Pinot Noir Syrup

Dear Lauren,

I turned a bottle of wine and 5 tablespoons of sugar into this.
It's Pinot Noir Syrup!

Blackberry & Raspberry Cobbler with Whipped Cream and Pinot Noir Syrup

Krisi's Buttermilk Pancakes with Pinot Noir Syrup

Roasted Asparagus with Hazelnut Vinaigrette and Pinot Noir Syrup

I also had some on vanilla ice cream. Amazing.

I wondered about a Pinot Syrup & Coke. Like a Cherry Coke? I was just going to mention it, but you know I ended up trying it!! I liked the ratio of 8 ounces diet coke to 1 teaspoon Pinot syrup. But you can play around with it and see what you think.

Later this week, stay tuned for Pain Perdu & Pinot! Made with the Crusty Bread! Yum!

Here are some other ideas that some friends of mine came up with:
Waffles (Traci)
Bread, Cheese, Tomatoes (Christine)
Duck, Venison (Carol)
Pittsburgh Rare Filet Mignon (Sus - she is so fancy! I think any filet would do, right?)
Pancakes (Shelley - took her suggestion!)
Biscuits, Salmon, Filet with Crispy Onion String (Kimberly - such an overachiever with three suggestions!)

And you came up with a PB&J-J+PS! I'll make it for you the next time you come over!

Pinot Syrup
adapted from a recipe by the Cafe Juanita in the Pike Place Market Cookbook, 2003 edition

5 tablespoons organic* or regular granulated sugar
1 bottle (750 ml) Pinot Noir (you can use Merlot of Zinfandel too!)

*According to the recipe, organic sugar has less water content than regular and so it melts and caramelizes more quickly. I bought my organic sugar at Trader Joe's but my friend Woo says that you can get a big bag of it at Costco for a great price.

Spread the sugar evenly in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, without stirring, until the sugar turns golden. It took me around 4 minutes but you need to watch the pan carefully because the sugar will go from perfect to burnt very easily!

Note: Once you turn on the heat to melt the sugar, put on two long oven mitts. The next step will cause a fine splatter and you don't want any melted sugar splatter on your skin. It'll hurt. Don't skip this step!

Slowly add 1/4 of the bottle of wine to the saucepan. Again, there will be bubbling, a misty splatter, all sorts of drama! And the sugar will solidify but don't worry. Stir until it melts back into the wine. Add the rest of the wine and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and let the mixture reduce til it's thickened and right around 2/3 cup. Remove it from the heat and let it cool. Put the contents in a glass jar and it will keep at room temperature indefinitely. This is the jar I used. I never use it for cream but it comes in so handy for things just like this.

Love,

P.S. Brooke says you can add a few sprigs of thyme while reducing the syrup and then remove them once cooked and it will give it a lovely flavor.