5 Tips to Turn Your Recipes Tipsy

Whether you're cooking for a special occasion or just aiming for an at-home gourmet experience, a little bit of booze can turn a regular recipe into something splendid.

While there are dozens of ways to use booze in your daily cooking, here are a few of my favorites.

1. Use booze in place of broth. White wine lends fabulous flavor to recipes calling for chicken or vegetable broth. Try substituting half the broth with chardonnay for a gentle, subtle taste that is out of this world.
2. Whip it into cream. Rather than vanilla extract, try adding a touch of bourbon or rum to your whipped cream and buttercream frostings. The tasty kick will make everyone enjoy your home-baked desserts more than ever!
3. Marinate meat.  Give steak, pork and chicken extra flavor and tenderness by marinating them in a mixture of salt, spices and beer or whiskey.
4. Spike your chili. For the best chili you've ever tasted, try adding a bottle of beer to the pot. Go cheap or expensive, whatever is your favorite. And no worries about serving it up to the family—the alcohol will cook out by the time you're ready to eat.
5. Toss it into sauce. Whether you're preparing a pasta or dessert sauce, a bit of booze can make it better. To prove my point, I've pulled together a to-die-for Tipsy Hot Fudge Sauce that takes just minutes to make and tastes amazing! Here's how to make it:

Add beer to the chocolate chips.

Stir in some brown sugar. And that's it!

You've got yourself a super-easy hot fudge sauce that's awesome with ice cream. If you like, sprinkle crushed chocolate-covered malted milk balls on top.