In a two quart jar, combine above ingredients. Tighten lid on jar and shake well to mix ingredients and to dissolve sugar. Let marinade stand in sealed jar, refrigerate overnight. Kept refrigerated, the marinade will last for weeks.

Place meat to be marinaded (beef, chicken, pork, fish, etc.) in a glass baking dish, pour as much marinade as needed, cover and refrigerate for two hours or longer. Marinade is absorbed Best if the meat has been tenderized beforehand (see Tip #2 below).

TIps:

1. Save wine bottles and corks to store marinades and salad dressings.

2. According to "25 Common Cooking Mistakes... and how to avoid them", Christopher Kimball, Editor and Publisher of Cook's Illustrated, writes "don't marinate for tenderness - marinating is wonderful for adding flavor but does nothing for tenderness." In tests performed at Cook's, marinating does not deeply penetrate meat. As a result, only the near top surfaces of the meat actually absorb the marinade.

One solution to the marinade and tenderizing problem is to use a mechanical meat tenderizer. One such tool is pictured, and its operation explained, at http://www. Accesscomm. Net/plan_b.