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Champagne–Browned Butter Chicken
This is a riff on coq au vin, the French standard of chicken and veggies simmered in red wine. The coq usually takes on a deep purplish-red cast from the vin, but our modern take cooks the chicken in broth: It tastes lighter and looks much brighter. After the chicken cooks, it's smothered with a delicious Champagne reduction sauce that's enriched with nutty brown butter.
Angel Hair Pasta with Mussels and Red Pepper Sauce
This simple dinner of angel hair pasta with mussels is a delicious way to enjoy fresh seafood. Sweet red peppers help balance the naturally salty mussels, dry white wine, and the slightly acidic tomatoes.
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Artichokes with Roasted Garlic-Wine Dip
The ritual of eating whole artichokes―tear off a leaf, eat the tender flesh, and repeat―is as much a part of the experience as the flavor. The creamy texture and sweet savoriness of roasted garlic in the dipping sauce serve to enhance everything to heavenly levels. If you plan to serve the remaining wine with this first course, choose a crisp, acidic pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc, which pair well with artichokes. Otherwise, any dry white will work for the sauce.
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Tomato-Based White Wine Fish Soup
This fish soup features a tomato-and-white-wine base, chopped vegetables, shrimp, scallops, and halibut. Serve with dry crusty bread for a complete meal.
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Chicken and Mushrooms with Marsala Wine Sauce
Try a lighter take on classic chicken marsala with this dish dressed in mushrooms and a marsala wine sauce. Serve with mashed potatoes or egg noodles to soak up the tasty sauce.
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Beef Braised with Red Wine and Mushrooms
Add a teaspoon or two of ground dried porcini mushrooms along with the broth and red wine to give the dish an extra layer of mushroom flavor. Meaty, earthy-tasting mushrooms such as porcini or black trumpet are ideal. Serve over egg noodles or rice.
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Chicken Piccata
Briny capers, white wine, and bright lemon really make this bird sing. Serve tangy Chicken Piccata with mashed potatoes or roasted seasonal root vegetables.
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Beef Daube Provençal
This classic French braised beef, red wine, and vegetable stew is simple and delicious. The flavor and texture allow you to keep it warm for your guests. Buy a whole-grain baguette, bagged salad greens, and bottled vinaigrette to round out the meal.
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Filet Mignon with Mushroom-Wine Sauce
Sweet Marsala and mushrooms give this choice dish an elegant taste. For simple sides, serve with packaged refrigerated mashed potatoes and bagged salad greens with bottled dressing.
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Red Wine Reduction
A red wine reduction sounds impressive, but it isn't as difficult as you might think. You can turn this into a pan sauce for steak by removing the cooked steak from the pan, adding the stock to the pan and scraping to loosen browned bits, then proceeding with the recipe as follows. The deglazed bits add wonderful depth of flavor to the sauce.
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Fusilli with Caramelized Spring Onions and White Wine
Dry white wine, garlic, and olive oil are key to starting a delicious, light sauce for pasta. Spring onions are those that have been harvested early—they look like scallions with large white bulbs. If they're unavailable, use Vidalia onions. Rotini (corkscrew pasta) will work in place of fusilli.
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Strawberry-Blueberry Compote in Red Wine Syrup
Infusing red wine with warm spices and herbs creates a fragrant syrup for the distinctive ruby-hued compote. Serve over ice cream, pound cake, or with almond biscotti, and garnish with mint.
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Mussels in Tomato-Wine Broth
The people of Belgium dine on moules-frites, a staple dish of mussels and French fries. Try your hand at this international favorite. Steam mussels and place them in this savory wine broth. Lighten up the traditional way by having some plain toasted bread handy to soak up the broth. A glass of chilled white wine goes nicely with this dish.
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Steamed Clams with White Wine and Tomatoes
Clam and mussels are best in a light wine broth with crusty bread to soak up the savory broth. Cook clams within 24 hours of purchasing in order to ensure freshness. Be sure to throw out any clams that don't close their shells when tapped.
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Barley, Butternut Squash, and Shiitake Risotto
A dry or sweet white wine can be used here to flavor the pearl barley and pair with sweet butternut squash.
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Beef Filets with Red Wine Sauce and Roasted Veggie Fries
A velvety red wine such as pinot noir lends a rich flavor to the beef tenderloins. The cornmeal-coated veggies are a great addition as well.
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Chicken and Asparagus in White Wine Sauce
This tasty chicken and asparagus with white wine sauce is easy enough for a weeknight dinner but impressive enough for company. This recipe works equally well with green beans or haricots verts in place of asparagus.
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Chicken and Mushrooms in Garlic White Wine Sauce
Leftover sauvignon blanc will work perfectly here. Put this recipe together in less than 25 minutes, probably without a trip to the store. It's adaptable to your pantry--if you don't have egg noodles, use another kind of pasta, and if you're out of tarragon, try basil, oregano, or thyme.
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