It's Better With Bubbly
..in Moonstruck they used sugar cubes...
In the movie Moonstruck, Loretta’s family celebrated her engagement (played by Cher) by dropping sugar cubes into their glasses of champagne. A sudden effervescent rumble of bubbles rose to the top of each glass, making the champagne even more bubbly and more of a party.
That also happened at one of my dinner parties in France, when my chic friend Rachel brought sugar cubes and flower jam and sparkling wine for us to enjoy before we sat down. In some of the flutes she put a sugar cube then sparkling wine. In some of the flutes she put a teaspoon of locally made rose jam then poured in the sparkling wine, which flavored it over the top. Both were magical and made my guests gasp with happy smiles as they sipped.
She hit the right note to begin a memorable evening we would all remember. I thought the jam would make the wine too sweet, but she brought a dry sparkling wine and the cube and jam were in such a small quantity when added that it was more about the visual and fun effect it had on the wine.
The rose jam she brought that night was made by the Confiserie Florian des Gorges du Loup, up in the hills above Cannes, where they candy and jam fresh flowers all summer in a beautiful spot next to a rushing river that tumbles down from the French pres-Alpes. It had a fabulous color and taste.
So I began to wonder if the idea of flowers within the sugar cubes themselves could be interesting in sparkling wine as well, and could I make them?
I reasoned that edible flowers that might be good in wine could be lavender buds, rose petals, clover and dandelions, amongst others. I had lots of lavender in the yard to play with.
I also went to the farmers’ market and came back with edible colors.
But it took tiny chopping and intricate mixing to get all the colors into a cube. In the end I decided to purchase dried edible flowers online first and found a couple of methods to make them.
It was really easy. All I did was add the chopped dried flowers to sugar, added a little water to mix it all up, packed that mixture tightly into some small silicone miniature ice cube molds that I found at TJ Maxx, waited until the next day, then popped them out and they were done and so beautiful!
I tried them in tea. Awesome. I tried them in sparkling wine. It worked! I gave the rest as a gift to a friend.
To make it even easier, I looked on Amazon and found sugar cubes with flowers or flavors to order online which are on their way for my next sparkling wine evening or brunch.
I like cooking with dry sparkling wine or Champagne. You would think it would not make much of a difference, but it does! Here’s one of my favorite recipes to make in the Spring when asparagus is in season.
Champagne and Asparagus Risotto
Serves 4
Ingredients:
8 stalks thin asparagus
6 cups chicken broth
4 tablespoons butter, divided
2 shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1 3/4 cups dry Prosecco or Champagne
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Trim and wash the asparagus then gently cook it in a skillet of simmering water until just tender. Drain. Slice the asparagus into 1 inch pieces and reserve.
In a large saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil then maintain it at a low simmer.
In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add the shallots and garlic and over medium heat stir until translucent. Toss in the rice, stir to coat, then cook while stirring for 3 minutes. Add half the champagne, stir, and simmer for 2 minutes.
Now add the hot chicken broth, 1/2 cup at a time, cooking and stirring all the while. Once it is almost evaporated, add the next 1/2 cup of broth and repeat. Continue until all the broth is used, the rice is cooked but still has a bit of a bite to it. Stir in the remaining champagne and stir for a minute. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the grated cheese and stir until melted and creamy. Gently fold in the cooked asparagus and serve immediately.
Good Reads
Women Who Revolutionized Champagne
Cookbook Review:
The Widow Clicquot : The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It
I learned so much from this delightful little book. To my surprise, the French didn’t discover Champagne. The British did. And a 27 year old widow, a young mother, was mostly responsible for launching champagne as a luxury the world would want. She became one of the richest women at the time by building a great empire on her small village’s vintage.
This book is written so well that it reads like a novel, pulling you into the intrigue of the French Revolution and the years of the Napoleonic Wars.
"Behind the shuttered windows, cloistered within the royal walls of Saint-Pierre-les-Dames, one of those girls may not have known that the world and her future were being transformed until the mob was nearly at their doorstep. She was eleven years old when the Revolution began."
"I am called today the Grand Lady of Champagne! The world is in perpetual motion, and we must invent the things of tomorrow. One must go before others, be determined and exacting, and let your intelligence direct your life. Act with audacity."
I can’t tell you how much I enjoy learning about wine this way. The human element is entwined with the growth of an industry, as it is elsewhere. When I drink this champagne, I think of Barbe-Nicole, and thank her.
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