Summer Dishes Made with Beer, Liquor, and Sparkling Wine

This intensely flavored homemade mustard gets its complexity from a mix of black and yellow mustard seeds, rich dark beer, and a mix of sweeteners and spices.

Recipe: Spicy Beer Mustard

Sean Paxton, founder of homebrewchef.com, cooks multicourse dinners with beer. This vinaigrette, which he makes with an India Pale Ale, shows beer's lighter side.

Recipe: Orange-and-Ale Vinaigrette

A homemade mustard sauce, laden with fragrant spices and spiked with tequila, takes easy grilled chicken from everyday to amazing.

Recipe: Tequila-Mustard-Glazed Chicken Skewers

"I started making my Abilene sauce 20 years ago, and every year I tweak it or add something," says Olivia chef James Holmes of his signature barbecue sauce. Despite its spicy intensity, the pork and beer flavors come straight through.

Recipe: Beer-Braised Baby Back Ribs with Orange-Tamarind Sauce

Resist the urge to pile on any of the usual toppings — lettuce, tomato, ketchup. "The port is your condiment," explains Umami Burger's Adam Fleischman.

Recipe: Umami Burgers with Port and Stilton

Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams in Columbus, Ohio, says the secret to a perfect layered terrine is the "clash of color and texture."

Recipe: Ice Cream, Sorbet and Froyo Terrine

Deborah Schneider braises the meat in beer until ultratender, then shreds it for tacos. "It's also fabulous in a sandwich," she says.

Recipe: Beer-Braised Turkey Tacos

Top Chef Season 6 winner Michael Voltaggio cooks these carrots in carrot juice and a hoppy beer to emphasize their savory depth, not their sweetness.

Recipe: Carrots Braised in Beer and Carrot Juice

Add a lager or pilsner to fried chicken batter for extra flavor.

Recipe: Beer-Battered Buttermilk Fried Chicken

More suited to a cocktail party than a baseball game, this riff on Cracker Jack is sweetened with agave nectar and spiked with tequila. Slow baking turns the popcorn-nut mix fabulously crunchy.

Recipe: Tequila-Spiked Caramel Corn

Check out more ideas for incorporating beer and wine into your repertoire at Food & Wine:

Cooking with Beer

The Best Beer and Spirits Across America

Beyond the Mimosa: Sparkling Wine Cocktails You've Never Heard of