Leftover White Wine Syrup

Sweet vanilla orange syrup with a tart finish from the dry white wine is beautiful drizzled over ice cream, soaked into a pound cake or stirred into an after dinner coffee.

Leftover wine? 
I can hear you now because I have said similar, “What is this leftover wine of which you speak?” Does. Not. Compute. But if you are having a dinner party, and guests bring wine, chances are that several bottles will get opened because one person prefers un-oaked Chardonnay and another likes a sweeter Riesling, while a third guest’s tipple of choice with turkey is a crispy Sauvignon Blanc. Put me in that last category, unless you are offering a quality red, which I will take over any white, any day, even with poultry. The fact of the matter is that sometimes, when the guests go home in a timely fashion, you can tidy the kitchen and put your feet up with the last glass of your preferred wine, but you might still have leftovers in the bottles you aren’t crazy about.

Here’s the solution: a white wine syrup with sugar and vanilla and orange peel that can be served over ice cream or used to drench a pound cake or can even be bottled up as a hostess gift for the next round of parties. And that’s what I call thinking ahead!

Today our Sunday Supper group is looking ahead to Thanksgiving leftovers and making them into more fabulousness. Many thanks Jennie of The Messy Baker for hosting this event. Make sure you scroll down to see the whole link list.

This recipe is adapted from Real Simple.

Ingredients
1 vanilla bean
3 1/8 cups or 750ml assorted white wines
1 cup or 225g golden caster sugar (White sugar can be substituted but the unrefined stuff adds more flavor.)
Zest of 1 orange
Pinch sea salt

Method
Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.

Peel just the orange part off of the orange peel, making sure to leave the bitter white pith behind.

In a large saucepan, combine the wine, sugar, orange zest and vanilla seeds and pod.

Bring to a boil.

Then reduce heat and simmer until the wine mixture is slightly thickened and reduced to about 1 cup or 240ml, 35 to 45 minutes.

Put a heatproof strainer over the pot and use tongs to remove the vanilla pod and the pieces of orange zest and put them in the strainer. Allow them to drain completely. You don't want to waste even a drop of this precious syrup.

If you want to save them for a further purpose, the vanilla bean and orange zest can be placed on parchment paper and allowed to dry completely. Add the vanilla bean to sugar in a closed container to flavor the sugar. The orange zest can be used for cake or cupcake decoration.

Pour the syrup into a sterilized jar and screw the lid on tight. It will thicken even more as it cools.

This is beautiful syrup, speckled with vanilla seeds and shimmering with delicious flavor. Drizzle it over ice cream or mascarpone with fruit for an elegant dessert.

Enjoy!

Are you already anticipating those Thanksgiving leftovers? Frankly, the leftovers are almost my favorite part. Have a look at these great recipes that turn your leftovers into something special!

Breakfast

• Cranberry Muffins by The Foodie Army Wife 
• Cranberry Sauce'd Corn Bread Muffins by Rhubarb and Honey 
• Leftover Stuffing Breakfast Strata by Ruffles & Truffles 
• Sweet Potato Casserole Muffins by Magnolia Days 
• Turkey & Chorizo Breakfast Hash by Brunch with Joy 
• Italian Mashed Potato Pancakes by The Weekend Gourmet 

Main Dish

• Cranberry Sweet Potato Soup by Take A Bite Out of Boca 
• Creamy Peanut Gochujang Pasta by Wallflour Girl 
• Herbed Turkey over Cornbread Waffles with Cranberry Sauce by girlichef 
• Leftover Pie by Jane's Adventures in Dinner 
• Leftover Thanksgiving Pizza by Meal Diva
• Moroccan Turkey Stew by What Smells So Good?
• Peruvian Cilantro and Turkey Soup by The Little Ferraro Kitchen
• Stuffing Hash by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Thanksgiving Leftover Waffles by Foxes Love Lemons
• Turkey and Butternut Squash Stew by Cooking Chat
• Turkey & Caramelized Onion Risotto by kimchi MOM
• Turkey and Stuffing Crepes by Peaceful Cooking
• Turkey Croquettes by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Turkey Enchilada Pasta Bake by Curious Cuisiniere
• Turkey Kreplach Soup by Panning the Globe
• Turkey with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce by Casa de Crews

Side Dishes

• Cheesy Jalapeño Potato Cakes by Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Cheesy Mashed Potato Croquettes by Noshing with the Nolands
• Cranberry Balsamic Glazed Cauliflower Wings by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Italian Mashed Potato Pancakes by The Weekend Gourmet
• Parmesan Mashed Cauliflower & Potato by Momma’s Meals
• Whipped Carrots with Sriracha Butter by Healthy Delicious

Sandwiches

• Apple Pecan Chicken (or Turkey!) Salad by NeighborFood
• Cranberry and Turkey Sandwiches by The Redhead Baker
• Monte Cristo Sandwich by Nik Snacks
• Sprouted Grain Turkey, Cranberry & Brie Panini by Amee’s Savory Dish
• Turkey Cranberry Flatbread by Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Turkey Hot Brown by The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch

Condiments & Sauces

• Cranberry Vinaigrette by Nosh My Way
• DIY Yellow Mustard by The Texan New Yorker
• Leftover White Wine Syrup by Food Lust People Love

Dessert

• Banana Cheesecake with Pecan Graham Cracker Crust by Desserts Required
• Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Gluten Free Lemon Drizzle Cake by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Spiced Cranberry Sauce Buckle by The Wimpy Vegetarian

Cocktails & Drinks

• Cranberry Bellinis by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Cranberry Orange Crush by The Messy Baker

Strawberry Vanilla Blueberry Ice Cream #foodieextravaganza

Sweet summer strawberries, juicy blueberries and vanilla bean ice cream bring a little red, white and blue to this week’s Fourth of July celebrations.

Let’s talk about obsessions. At our house, we are a little football crazy. Some of us, more than others. My husband came home from work last night a little early, just so he could have a short nap and stay up till midnight (Dubai time) for the START of the USA-Belgium World Cup game. I have no idea what time he came to bed. I checked the news first thing this morning though and read through the play-by-play of the game and some of the social commentary - Best quote: Tim Howard is the American Jesus! He saves! - and I couldn’t help laughing at all the Tim Howard jokes. It almost made me wish I had stayed up to watch. Almost. Darn this time difference!

There’s an English idiom that people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. So I should even the score by admitting that I am throwing football rocks in my own ice cream glass house. I’ve got an obsession for making ice cream. But you probably knew that already after this post, and this post and, just yesterday, this post with an ice cream cookbook giveaway. (And those are just the ones I’ve shared!) With the churn, without the churn, it’s all good.

Truth is, I was hoping that this red, white and blue ice cream would be a celebration of a football victory so our two obsessions would dovetail so nicely.  After all, isn’t that what marriage is all about? The best advice books say to find something in common that you can enjoy together, right? Right?!

Today, I’m joining another great group of bloggers in an event we are calling Foodie Extravaganza and the ingredient for this month is blueberries. So how about let’s just celebrate blueberries and call it a day well spent! Make sure to scroll on down to see the whole list of blueberrilicious recipes. Many thanks to Alexis from We Like to Learn as We Go, our organizer for July’s extravaganza.

Ingredients
3 1/2 oz or 100g blueberries
3 1/2 oz or 100g strawberries
1 2/3 cups or 400ml whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2/3 cup or 200g sweetened condensed milk
1 whole vanilla bean
2 tablespoons homemade vanilla extract (split vanilla bean infused vodka) or 1 teaspoon normal vanilla extract and two tablespoons vodka or alcohol of your choice (The alcohol helps keep the ice cream from freezing solid, which makes scooping easier.)

Method
Hull and chop your strawberries into pieces about the same size as your blueberries. Spread the strawberries and blueberries out in a single layer on a baking pan lined with cling film. Put the pan in the freezer until the fruit is frozen. This doesn’t take long so set a timer for about 25-30 minutes.

Once your fruit is frozen, split the vanilla bean with a sharp knife and scrape out the tiny little seeds. (Pop the empty bean pod in a couple of cups of sugar in an airtight container to create fabulous vanilla flavored sugar or add it to your vanilla extract.)

In your stand mixer or with electric beaters, whisk the cream, cream of tartar and the vanilla bean seeds until the cream thickens. Add the condensed milk and the vanilla extract. Whisk until stiff peaks form.

Reserve some blueberries and strawberries to decorate the top of the ice cream.  Ever so gently, fold the rest of fruit into the cream mixture.

Pour in an airtight container, top with the reserved fruit and freeze for several hours for soft serve or overnight for firmer ice cream.

Warm your ice cream scoop in a mug of hot water and serve.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the Foodie Extravaganza!  

We are a group of bloggers who love to blog about food! And each month we all incorporate one main ingredient into a recipe. This month the ingredient is blueberries. We hope you all enjoy our delicious blueberry foods this month and come see what next month's new ingredient is. If you would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

Make sure to check out these great recipes from our group! 

Blueberry Lemon Breakfast Cake @ We Like to Learn as We Go

Blueberry Orange Muffins @ Forty Eighteen

Homemade Blueberry Poptarts @ Our Thrifty Ideas

Blueberry Cheese Cake Pastries @ Summer Scraps

Lemon Blueberry Sandwich Cookies @ From Gate to Plate

Panna Cotta w/a Blueberry Compote @ The Freshman Cook

Strawberry Vanilla Blueberry Ice Cream @ Food Lust People Love

Blueberry Pie Ice Cream @ Love in the Kitchen

Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake @ Keep it Simple, Sweetie