Merlot 101

What are some good recipes to use merlot in?

We were given a bottle of merlot as a gift, but we don't drink at all; does anyone have a link to recipes that use merlot in cooking so we can still use it? Thanks

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1. Roasted duck breast with licorice-Merlot sauce Ingredients 3 tablespoons honey 2 tangerines, sliced, seeded 1 1/2 cups Merlot 1/3 cup stock 8 small licorice jelly beans, halved 6 large duck breast halves, about 1/2 lb each coarse salt freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons unsalted butter Method Heat oven to 350° Simmer honey in medium saucepan over moderate heat 1 minute. Add tangerines, cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Strain honey into another sauce pan; reserving citrus. Add wine and stock to honey. Cook over moderate heat until reduce to about 1/2 cup, about 25 minutes. Add halved jelly beans. Remove from heat; let stand until sauce has developed licorice flavor, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the duck breasts. With a sharp knife score top of each duck breast in diamond pattern. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat skillet, add 3 duck breasts, skin side down. Cook over moderate heat until skin is deep brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Spoon off fat as needed. Turn duck, cook until browned on bottom about 3 minutes. Transfer duck to baking sheet covered with foil, skin side down. Discard remaining fat from skillet. Repeat with remaining breasts. Bake duck until medium rare, or when an instant read thermometer reads about 160°, about 12 minutes. Transfer to carving board, skin side up, cover with foil. Let rest 5 minutes. Remove licorice from sauce; heat to boil. Remove from heat, whisk in butter. Season with salt and pepper. Thinly slice duck breasts; arrange with honeyed tangerines on plates. Drizzle with sauce.
2. spaghetti is really good with red wine.
3. Chocolate Merlot Cake : 2 cups (250 g / 1/2 lb) flour 3/4 cup (100 g / 3 1/4 oz) cocoa 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup (175 g / 6 oz) butter 1 3/4 cup (350 g / 15 oz) sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/4 cups (300 ml / 1/2 pt) well-rounded red wine confectioners' sugar (for sprinkling) ~ For the wine jelly : 1/2 cup (125 g / 4 oz) Concord grape jelly 2 to 3 tablespoons red wine two 9-inch (22 cm) cake pans how to: -- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C/Gas 4). Butter the cake pans, line each pan with a round of parchment paper, and brush again with butter. Sprinkle the pans with flour, discarding the excess. Sift flour with the cocoa, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. -- Cream the butter in an electric mixer, beat in the sugar, and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one by one, and then the vanilla, and continue beating 1 to 2 minutes. Sift a third of the flour over the butter mixture and fold them together, using a spoon. Fold in a third of the wine. Add the remaining flour and wine alternately in two batches. -- Spread batter in the prepared pans and bake in the oven until the cakes start to shrink from the sides of the pan, 30 to 35 minutes; a metal skewer inserted in the center should come out clean. Let the cakes cool 10 minutes in the pans, then turn them out on a rack to cool completely. -- Meanwhile make the wine jelly: Melt the jelly with the wine over low heat, stirring gently until combined. Let it cool. -- Shortly before serving, sandwich the cake with the cooled jelly. Sprinkle the top with confectioners' sugar and transfer the cake to a plate to serve. `` Beef Tenderloin with Merlot Shallot Sauce : ~ Tenderloin : Cooking spray 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh sage 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper 3 tablespoons minced garlic 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 (2 1/2-pound) center-cut beef tenderloin (also called chateaubriand..) ~ Sauce : 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots 1 1/2 cups Merlot or other dry red wine 1 1/2 cups low-salt beef broth 1 teaspoon butter 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt how to: -- Preheat oven to 350°. -- To prepare tenderloin, heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Combine sage, pepper, garlic, and salt; rub over tenderloin. Add tenderloin to pan; cook 6 minutes, lightly browning on all sides. -- Insert a meat thermometer into thickest portion of tenderloin. Cover handle of pan with foil. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until thermometer registers 140° (medium-rare) or desired degree of doneness. Place tenderloin on a cutting board; cover loosely with foil. Let stand 15 minutes. (Temperature of tenderloin will increase 5° upon standing.) -- To prepare SAUCE, heat pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add shallots; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in wine. Bring to a boil; cook until reduced to 3/4 cup (about 4 minutes). Stir in broth; cook until reduced to 1 1/4 cups (about 6 minutes). Add butter, stirring until melted. Stir in parsley and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Serve with tenderloin. ``
4. food and wine.com merlot can be used in any brown gravies
5. How about pot roast or beef stew? red wine tastes great in those.
6. This is a classic way of cooking w/ Merlot Merlot Poached Dessert Pears This recipe serves: 6 1 cup water 1 cup good quality merlot 2 cups sugar 3 Bosc pears, peeled 12 peppercorns 1/2 cinnamon stick 2 whole cloves 1. Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan. Cover the pears with a piece of parchment paper or weigh them down with a plate so that they stay immersed in the liquid. 2. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Cook until the pears are tender when pierced with a knife, about 20 to 30 minutes. (Pears can be made ahead and stored in their syrup in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Their flavor will intensify.) 3. Remove the pears from the liquid and set aside. Continue to simmer the liquid for about 30 minutes, until it has a syrup-like consistency. Discard the peppercorns, cinnamon stick and cloves. Keep warm. 4. Cut the pears in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and core with a melon baller or small spoon. Remove any additional core using a small paring knife. 5. Slice the pear halves lengthwise and arrange the slices on plates. Spoon the warm syrup on and around the pears. Serving Size: 1/2 pear with syrup
7. Steak with Merlot Sauce 1 (750 milliliter) bottle Merlot wine 2 (14.5 ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth 1 (14.5 ounce) can beef broth 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon olive oil 6 (6 ounce) fillets beef tenderloin freshly ground black pepper to taste 1/4 cup chopped shallots 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 1 teaspoon fresh thyme Directions In a heavy sauce pan over high heat, combine wine, chicken broth and beef broth. Bring to a boil, and cook until mixture is reduced to 2 cups, about an hour. (This can be prepared a day ahead - cover and refrigerate). In a small bowl, mix butter and flour. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper, and saute until medium-rare, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer steaks to a plate. Stir shallots, garlic and thyme into skillet. Add 2 cups reduced wine mixture to skillet. Bring mixture to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Whisk in butter mixture until smooth. Boil sauce until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 2 to 3 minutes. Pour sauce over beef. ==================== Italian Sausage Tomato Sauce 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 pound Italian sausage 4 green onions, chopped 1 (8 ounce) package fresh mushrooms, sliced 1 tablespoon dried basil 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup red merlot wine 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 2 tablespoons white sugar salt and pepper to taste Directions Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute garlic until it browns. Place sausage in skillet with garlic. Cook until evenly brown, crumbling it as it cooks. Stir in mushrooms, basil and oregano; cook 5 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes and tomato paste. Then add water, red wine, red pepper flakes and sugar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 1 hour. Serve over hot cooked pasta. ========================= Coq Au Vin (Chicken with Mushroom Wine Sauce) 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 2 cups small whole fresh mushrooms 1 cup thinly sliced carrots 1 cup Merlot wine 16 pearl onions, peeled 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 2 cloves garlic, minced 3/4 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed 1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 bay leaf 1 1/2 cups cold water 1/8 cup all-purpose flour Directions Spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Saute chicken over medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned on both sides. Add the mushrooms, carrot, wine, onions, parsley, garlic, marjoram, thyme, bouillon, pepper and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken, mushrooms, carrot, and onions to a platter, discarding bay leaf; cover to keep warm and set aside. In a small bowl combine flour and water and whisk together. Stir mixture into skillet and cook until thick and bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Cook and stir 1 minute more and pour mixture over chicken and veggies. Serve warm. ===================== Red Wine Pork Roast 3 tablespoons cooking oil 3 pounds pork roast 1/4 cup butter 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 carrots, diced 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar 1 1/2 cups red wine 16 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced Directions Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown roast on all sides. Remove roast to a casserole dish. Place butter, garlic, and carrots in the skillet. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in parsley, bay leaf, salt, pepper, tomato paste, and sugar. Pour in red wine, and stir to combine. Pour over pork roast. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove, and arrange mushrooms around the roast. Return to oven, and bake 1/2 hour. Serve with rice.
8. Stews, casseroles and gravies spring to mind.