Champagne and Food Pairings

So, I said I would write about some of my favorite thing to serve with Champagne and here is the shortlist....

Strawberries - the flavor of the fruit reacts great and tend to enhance the flavor of the Champagne

Triple Cream Cheeses - I adore the flavor combination of a good brie, St. Andre or other French triple cream cheese with champagne. I don't know what it is about this combination but all I can say is yum, and more please.

Smoked Salmon - I have no idea what it is about smoked salmon served with cream cheese, capers, and red onion that does it for me, but this has got to be one of the absolute best things to eat while drinking champagne.

Caviar - In my opinion this is the only thing that tops smokes salmon with champagne. A super easy way to serve this is by using kettle cooked potato chips, putting a dab of creme fresh on there, topping with some caviar and sprinkling chopped chives on top. This to my is a decadent and lovely way to enjoy bubbly.

Now as for the Champagnes well it really depends on what you like, my absolute favorite is Dom Perigion, after that is Veuve Cliccquot, followed by Domain Carnaros. 

I hope that you get a chance to serve some of these great food and Champagne pairings. If you did not try one for your new year's eve party why not share something special with your loved one on Valentine's Day, or have a nice in home date night.

Recipe Testing

I get a few magazines each month, Better Homes and Gardens, Country Living, Bon Appetit, and Gourmet. Each has some articles that inspire me one way or the other. This month it was the strawberries in BHG and Bon Appetit. For breakfast I made this recipe from Bon Appetit.

Strawberry Citrus Salad

Ingredients

3 cups of sliced strawberries

2 large navel oranges, supremed

2 tablespoons of golden brown sugar

2 tablespoons of thin sliced fresh mint leaves

Toss all ingredients in a bowl let sit for 30 minutes, and serve. For the original content please visit http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2009/05/strawberry_citrus_salad

To make this recipe right I wanted to learn how to segment an or as I learned supreme. This site gave me enough confidence to give it a try. I must say that some practice will definitely be needed before I am perfect at this. http://freshcatering.blogspot.com/2007/04/how-to-supreme-segment-orange.html