An unusually boring port in the storm.

November 24, 2008 9:45 PM

What to do with a bottle of port? (other than the obvious).

I have an inexpensive bottle of port that i have no interest in drinking...but i can imagine it being decent for cooking. What on earth should i make that would use up the better portion of a bottle of port?

posted by furnace.heart to food & drink (16 comments total)

Do a search for recipes with a port reduction.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 9:51 PM on November 24, 2008

finely mince 4 or 5 garlic cloves and 4-5 crimini mushrooms. open a can of chopped clams. saute them all together (include the clam juice, please) in a little olive oil for about 10 minutes, plus salt and pepper. when it starts to get sticky and thick, deglaze with port. let the alcohol cook off and then toss in linguine. mmm.
posted by sergeant sandwich at 9:56 PM on November 24, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Get a nice clean jar, fill the jar with prunes, with a couple of sticks of cinnamon and some cloves in amongst the prunes and then top up the jar with the port. They'll keep in the fridge for a very long time (a good couple of years) and they go really well with chocolate icecream.
posted by prettypretty at 10:19 PM on November 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Port-poached pears. No question.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 10:28 PM on November 24, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Port-wine jelly is good with cheese & toasty things.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 11:14 PM on November 24, 2008

Yes, pears poached in port are perfect. And think how rarely one has the opportunity to serve such an alliterative dessert.
posted by ShameSpiral at 11:27 PM on November 24, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Port wine reductions are good (I like it with baked cubes of winter squash with garlic and parsley). I made a port wine reduction over a year ago (it was a nice bottle of port, but I don't like port) and froze it and have used a few tablespoons at time. It's a nice effortless way to bump up the quality and specialness of dinner without an outlay of time or money.

You could also use it (the non-reduced port) in the same way you'd normally do a pan sauce for steak or duck (or most meats, I guess): after you remove the meat from the pan, throw in a finely diced shallot or onion, quick stir until it's translucent (it helps if you get the dice pretty small so you're not also burning the crust in the pan as you saute the onion), add a quarter cup of port or more, depending on how much you want to reduce and how much time you have), let it boil away over high heat until reduced by three quarters or so (or just thick-you'll have like a couple tablespoons at most), remove the pan from heat and add a tablespoon of butter, swish around until emulsified.

It would probably also be good if after the onion step, you sauteed some mushrooms before adding the port.

And maybe a pinch of thyme or rosemary at the end.

Also I heart parentheticals.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 3:09 AM on November 25, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

To do a reduction, by the way, took a really long time when I did it--I aimed for the point where it would coat a spoon with the stickiness of real maple syrup, but basically you just pour it in the pan and that's it. You could get fancy and add an orange or something but if you have a lot I think it would be better to leave it as a blank canvas and then you can spruce it up for the occasion as you like.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 3:16 AM on November 25, 2008

Game pates and terrines often use port (not a whole bottle though!)
posted by primer_dimer at 4:44 AM on November 25, 2008

I used port the last time I made Charoset & it was pretty good.
posted by belladonna at 6:00 AM on November 25, 2008

I make chicken porto: raisins, pine nuts (pignoli), chicken, port, and heavy cream.
Soak raisins in port
Flatten and brown chicken in olive oil, then remove from pan.
Deglaze pan with port. Add more port. Scrape up the BCBs for taste.
Add just enough cream to make a romantic colored sauce. Mauve.
Add chicken, raisins, and pine nuts. Cook down and until the chicken turns the color of the sauce. Serve.

Better the second day.
posted by cobaltnine at 7:20 AM on November 25, 2008

I use it to deglaze the pan after I make a pork tenderloin roast. Then throw in some dried cherries and let them plump a little.
posted by spec80 at 7:51 AM on November 25, 2008

For a dinner party last weekend, MuddDude made a great rasberry/port reduction that was really easy - two 8-oz baskets of rasberries in port, simmered until thick (30-45 minutes I think?). We put it on grilled lamb and mashed potatoes, but I would put it on pretty much any red meat or poultry

A citrus reduction would work well on fish.
posted by muddgirl at 8:04 AM on November 25, 2008

I make a sauce form port and homemade salsa. It's surprisingly awesome.
posted by crickets at 8:22 AM on November 25, 2008

Venison in a port and raspberry reduction always seems to go down well here...
posted by methylsalicylate at 9:07 AM on November 25, 2008

Cranberry sauce with port and dried figs. Perfect for Thanksgiving, perfect to use your extra port. As an added bonus, it looks incredible easy and only takes about 20 minutes to make.
posted by booknerd at 9:46 AM on November 25, 2008