.  A week or so back, after finishing off a bottle of wine from the night before, I was in the mood for another glass. I opened a nice bottle of red, had one more glass, and plucked the cork back on the bottle.  DH is not a fan of red wine, but I often will have a glass or two over a couple nights, or a neighbor might wander on over and share glass, so opening a bottle for one glass isn't usually a problem. Last night I made a stop for some fruit, bread, some hard cider ale for DH, and some vodka to do a lemonade drink for me. It was a gorgeous Minnesota night, and we were going to settle on the deck for a pasta dinner (thank you DH), and a few cocktails, and just enjoy the night-no reservations required. DH gave me a hard time about all the bottles sitting around, and then I saw the old bottle of opened wine, untouched since that night, sitting in a corner nook on my counter. I know my post might sound like alcohol flows freely and daily, but the bottle was left and forgotten since it was that long since I imbibed in a drink. The bottle was more than 3/4 full, and it was one of our wine club bottles, a very nice selection, and at a $30 price tag if bought retail. The thought of pouring it down the drain made me a little queasy, but no doubt it would not be drinkable.

I turned to the trusted Google and typed in "what to do with leftover red wine." If it was white, I would know how to make a risotto or a good alfredo sauce, but I've never done anything with red.  Here I found the article 27 Ways to Use Leftover Wine by Anisha Jhaveri at greatist.com.. A few ideas were out of the question. Red wine Popsicles? No thank you. Others sounded amazing. Red wine chocolate truffles? Yes, please, but not the right ingredients on hand. I decided to try the Red Onion Marmalade.  I do not have any red onions, but I have a vegetable bin loaded with  yellow since both DH and I bought a bag without the other knowing. I doubled the batch as I figured once made, it should last at least a week, and we can use tomorrow when we head to the lake for the day, and next weekend as well.  Paired with the goat cheese and a nice slice of crusty bread, I can't imagine that it wouldn't be delicious. Directions below is the actual recipe is from the a nutiritonist eats-the title is the link to the page.

My final version.

 As I usually do, I made modifications along the way.  I didn't have quite enough soy, so added more wine. I had a little more brown sugar left in the bag than thee recipe called for, so I used it all. I also added a healthy dose of black pepper. I should have used at least one more onion as mine were on the small size, but it just meant my marmalade was more jelly like-so not really a problem. It was zippy with a nice taste. I didn't have any goat cheese which would greatly enhance the flavor, but did have some french bread. I think I would like some salty olives to eat along as well, so will pick up a jar of kalmata at the store. This marmalade would be incredible with mozarella in a grilled cheese. Even with doubling the recipe, I have wine left, but I think I will pop the rest in the freezer and make it again later in the summer when local onions will be in abundance. I could use the tip that called for pouring the wine in the bath tub for a refreshing  moisturizing spa treatment.  But then I would want to open another bottle and the cycle would start all over again. It is fun to try new food and recipes.  My process is captured in a few poor quality photos after the recipe.

 Red Onion Marmalade Crostini

For the Marmalade

• 1 large red onion
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup red wine

For the Crostini

• 1 baguette (6 servings)
• 8 oz log of goat cheese

Instructions

For the Marmalade

Slice onion in half length-wise and then thinly slice.

Add butter to medium-sized saute pan and heat over medium heat.

When pan is hot and butter has melted, add onions.

Cook onions, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes until they are mostly browned.

Sprinkle brown sugar over onions and stir until sugar dissolves (just a minute or two).

Add remaining ingredients to pan and stir together. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until liquid has evaporated, about 10-15 minutes.

Taste and season with salt & pepper if necessary.

For the Crostini

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Thinly slice baguette and spray with olive oil if desired.

Bake for about 15 minutes, flipping

Top crostini with goat cheese and marmalade.

 

A whole lot of onions.

Add a whole cup of wine.

Bubbling and evaporating wine.



Final yield-about 1 cup.