I would say that if you don’t like the taste of vermouth, you could substitute white wine. I have seen some recipes for pan sauces that call for vermouth, but not too often (I think "Cook’s Illustrated" had one not too long ago). The 1 and a half cups doesn’t sound too excessive because you are going to cook most of that away, usually. You want the flavor of the vermouth, but want to cook away the alcohol. I rarely use vermouth, sherry, pernod, etc. either. I just don’t usually have them on hand. Wine, beer, cognac, porto…those get used in cooking fairly regularly in my house. I made a zabaglione for fresh berries the other night that substituted champagne for the marsala. It was fantastic!! Anybody got any good beef burgundy recipes? I am thinking about making that for Christmas dinner. (Yes, I know…how pathetic am I that I am planning Christmas dinner when it 85 degrees with 100% humidity?)[:o)]