The secret sauce in this baked sweet potato recipe is...wine

At an age when people discover and abuse alcohol, I was sober. I rarely drink to get drunk—I am happy with the light buzz of two glasses of wine or a more intense one from four Old Monk pegs. “Alcohol,” said Finley Peter Dunne, a US writer from the turn of the 20th century, “is necessary for a man so that he can have a good opinion of himself, undisturbed by the facts.” Indians have a conflicted relationship with booze, either avoiding it entirely or drinking it like it is going out of style. Last week, when my 10-year-old and her bestie suddenly showed up for dinner, I remembered I had a bit of wine left and some unused sliced sweet potatoes. BAKED SWEET POTATO WITH WINE SAUCE Serves 3 Ingredients Half kg sweet potato, slices 2 tbsp minced garlic 1 tsp chilli flakes 2 tsp dried oregano 2 tbsp fresh basil, roughly torn, or 1 tbsp rosemary One-and-a-half tbsp olive oil Salt to taste Fresh pepper if you like For the wine sauce 1 cup wine 1 tbsp honey 1 tsp butter Method Mix all the ingredients and set aside for 15 minutes.