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

Lemon Mint Rosé Cocktail

A dry rosé wine fortified with vodka and some muddled mint, lemon and sugar makes a beautiful cocktail, extending the drinkability of rosé into the autumn months for rosé summer-only purists. 

Pink wine snob reversal
Until I started dating my future husband, I knew very little about wine. I don’t remember either of my parents drinking wine, except for a phase when my mom would buy Cold Duck – a sort of sweet pink sparkling wine made by mixing red wine with bubbly - or Mateus, a Portuguese labeled rosé that, even as a child, I understood was less than stellar in the wine category, the fancy bottle notwithstanding. As I reached an age where I could order wine in a bar, I always went for a crisp dry white, with the theory that a cheap white was usually more palatable than a cheap red, and wine-by-the-glass back then was invariably of the cheap variety. When we moved to Paris, I was shocked to find that the good-wine obsessed French drank pink wine during the hot summer months! And that it could be dry and not sweet. I became a fan of the pink.

As the summer days are waning and the autumn is coming on, unused bottles of summer rosé can be transformed into cocktails, extending their welcome refreshment into the next season.

Ingredients
Several fresh mint leaves
1 lemon wedge
1 oz or 30ml vodka
1/2 cup or 120ml rosé
1/2 – 1 teaspoon sugar (or more, depending on your taste for sweet drinks)
Ice

Optional garnish: sprig of mint

Method
Place mint, lemon and sugar in a glass and muddle well.

Add several cubes of ice to your glass and then pour in the vodka.

Add the rosé and stir. Garnish with sprig of mint, if desired.

Enjoy!