1. Pour about 1/2 cup of Merlot to beef stew as it simmers. This will give a nice, tart flavor to the cooking liquid.

2. Add a big splash of Syrah to your favorite tomato sauce as it simmers. (Don't worry if it's a commercial brand that you just dumped from the jar into a saucepan. This is one way to make it your own!)

3. Sauté minced onion in butter or olive oil. Add a drizzle of dry vermouth, and simmer until reduced by half. Serve over beef or polenta with cooked greens.

4. Add a splash of Port to the braising liquid (vegetable broth and/or water) for cabbage, carrots, and onion for a warming winter dinner side dish.

5. Use Sauvignon Blanc to deglaze the pan after you've roasted a chicken: Remove the chicken from the pan and add about 3/4 cup wine to the pan. Scrape and swirl it around, so the wine picks up all the tasty pieces that have adhered. Transfer this to a small saucepan, and simmer over low heat for 5 or 10 minutes, then spoon over the chicken as you serve it.

6. Use about 3/4 cup Marsala wine, to deglaze the pan after roasting root vegetables and use as a sauce.

7. Use sake or mirin, (a sweet cooking sake) to thin some light colored miso. Spoon this delicious sauce (room temperature) over freshly grilled or broiled vegetables (eggplant, thick rounds of onion, halved small zucchini, portobello mushrooms.)

8. Sauté mixed mushrooms with onions and a little garlic in butter. Add a big splash of dry sherry halfway through and cook until the mushrooms absorb it. Salt, pepper, and a light sprinkling of minced dill will finish off this mixture. Serve over strips of grilled steak or tofu arranged on a bed of cooked noodles.