Today is National Champagne Day!

Today is National Champagne Day! I know that I will be enjoying a flute of the bubbly later tonight, and I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year! I thought that I would not include any recipes, as let's face it, it is pretty easy to figure out how to celebrate National Champagne Day! And, I want to send out a sincere thanks to all of you who have responded to my series of National Food Days with your own recipes as well. If you would like to share your recipes, or your food/beverage related business on the Jet-Chef blog, please contact me!

(image from www.bpcouncil.com)

I did find a couple of amazing recipes that would be ideal for a New Year's Eve/Day celebration. Both of these recipes are from www.Epicurious.com. Enjoy!

(image from www.Epicurious.com, photo by: SCOTT PETERSON)

Pink Grapefruit, Strawberry, and Champagne Granita with Sugared Strawberries
Bon Appétit, April 2004

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Use a Microplane grater or the smallest holes on a box grater to remove the lemon peel in thin, fine pieces. Any delicate buttery cookies — such as pirouettes, small shortbreads, or tender madeleines — would be delicious with the granita.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
3/4 cup water
1 cup small strawberries, hulled (about 6 ounces)
3/4 cup fresh pink or ruby grapefruit juice
2 1/4 cups chilled brut Champagne
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
9 teaspoons mascarpone cheese*
18 whole small strawberries

Preparation:

Stir 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water in large saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Cool. Puree 1 cup strawberries in processor. Whisk 1/2 cup puree into sugar syrup. Mix in grapefruit juice, then Champagne. Pour mixture into 8-inch square metal baking pan. Freeze mixture until firm, stirring every 2 hours, about 6 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; keep frozen.)

Mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar and lemon peel in pie plate. Spread 1/2 teaspoon mascarpone around pointed tip half of each whole strawberry. Dip in lemon sugar to coat mascarpone.

Moisten rims of 6 Martini glasses with water; dip rims into remaining lemon sugar. Scrape fork across surface of granita to form ice shavings. Mound granita in glasses. Garnish with sugared berries and serve immediately.

*Available at Italian markets and some supermarkets.

Test-kitchen tip:
To coat Martini glass rims with sugar, barely moisten fingertips and run around edge of each glass, then dip rims into sugar mixture. Keep the coated glasses in the freezer for up to two days before serving the granita.

(image from www.Epicurious.com, photo by: Mark Thomas)

Marinated Shrimp with Champagne Beurre Blanc

Bon Appétit, December 2003

Yield: Makes 8 first-course servings

The classic — and amazingly easy — French sauce made with butter and wine gets a glamorous makeover with Champagne. Feel free to use less-expensive sparkling wine for cooking, but keep the blanc de blancs flowing as an accompaniment.

Ingredients:

Sauce base
2 cups Champagne or other dry sparkling wine
1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar or other white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

Shrimp
1 cup Champagne or other dry sparkling wine
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons minced shallots
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
24 extra-large uncooked shrimp (about 2 pounds), peeled with tail left intact, deveined
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces

Preparation:

For sauce base:
Combine Champagne, shallots, vinegar, and peppercorns in heavy medium saucepan. Boil until reduced to 1/4 cup liquid, about 20 minutes. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.)

For shrimp:
Combine Champagne, olive oil, shallots, and ground pepper in resealable plastic bag. Add shrimp to bag and seal; shake bag to coat shrimp evenly. Marinate shrimp at room temperature at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour, turning bag occasionally. Mix chives, tarragon, and parsley in small bowl.

Preheat broiler. Spray broiler pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Drain shrimp; discard plastic bag with marinade. Arrange shrimp on prepared pan in single layer. Broil shrimp until just opaque in center, about 2 minutes per side. Stand 3 shrimp, tails upright, in center of each plate.

Rewarm sauce base over medium-low heat. Whisk in butter 1 piece at a time, just allowing each to melt before adding next (do not boil or sauce will separate). Season beurre blanc to taste with salt and pepper.

Spoon warm sauce around shrimp. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve.



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