Bookmark/Share
The Sober Kitchen
Sobering up some Favorite Classic Recipes
Chef Liz Scott
Author of "The Sober Kitchen: Recipes and Advice for a Liftime of Recovery"
If you’re like most cooks, there’s a messy little file tucked away somewhere with all your very favorite recipes you have accumulated over the years. Faded newspaper clippings, pages torn from magazines splotched with oil, or nearly indiscernible scribbles on kitchen napkins: They all hold a special place in your culinary memory of a dish worth remembering and repeating time and again. But what if they happened to contain alcohol in the form of wine or spirits and now you’re keeping a sober kitchen? Do not despair! By making use of terrific substitutions, you won’t need to toss out any of your cherished recipes.
Although we’ve talked about it before, it bears repeating that alcohol, contrary to popular belief, does not burn off in the cooking process. Anywhere from 5 to 85% of the alcohol added to a recipe, whether its wine, beer, or spirits, will remain. In addition, the smell and taste of alcohol is a proven trigger to craving. Keeping your kitchen sober is a vital part of a solid recovery program. Those in early recovery are particularly susceptible to cues that spark recognition and desire in the recovering brain. So why tease the tiger, as they say?
Thankfully, there are so many wonderful products and ingredients available for us to use in our cooking that don’t jeopardize our sobriety. Flavorful syrups such as those made by Monin or Torani, unlike baking extracts, are completely alcohol-free and can be used to replace liqueurs in dessert recipes. No-sugar-added grape juices are great starts for replacing wine, vinegars are safe to use and great for adding acidity, and tea can play a surprisingly perfect role in recipes calling for spirits. The more we become accustom to utilizing these substitutions rather than backing away from any recipe that calls for alcohol in some form, the more pro-active we become in our recovery and confident in our ability to adapt to a new and healthier lifestyle. Here are a few examples of how classic recipes can be made sober safe:
Bananas Foster:
A warm, gooey dessert made by sautéing bananas in butter, brown sugar, rum, and sometimes banana liqueur, served over ice cream.
Sober Makeover:
Replace the dark rum with strongly steeped white tea and a spoonful of light molasses. Use banana-flavored syrup for the liqueur.
Cheese Fondue:
A mixture of melted Swiss Emmentaler and Gruyère cheeses combined with white wine and kirsch, served with French bread cubes for dipping.
Sober Makeover:
Replace half the wine with low-sodium chicken stock and the other half with a sparkling white grape or pear juice. Substitute a dash of cherry syrup for the kirsch (cherry brandy).
Shrimp Scampi:
Broiled shrimp flavored with garlic, butter, white wine, and parsley.
Sober Makeover:
Replace the wine with equal parts lemon juice, white grape juice, and white balsamic vinegar.
Maryland She-Crab Soup:
A creamy soup made from crab meat and roe, flavored with sherry and Worcestershire sauce.
Sober Makeover:
Replace the dry sherry with three parts apple juice, one part sherry vinegar, and a dash of balsamic vinegar.
Whiskey Cake:
A moist, dense cake of dried fruit, nuts and spices, soaked with a whiskey glaze.
Sober Makeover:
Replace traditional glaze with Irish Breakfast tea heavily steeped in simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water brought to a boil to dissolve) with a dash of malt vinegar.
One final note: If a particular recipe or dish, even when alcohol-free, is a personal trigger for you, it’s best to wait a while before enjoying it again. Any uncomfortable feeling you may have is a sign of potential stress and should be heeded. After a period of sobriety, however, these types of associations are known to lessen in strength and you’ll be able to freely sample and relish them once again as part of your new clean and sober lifestyle.