6 Secrets of Cooking With Wine

7 Secrets of Cooking With Wine continued...

Merlot & Onion Roast

2 pounds beef top round roast, or similar (this roast is usually already trimmed of all visible fat)
Salt and pepper
8-10 garlic cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons canola or olive oil
3/4 cup French onion soup, condensed, from a can (such as Campbell's)
3/4 cup merlot (or other mellow red wine)

• If your roast is the rolled-up type, remove mesh or ties from surface and unroll the roast. Arrange garlic cloves evenly on top, and then sprinkle freshly ground salt and pepper over the top. Roll the roast up (but don't put any mesh or ties back on).
• Start heating the canola or olive oil in a medium nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the rolled-up roast to the pan and let the bottom brown for a couple of minutes. Flip and brown the other side (a couple minutes more). Carefully place browned roast in slow cooker so that it remains rolled up.
• Pour onion soup concentrate and wine over the top. Cover and cook on LOW for about four hours.

Yield: 6 servings

Per serving: 240 calories, 33.5 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 7.9 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 3.5 g monounsaturated fat, 7 g polyunsaturated fat, 78 mg cholesterol, 0.2 g fiber, 285 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 30%.

Chardonnay Spice Cake

1 box (18.25 oz) white cake mix
1 package (5 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup fat-free sour cream
3/4 cup chardonnay (or other white wine)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup egg substitute

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the inside of a bundt pan with canola cooking spray, then dust with about 2 tablespoons of flour.
• Add cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, and nutmeg to mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer on LOW speed to blend well.
• Add the sour cream, wine, eggs, and egg substitute to mixing bowl and beat with mixer on medium speed for five minutes (scraping sides and bottom of bowl after a minute).
• Pour into prepared bundt pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cake cool on rack in pan for 10 minutes. Invert pan on serving plate carefully to release the cake. Serve.

Yield: 12 servings

Per serving: 259 calories, 5 g protein, 48 g carbohydrate, 5.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 2.3 g monounsaturated fat, 1.9 g polyunsaturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 0.6 g fiber, 440 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 23%.