Help..Is Madeira a sweet wine?

[Sami]

I am making the Filet Mignon with Port Jus from March CL for company tonight, and I just realized that I have no port. I have Madeira and kosher concord wine. I don't think the kosher wine will be good because it will be too sweet, but can I use the Madeira?

Sami

[Guest]

The Madeira should work.

I found this on Cook's Thesaurus:

fortified wine Notes: These are wines that have been fortified with brandy and sometimes flavored with herbs, roots, peels, and spices. The most popular examples are sherry, Madeira, Marsala, port, and vermouth. Fortified wines are often used in cooking, or they're served as apéritifs or dessert wines. Substitutes: sparkling wine (as an apéritif) OR dessert wine

Madeira Pronunciation: mah-DEER-uh Notes: This fortified wine is named for its birthplace, an island off the coast of Africa. Madeira wines first became popular back in the days of cross-Atlantic sailing ships, because they were able to survive long, hot trips in rolling ships. And they didn't just survive, they actually improved, so much so that sending them off on long round-trip sea voyages eventually became an integral part of their production, though the practice has since been abandoned. Madeiras are used both for cooking, and as after-dinner drinks. Varieties of Madeira (in order from driest to sweetest) include the Sercial Madeira, Rainwater Madeira, Verdelho Madeira, Bual Madeira = Boal Madeira, and Malvasia Madeira = Malmsey Madeira. "Reserve" Madeiras are aged at least five years, "special reserve" for at least ten, and "extra reserve" for at least fifteen. Madeiras from Portugal are considered to be far superior to domestic brands. Once opened, Madeira should be consumed within a week or so and stored in the refrigerator. Substitutes: port (especially a dry port) OR Marsala OR dry vermouth OR sherry (especially a dry sherry) OR stock (Either beef or chicken stock works well in meat-based sauces.)

port = port wine Notes: This is a sweet Portuguese fortified wine that's sipped as an after-dinner drink, or used as a cooking ingredient. Vintage ports are the best, but they are very expensive. The sediment at the bottom of the bottle is a sign of quality. Crusted or late-bottled vintage ports are both less expensive and less elegant. Cheaper yet are the lighter and fruitier wood ports, which include the tawny ports and the lowly ruby ports. Wood ports don't age well in the bottle, so try to drink them within a year or two of purchase. Once opened, port should be consumed within a week or so and stored in the refrigerator. Substitutes: Madeira OR dry vermouth OR black muscat wine (like port, this goes well with chocolate) OR Banyuls (like port, this goes well with chocolate) OR unsweetened fruit juice OR (in meat-based sauces) beef or chicken stock

[wallycat]

I think either would work, but that's just me...

[Sami]

Thank you so much. I will report later.Sami

[Sami]

The Madeira worked fine and the filets were delicious. I made Moosewood's Cauliflower Soup first, (reviewed before), the filets, the creamy Parmesan orzo, roasted parsnips and carrots (what was in the frig), Caesar salad and the pear crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

And I made the Feta Chile spread for appetizer. I halved it and used 1 large poblano pepper. It was very piquant and great with pita.

Sami