Cooking with spirits

Pineapple flambé
A quick but delicious way of serving fruit is to briefly fry it in a little butter, before adding orange juice and muscovado sugar followed by rum, which is set alight to burn off some of its alcohol. Pineapple tastes particularly good if you add a few vanilla seeds.

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Grilled polenta with mushrooms and herbs
Here, a splash of dry white wine in the buttery mushroom sauce cuts both the richness of the Gruyère-flavoured grilled polenta and the intense-tasting sautéed shiitake, oyster and brown cap mushrooms. Bear in mind that the more the wine is reduced, the more acidic it will taste.

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Mulled wine with spicy cheese scones
The aromatic spiciness of cloves, mace, allspice, cinnamon, cardamom, lemon and orange zest make this mulled wine a truly heart-warming drink. These savoury cheese, cayenne and caraway mini-scones make a satisfying accompaniment

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Venison daube
Traditionally, wild venison is marinated in wine to tenderise it. Today, farmed venison does not need tenderisation, but a wine and vegetable marinade can add another layer of flavour to a casserole. Here, the marinated meat is gently simmered with bacon, orange zest, carrots, onions and celery.

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Seared chicken breasts with celery and grapes
Crisp, golden-fried chicken breasts are served here on mashed potato and chicory and with a luscious grape, shallot and celery sauce, made with a dessert wine boiled down to a syrupy consistency, a reduced chicken stock, and cream. Flavour it with lemon juice and chives to taste.

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Cinnamon créme caramel with clementine salad
One of the easiest ways to give fresh fruit a lift is to season it with a complementary spirit. Here, sliced clementines are mixed in some Cointreau and served with a delicate créme caramel that has been flavoured with clementine zest and cinnamon.

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