What Does (& Doesn't) Vanilla Improve?

[Chris Amirault]

Over in the "Post Your New Cocktail Creations Here" topic, tkerby made an interesting observation:

f you have cheap Whisky you want to make better, add 1 drop of high quality vanilla essence to each glass and it makes a huge improvement.  Alternatively, a few vanilla pods dropped in the bottle have a similar effect.  It's a tip I picked up from Herve This when he was last in Edinburgh and has been proven in a blind taste test with friends.  In fact, as long as you weren't comparing to an Islay (with a characteristically different smoky flavour), most friends preferred the cheap whisky + vanilla than some expensive Speysides.  None realised it had been tampered with.  Apparently Vanilla contains many of the aromatics missing in cheap whisky and acts as a decent substitute.

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Since several of us are now making our own vanilla extract at home, and since This is a pretty smart fellow, I got to thinking. Aren't most things improved by vanilla? Not just frozen cream and sugar, either, but a whole host of savory and sweet dishes. I'd bet that there are a few drops of vanilla being added to things we'd never suspect.

What items do you improve with a bit of the bean?