I used to be reluctant to open a bottle of wine at home unless I was entertaining, because I’d drink a glass or two and then have to contend with the leftover vino. There are various ways to deal with it (see sidebar, page 23), but once I discovered this idea from blogger Michele Humes on SeriousEats.com, it was a problem no more. Even lesser-quality wine becomes a deeply flavored condiment good for drizzling on ice cream, chocolate desserts, or citrus segments. It can be used for layering in a parfait with Greek-style yogurt (see page 161) or for hydrating dried cherries in a tart with almonds (page 163). I tend to use whatever spices strike my fancy at the time; with red wine, I like this particular combination, but whole cinnamon, cloves, and/or allspice, for example, could be used for a more pronounced flavor. The best thing about this syrup? Once you cool it, it can be refrigerated in an airtight container indefinitely.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 1/2 cup

　　1 1/2 cups red wine of any variety

　　1/2 cup sugar

　　1 vanilla bean, split (not scraped)

　　2 whole star anise

　　1 teaspoon pink peppercorns

　　

Step 1

Combine the wine, sugar, vanilla bean, star anise, and peppercorns in a wide pot or skillet over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to medium; cook until the liquid becomes syrupy and has reduced by about two-thirds, about 10 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Use a fine-mesh strainer to strain the syrup into a small container; discard the spices and let cool. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate.

　　

Variation

Step 3

Use white wine instead of red, and use 1 vanilla bean and five or six 1/4-inch slices of fresh ginger.

　　Reprinted with permission from Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One by Joe Yonan. Text copyright © 2011 by Joe Yonan; photographs copyright © 2011 by Ed Anderson. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.Joe Yonan is the food and travel editor at the Washington Post, where he writes the award-winning "Cooking for One" column. Joe's work also earned the Post the 2009 and 2010 James Beard Foundation's award for best food section. He is the former travel editor at the Boston Globe. Visit www.joeyonan.com.