Last night, I had something happen to me that most cooks dread: I was in the middle of cooking and discovered I was missing a crucial ingredient for what I was making. My car is up on blocks, so I cannot and was not able to leave the house. Instead of panicking, I looked to some friends to find out how to fix it.
The ingredient in question was marsala wine to make chicken marsala. I was certain I had some when I started preparing this classic and simple dish, only to find that my stores of alcohol had pretty much every type known to man but marsala wine. After some conversations with my friends, I discovered a couple things I could have used, both of which were in my stores.
First was the wine I actually used: port. Port is sweeter and darker than marsala, but surprisingly worked with the mushrooms. It yielded a much fruitier flavor than I was hoping for, but it did work in a pinch.
The second was a less commonly used variety, but nonetheless just as useful: vermouth. Vermouth is used primarily to make martinis, but is closer in color to marsala, so if you're caught without marsala and have a person in your household who is very particular about the color of foods, vermouth will be your friend.
I hope this helps you if you ever get caught without marsala while making something where it's crucial to the flavor of your dish. Have any other substitutions? Feel free to comment below!
No comments:
Post a Comment