Delectable December: Ring in the New Year with EM’s Champagne Risotto
One of my favorite things to drink (and there are many) is Champagne. I actually love almost any sparkling wine, whether it’s the real stuff from France, Spain’s cava, Italy’s prosecco or just sparkling wine from California. So it should come as no surprise that New Year’s Eve is one of my favorite holidays. When I was traveling in Europe, I made sure to visit both Moet et Chandon in Epernay, France, where Dom Perignon is made, and Mumm in Rheims, not far away. It was fascinating to learn about the extra steps in the process to make sparkling wine. The first part of the process is just like still wine, then there is a second fermentation in the bottle. Until the French Champagne producers perfected the shape of the bottle, they lost up to 70 percent of every vintage to broken bottles. Maybe that’s why Champagne is so expensive: they’re still trying to recoup those early losses. But it does account for the higher prices: extra labor and time to produce great quality Champagne. Cava from Spain and prosecco from Italy have their second fermentation in the barrel, not the bottle, and the cuts down the cost considerably.
For a really special treat I love to make this Champagne risotto, though you can use any sparkling wine. It’s best when it’s not too sweet since it will get concentrated as it cooks. And one of the fun things is that because you have to open the bottle before midnight, you get the chance to sample the bubbly way before anyone else. Just make sure most of the dinner is cooked before you start this or you might forget something important.
Some recipes include peas or asparagus, but I prefer it just plain so the flavor the Champagne is more intense. Enjoy!
Champagne Risotto
(recipe from Bon Appetit)
- 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions
- 2/3 cup Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
- 1 cup dry Champagne (or any non-sweet sparkling wine)
- 1 14 1/2-ounce can (or more) low-salt chicken broth
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions; sauté 1 minute. Add rice; sauté 2 minutes. Add Champagne; simmer until almost all liquid evaporates, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add 1 can broth; simmer until rice is almost tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Simmer until rice is tender but still firm to bite and mixture is creamy, adding more broth if too thick and stirring often, about 5 minutes. Stir in Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.
Delectable Series
Last month the first story in my new Delectable series released, called Brand New Flavor, about an artisan ice cream maker and a food critic he’s trying to impress. Jay wants to create a special flavor that will tell Cameron just how he feels about him.
A Delectable novella
When artisan ice cream maker Jay Brown first meets food writer Cameron Clay at a charity tasting event, they get along like strawberries and chocolate sauce. Jay’s unique flavors thrill more than Cameron’s jaded palate, but after a delicious encounter in Jay’s delivery truck, where extra-creamy frozen treats are not the only delights sampled, Cameron loses Jay’s contact info—and any hope of a real date.
Desperate, Cameron convinces his editor to host an artisanal ice cream contest in hopes of drawing out the elusive genius. But more complications threaten to intervene. Will Jay even enter the contest? Or will the chance of a happily ever after melt away?
Read an excerpt or check it out from Dreamspinner Press, Amazon or All Romance eBooks.
Giveaway:
Leave a comment with either your favorite way to spend New Year’s Eve or one of your New Year’s resolutions for a chance to win a copy of one e-book from my backlist (excluding Brand New Flavor). I’ll draw a name on January 7. And have a safe and Happy New Year!
5 Responses to “Delectable December: Ring in the New Year with EM’s Champagne Risotto”
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Well I am a but boring when it comes to New Year’s. set me up with a nice all day marathon of one of my favorite mystery shows like the Mentalist or Law & Order and I’m happy! I still have a sweet spot for Welch’s Sparkling White Grape juice! My mom would buy it for us to toast as kids and I still prefer it to alcoholic drinks for my toast! 😉 I hope you have a great New Year!
OceanAkers @ aol.com
I like spending New Year’s with my family. It’s tradition, really. New Year’s Eve I usually spend with a couple friends making a big homemade dinner. But New Years Day I spend with my mom and sister (and now her husband and my daughter). We have a brisket, fried cabbage, black eyed peas, greens, and fried potatoes — the traditional New Year’s meal with a southern twist.
morris.crissy@gmail.com
I live in a town where people like to shoot guns at midnight, so I usually hunker down in the house on New Year’s Eve. My mom always liked to make Ramos Fizzes and clam dip on New Year’s Day (not to be consumed at the same time, thank goodness), but she hasn’t done that in a while. (I heard her mention a clam dip craving on Christmas, though.) We try to do black-eyed peas as my Texan grandfather always insisted, though sometimes I forget. I usually do Edna Lewis’s vegetarian version because it’s easier and more versatile, though I have some ham scraps around and might just make ’em the traditional way…
vitajex(at)aol(dot)com
It’s funny, I’m a terrible cook and I have food allergies. I’m ‘meh’ about food in general, until the price tag on it gets high enough for me to perceive a difference in the quality of the meal. But I am such a sucker for reading and writing about food and fine dining! Starved as a child, perhaps? I don’t know. 🙂
I’ve really enjoyed reading your Delectable December series of posts, as well as learning more about your Delectable series. The covers just melt in your mouth, don’t they? Thank you for sharing with us!
My favorite way to spend the New Year? With my boyfriend, on the couch, watching a movie and sharing bubbly at midnight. Circumstances have kept us apart on New Year’s Eve the last three years, and will do so again, so I can only dream this year.
We usually swap between our house and our friends – food and chat (and maybe a few bevvies!) for the adults while the kids play in the other room – though the oldest of our friends is now going out with her friends! Wood fire going, its all cozy! Then to blow away the cobwebs a family walk on a beach or up the hills.