I didn’t have a cup of red wine.
I had made this stew before and it was really tasty. The recipe says to brown the beef (I use turkey for less fat), then brown the onions and garlic. Add a cup of red wine and deglaze the pan.
I didn’t have any red wine and didn’t want to spend half an hour running to the store to get some. So, I went online and searched for “what to substitute for red wine.”
The advice I found was to add a tablespoon of red wine vinegar to a cup of stock and use that to deglaze the pan. I had some red wine vinegar. So I did it that way.
The stew was edible but I wouldn’t serve it to other people.
I learned three things from this.
First, don’t believe everything you read on the internet.
Second, vinegar isn’t wine. Reminds me of something the Galloping Gourmet once said, “if you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with it.”
Third, workarounds often don’t work.
These are not profound lessons. They do, however, remind me of how many times in life I try to take the short cut, the easy way, the quick way. I usually end up wishing I hadn’t.
Less Than Helpful Advice
When you take a short cut, be certain it leads to exactly the same place.
Almond In Your Head 