Some people have no problem using leftover wine in the next day or so—typically by drinking it! But if you’re just a social drinker and not likely to drink the leftovers by yourself, here are some suggestions:

1. MAKE A SPRITZER. If there’s not enough left for a full glass of wine, add club soda for a spritzer. If you like sweet drinks, make a “winetail”—a wine cocktail—by adding ginger ale or lemon-lime soda.

2. DEGLAZE A PAN. It’s easy to make a delicious wine-accented sauce with pan juices. Here’s how to deglaze.

3. FLAVOR SAUCES, SOUPS & STEWS. Wine adds rich flavor to recipes. Match the wine to the dish: white wine (including sparkling wine) with clear or creamy soups and sauces, red wine with tomato or beef-based soups, stews and sauces. You can use either with chicken and most vegetables. Reduce the wine or by boiling for 10 minutes to burn off the alcohol.

4. MAKE SALAD DRESSING. Yes, add wine to vinaigrette, along with wine vinegar. Using a 3:1 proportion of olive oil to vinegar, split the tablespoon of vinegar into 2 teaspoons vinegar and 1 teaspoon wine (match the type of wine vinegar to the type of wine). Season with salt and pepper to taste and some optional minced shallot.

5. ASSORTED RECIPES. Just look at what you’re cooking to see how wine could fit in. We love to sauté mushrooms and onions with a splash of wine; we toss it into poaching liquid for seafood or chicken, pears and other fruits. You can also add it to a marinade.

6. FREEZE IT. If you can’t think of what to do with the wine today, just pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze. When the cubes are frozen, store them in a plastic freezer bag. You can then use them for all the purposes above and more—like adding to sangria or chilling down a too-warm glass of wine from the next bottle you open.
 
Have additional tips? Let us know!
  

So we jumped on this Asian-inspired wings recipe from Chef Lorena Garcia. Plan ahead: They need to marinate overnight (and can be prepped up to three days in advance).

RECIPE: GINGER ORANGE CHICKEN WINGS

Ingredients For Approximately 30 Wings

1. PLACE orange juice concentrate, lemon juice, hoisin sauce, sugar, canola oil, ginger and garlic in a large resalable plastic bag. Seal and shake to mix.

2. ADD chicken wings; seal and shake to coat evenly.

3. REFRIGERATE overnight, or up to 3 days.

4. PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Line a large sheet pan with aluminum foil. Spread wings on foil.

5. BAKE for 45 minutes, until brown and shiny. Transfer to serving platter, sprinkle with scallions and serve.
  

It turned out to be ice cream;
an ice cream volcano, to be exact. It’s a mound of vanilla ice cream covered with Heath Bar Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits.

The volcano is brought to the table and flambéed, then sliced and served to guests. It inspired today’s tip: Flambé a dessert. Baked Alaska, Bananas Foster, Cherries Jubilee and Crêpes Suzette are classics.

Flambé means to douse food with liquor and set it alight briefly. It is done with both desserts and savory dishes (Steak Diane, for example).

Although the art has gone out of style with the decline of classic French restaurants, you can try your hand at home. It will light up a special occasion (pun intended).

The practice of igniting food for show can be traced to the Moors in the 14th century. But modern flambéing became popular only in the late 19th century.

We’re not sure who is responsible. Henri Charpentier, a waiter in Monte Carlo, claimed that he created the concept in 1895, when he accidentally set fire to a pan of crêpes he was preparing with orange liqueur. He discovered that burning the sauce affected its flavor in a wonderful way.

Oh, and he claims the guests were Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) and his companion, one Suzette. Charpentier said that he named the dish Crêpes Suzette after the her.

The story is disputed by Larousse Gastronomique, which claims that Charpentier, who was 14 years old at the time, was not old enough to be serving royalty. [Source: Wikipedia]
 
 
RECIPE: MAKE YOUR OWN ICE CREAM VOLCANO

Most of us don’t have the occasion to make croque-em-bouche (CROAK om boosh), a festive tower of cream puffs held together with crackling caramel threads. You’d have to be good friends with a pâtisserie owner to borrow one (here’s what it looks like).

But you might possibly have a large chinois (SHEEN-wah), a cone-shaped mesh strainer. Otherwise, you’ll have to shape it “freehand,” which can be easier if you buy vanilla ice cream in a cylinder shape carton (like Edy’s and Dreyer’s) instead of a rectangular carton.

Then, all you need are these:

Ingredients

 
If you don’t want to flambé the volcano, serve it as is—perhaps with a birthday or other slender candle on top.
 
Preparation

1. MOUND the ice cream into a volcano (cone) shape. Coat with Heath Bar Bits.

2. FREEZE four hours or more to firm.

3. REMOVE right before serving and flambé (see instructions below).

If you haven’t flambéed before, you should practice igniting alcohol before the big event. Remember to be cautious; you are, after all, “playing with fire.”

To flambé, you need a liquor or liqueur of 80 proof or higher; the higher the proof, the more easily it ignites. You can easily find them at 100 proof or more.* But 80 proof will do; and for those concerned about ingesting the alcohol: most of it burns off in the flames. It does leave some flavor, so choose a liquor/liqueur that is complimentary to the food (chocolate or fruit liqueurs or brandies for desserts and whiskey or brandy for meats).

If you want, you can embed a small metal cup in the top of the volcano (think the something smaller than a tea candle—we used a repurposed bottle top from an empty bottle of Scotch). It will make the flames “spout from the volcano.” You need to embed it as you are mounding the ice cream.

It also helps to dim the light in the room. Then, just before serving:

1. PLACE 1/4 cup liquor and a small metal ladle in a small saucepan. Heat the liquor and the ladle just until the liquor begins to bubble, around 130°F. You will to see vapors rise from the liquid. It must be warm to ignite; but do not allow the liquor to boil off, or it will not stay lit (the boiling point of alcohol is 175°F).

Option: The liquor also can be heated in a microwave oven in a microwave-proof dish for 30 to 45 seconds at 100 percent power. You can warm the ladle in boiling water.

2. WITH A CUP: Ladle part of the liquor into the metal cup and ignite it with a long “fireplace” match or barbecue lighter. As the liquor burns, fill the warmed ladle half full with more of the warmed liquor and drizzle it slowly into the eggshell, raising the ladle as high as you safely can. The flame will go out by itself when the alcohol burns off.

Be sure to ignite the dessert away from guests and flammable objects. A serving cart or other rolling cart is a great idea here.

WITHOUT A CUP: Pour the liquor around the base of the volcano and ignite immediately so the raw alcohol doesn’t seep in to the food. Or, douse sugar cubes in the alcohol briefly—you want the alcohol to absorb but not to cause the cubes to fall apart. Place the cubes around the perimeter of the dish and light.

3. SERVE as soon as the flames disappear.
 
__________________

*Examples of higher proof alcohol: Absolut 100 Vodka (100 proof), Booker’s Bourbon (121 proof), Laphroaig Cask Strength Scotch Whisky (114 proof), The Macallan Cask Strength Scotch Whisky (116 proof), Plymouth Navy Strength† Gin (114 proof), Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaica Rum (114 proof), Stolichnaya 100 proof. Note that liquors above 120 proof are highly flammable and considered dangerous when lit.

†FUN FACT ABOUT BRITISH NAVY-STRENGTH GIN: The liquor on warships had to be at least 114-proof. Why? It is the proof level at which the ship’s gunpowder could still be fired should when soaked with booze. The gunpowder was used by the pursers to test that the level of alcohol in the gin was what they had paid for.

But 148 years later, Breyers is now owned by international food giant Unilever, and has launched gelato in four varieties:

 
Each offers a “rich trio of textures” that includes gelato, sauce, and a topping.

Tiramisu is an ultra-creamy Italian dessert that combines the flavors of coffee and cocoa with some texture from ladyfingers. The ladyfingers are dipped in coffee liqueur and layered with mascarpone cheese that’s been whipped with eggs and sugar and flavored with cocoa. Cocoa powder is sprinkled on top as a garnish. The history of tiramisu is below.

This sundae recipe pays homage to the original recipe, substituting ice cream for the mascarpone.

> Classic tiramisu recipe.

> The history of tiramisu.

> National Tiramisu Day is March 21st.
 
 
RECIPE #1: TIRAMISU SUNDAE

Ingredients

Ingredients

1. COMBINE milk and vanilla in a heavy saucepan. Bring just to boiling over medium heat.

2. WHISK egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until blended. Add milk mixture gradually, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat for 7 minutes or until the custard barely coats the back of a spoon, stirring constantly. Do not boil. Remove from heat. Stir in espresso granules.

3. ADD mascarpone gradually and mix well. Chill, covered, for 2 hours.

4. POUR cooled mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Stir in liqueur and chocolate after 20 minutes. Before placing it in the freezer, stir in the diced ladyfingers, and sprinkle the liqueur if desired (we desire it!). Freeze for 4 hours or longer before serving.

5. DUST with cocoa powder and/or chocolate curls and garnish each serving with a ladyfinger.
 
 
TIRAMISU HISTORY

Tiramisu means “pick me up,” a reference to the caffeine from the espresso liqueur and the energy from the eggs and sugar. While there are many variations of the recipe, tiramisu is typically composed of layers of sponge cake or ladyfingers, soaked in espresso liqueur, coffee syrup, or marsala, and layered with a mascarpone cheese and custard mixture. It is dusted with cocoa or shaved chocolate.

For what is a classic Italian dessert, tiramisu is a relatively recent creation. The origins of the dessert are highly contested, but a strong claim has been made that the recipe was invented in the 1960s at the restaurant, Alle Beccherie in Treviso, Italy by pastry chef Loly Linguanotto. The restaurant’s matriarch, Alba Campeol, got the idea for the dessert after the birth of one of her children.

Weak in bed, she was brought a zabaglione spiked with coffee, to give her energy. When she returned to work, she and her pastry chef worked on the “pick me up” layered dessert.

The original Becchiere recipe did not contain alcohol because it was served to children as well as adults. Today, a good tiramisu is redolent of liqueur or marsala. You can read the full story, plus competing claims to the invention by another Treviso restaurateur, Carminantonio Iannaccone, in this Washington Post article.
 
 
MORE VARIATIONS ON TIRAMISU

This is not news.

The news is: the fish doesn’t have to be dull. You can prepare it exciting without a cholesterol- and calorie-laden butter sauce.

Here’s how to keep it health and delicious.

1. Sear the skin. Crispy skin is a treat, without being a no-no. Yes, there’s some fat—but far less than chicken skin.

2. Use a very light sauce. Serve the fish in a bowl of broth (just a half inch or so). You can use clear stock, tomato-based broth or even vegetable soup. Another option: tomato sauce, like a chunky pasta sauce. Better brands, without added sugar, are very low in calories. We often use diced San Marzano tomatoes, straight from the can with some fresh herbs.

3. Top the fish with healthy vegetables. Steam the vegetables or lightly sautée them in olive oil. Combine three different vegetables for more arresting color and flavor. Don’t forget the super-healthful cruciferous group, including, among others, bok choy, chard, kale and Napa cabbage. Or instead of a topping, use vegetables as a base with the fish on top (spinach is great as a bed), and hold the broth.

5. Garnish with something artistic. Consider edamame, microgreens, snipped fresh herbs, sprouts, thin slices of baby radishes. Celery leaves are great for this purpose. Most people toss them out, but they’re an attractive and tasty garnish.
 
HOW TO GET CRISP SKIN

Crispy skin on a fish filet is a treat. Here’s how to do it.

1. HEAT a heavy-bottomed skillet (cast iron is great, nonstick doesn’t work as well) until it gets very hot; then reduce heat to medium-high heat for several minutes before you start cooking.

2. PAT the skin fry with a paper towel before seasoning (season both sides). If the skin sticks to the skillet, either the skin is too damp or the pan isn’t hot enough.

3. BRUSH fish with oil (canola or grapeseed) and apply an even coating of oil to the pan. It will smoke; that’s when you add the fish, skin side down. When the fillet curves upward, use a spatula to press it once and it will flatten out, ensuring full skin contact.

4. COOK until you see a golden brown color on the edge of the skin. The fish will be about 70% cooked. Then, gently slide the spatula under the fillet and flip it; cook for a few more seconds. You want to flip it just once; flipping it back and forth impedes proper cooking.

5. PLATE and serve.