Chicken au Champagne
Serves 4 | Excellent with brown rice , French green beans , and crusty bread to dip in the sauce . Serve the extra Champagne with the meal .
1 tbsp . olive oil 4 chicken thighs , skin-on , bone-in sea salt and black pepper ( to taste ) 1 large shallot , minced 1 c . Champagne 2 tbsp . unsalted butter 1 c . sliced mushrooms 2 tbsp . fresh tarragon , chopped fresh lemon
Preheat oven to 375 °. Heat olive oil in large cast iron skillet . Season chicken with salt and pepper , add to skillet , then sear for 3
Baked Champagne Risotto
Serves 8 | An easy yet special dish for any occasion . Top with pan-seared shrimp or salmon for an elegant dinner served with Champagne .
1½ c . uncooked short-grain arborio rice
3½ c . chicken or vegetable broth , plus extra as needed to finish
1 c . Champagne 1 c . grated Parmesan cheese 2 tbsp . butter ¼ tsp . salt ¼ tsp . pepper chopped green onion or fresh herbs to serve
Negroni Sbagliato
Serves 1 | Italian for “ mistaken Negroni ,” this version of the popular Negroni cocktail swaps the traditional gin with prosecco .
ice 1 oz . prosecco
1 oz . Campari irange twist
1 oz . sweet vermouth
Fill a rocks glass with ice . Add Campari and sweet vermouth ; stir to combine . Top with prosecco , gently stir again , and garnish with orange twist .
minutes a side . Remove chicken and place on plate . To pan , add shallot , then heat while stirring for 1 minute . Add Champagne and scrape bottom of pan to loosen cooked bits . Place chicken back in skillet , baste with Champagne sauce , and place in oven . Bake for 25 to 30 minutes , until thoroughly cooked . While chicken bakes , heat butter in large nonstick pan . Add mushrooms and cook 5 minutes . Remove chicken from oven , add sautéed mushrooms , stir in tarragon , and drizzle with lemon juice .
Preheat oven to 350 °. Spray 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray . Add rice , broth , and Champagne to baking dish . Stir to combine . Bake uncovered for 45 minutes , stirring once about halfway through , until most of the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender . Stir in Parmesan , butter , salt , and pepper . If risotto is too thick , stir in extra broth , 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time , until smooth and creamy . Garnish with green onion or fresh herbs and serve at once .
French 75
Serves 1 | This delicious drink is as powerful as the 75mm , WWI-era French field gun it ’ s named for .
½ oz . gin 3 oz . Champagne
¾ oz . lemon juice lemon twist
½ oz . simple syrup
Place gin , lemon juice , and syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice . Shake 15 seconds until cold . Strain liquid into Champagne flute , then fill flute with Champagne and garnish with lemon twist .
The World of Bubbly Wines
Champagne , prosecco , cava , sparkling wine — which is which ? These fun facts can help sort it out .
• Wine is called Champagne only when it originates from the Champagne region of France , an area of 84,000 acres around 90 miles east of Paris . The area ’ s average annual temperature of 53 ° Fahrenheit , 200 days of rain a year , and clay soil all provide amazing growing conditions . There , clay forms unground caverns with consistent moisture and temperature levels , ideal for aging wine .
• Champagne is made using Chardonnay , Pinot Noir , and Pinot Meunier grapes employing the traditional , and costly , méthode champenoise , in which the second fermentation occurs in the bottle .
• Prosecco , a sparkling wine from Veneto , Italy , is made primarily from Glera grapes using the tank method , meaning its second fermentation occurs in a large tank .
• Cava is from the Catalonia region of Spain . These unique sparkling wines are crafted via the traditional method , which is a similar process to the one used to make Champagne , just not in the Champagne region .
• Sparkling wine , or champagne ( uncapitalized ), are names for other bubbly wines . Excellent sparkling wines are produced in the United States , the south of France , and the Lombardy region of Italy , among other areas .
• A flute , rather than a coupe glass , is the better way to enjoy sparkling wine , as the narrow shape preserves the bubbles . However , if aroma is your thing , consider using a white wine glass to savor the sparkling wine ’ s bouquet .
Kathy Patrick is a retired personal chef in Rome , Georgia . She loves cooking , travel , waterskiing , stand-up paddling , and bicycling with her husband , Berry College professor Martin Cipollini . Kathy is a board member of Rome Little Theatre and vice president of the Georgia chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation .
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