So many bubbly rosé choices to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your love…here’s a sampling…expensive to affordable…
(Champagne prices listed in this blog may vary from the readers local stores and on-line sources.)
Rosé Champagne—A pink version of champagne, most often made by the blending of a little red wine with normally vinified white wine. Champagne is the only appellation in France that is allowed to blend red and white wine together. Rosé champagne can also be made with the saignée method, which involves macerating the juice on the grape skins in order to impart color.
I’m not a huge celebrator of V-Day, but if you are, you may as well go all out and nothing quite screams Valentine’s Day than a beautiful Rosé Champagne.
Pares Balta wines are certified organic, biodynamic and vegan-friendly. Produced from vineyards located in the high mountains of Pontons (close to 800 meters elevation).
Parés Baltà is a family owned traditional winery that goes back to 1790. Winemakers with a long tradition but with new and fresh ideas. The company is guided into a new era of high-quality wine production under the management of Joan and Josep Cusiné and the unconditional help of their father Joan Cusiné Cusiné.
At Parés Baltà, the winemaking is in the hands of Mª Elena Jiménez and Marta Casas, oenologists and wives of Joan and Josep. Two skilled young women whose efforts are reflected in the quality of the wines, showing fine character and concentration yet with elegance and balance.
🌍 Penedès, Spain
🍇 Garnacha 38%, Parellada 32%, Macabeo 30%
👀 Pale redcurrant colour with a very good sparkling crown of bubbles.
I wish you could have smelled the aroma of this smoky soy sauce in my kitchen as I was searing the scallops ~ it was heavenly! As promised here is one of my favorite recipes using the Haku Smoked Shoyu Soy Sauce that I bought at Fresh Market (also available on-line). This is a SUPER easy recipe!
2 crisp celery stalks, but into strips on a mandoline slicer
1/2 lime
Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Place vegetable oil and 2 teaspoons soy sauce in a medium size saute pan. Heat until sizzling. Place scallops in hot oil and sear on one side. When the scallops have a nice caramelized sear on one side, turn the scallops and sear on the other side. Place strips of celery on top of the scallops and drizzle some of the oil over the celery. Spritz the scallops with the juice of the lime. Placed the scallops on appetizer plates for service.
Tips for searing scallops:
Make sure the oil is sizzling hot.
Use dry sea scallops. They have enough surface area for a nice sear.
Pat the scallops dry with paper towels before searing.
The scallops will stick to the pan until they are ready to turn. Nudge the scallop with a metal spatula and if it doesn’t easily give then it is not ready to turn.
1/4 cup Asian sweet chili sauce (I like Grama’s sweet chili sauce for this recipe – available at Fresh Market or on-line)
Juice and zest of 1/2 lime
Place flour and Old Bay seasoning in a plastic bag, seal and shake the bag. Place the shrimp in the bag, seal and shake to cover the shrimp.
Heat the oil in a medium size saute pan to sizzling. Add shrimp and cook until lightly browned then flip the shrimp to brown the other side. Remove the shrimp from the pan and discard the oil. Return the shrimp to the pan and cover with Asian sweet chili sauce. Stir to coat the shrimp with the sauce. Spritz the shrimp with lime juice and sprinkle with lime zest. Serve on appetizer plates.
When I woke up this morning the temperature was in the single digits. As I stayed snuggled under the covers I thought about what we would have for dinner. I found the answer when I opened the Parade magazine in the newspaper. Food Network Chopped judge Maneet Chauhan’s Slow-cooker Bloody Mary Chili was in the “What America Eats Celebrity Kitchen” section. I made it this evening and it is delicious! I love the addition of fresh grated ginger in the recipe. The ginger gives it a bit of an Asian twist which may account for the slightly sweet taste of the chili. I added the entire small can (6 ounces) of tomato paste because I end up throwing out the rest of the can if I don’t use it all in a recipe. I also added 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt. Here’s the recipe for you to enjoy this winter:
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp grated ginger
2 Tbsp tomato paste (I used the whole can)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (32-oz) bottle Bloody Mary mix (I used Mr. and Mrs. T’s Bold and Spicy)
1 (15-oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-oz) can black or garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped green onion, plus more for garnish
2 tbsp chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt (if desired, this is my addition)
Shredded cheddar cheese, for garnish
Lime wedges, for garnish
DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add onion, bell pepper and celery; cook 4 minutes or until beginning to soften. Add turkey; cook 5 minutes, stirring with a spoon to crumble. Season lightly with salt and black pepper. Stir in ginger, tomato paste and garlic; cook 2 minutes or until fragrant.
Transfer mixture to a slow cooker. Stir in Bloody Mary mix, beans, green onion, cilantro, paprika and cumin. Cover and cook on high 4 hours or until thickened. Adjust seasoning as needed. Serve garnished with cheese, additional green onion, cilantro and lime wedges.
Today in this BONUS blog post, I’m bringing you some easy garnishes you can make for your cocktails and mixed drinks. No special bar tools required!
I like making fun cocktails at home. My general philosophy in life is that I’d rather not pay for what I can do at home. I make exceptions from time to time, but I try to take these as chances for learning something new.
What makes a cocktail a “fun” cocktail? The extras! Sure, you can mix a gin and tonic or martini, but adding that little bit of an extra touch makes it so much better. We’ll talk flavors in a later post (like adding bitters, for example), but today we’re going to talk about garnishes; more specifically garnishes made from oranges. I realize as I’m writing this that I missed the simple orange slice and wedge! Well, hopefully those are self-explanatory enough.
Just because it is Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune on bubbly. Spainish cava can be white or rosé and it is made with the same method as champagne “Méthode Traditionnelle “. This method requires a second fermantation of the wine that takes place in the individual bottles which will later be sold. Cava is a refreshing aperitif or a lovely pairing with Valentine’s dinner.
Codorniu Anna Cava Brut Rosé
I recently tasted several cavas that are available on-line and locally in Roanoke, Virginia. My favorite of the five was Codorniu Anna Cava Brut Rosé. It was offered on our hotel breakfast buffet in Sevilla, Spain along with freshly squeezed orange juice to make mimosas. They had little orange trees on the tables in the outdoor courtyard.
Anna Cava was my favorite of the bunch. This pretty rose color bubbly would be a very nice aperitif or dessert wine for Valentine’s Day. Pair it with a white or milk chocolate dessert with strawberries since its flavor is predominantly strawberry. $14 range. Available locally at Earth Fare.
Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Heredad Cava
One of my all time favorite cavas is Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Heredad Cava. With the pewter base and family crest on the bottle…so pretty in a gift basket. And now I’ve made the connection…the producer, Segura Viudas, is part of the Freixenet family of wines that includes Gloria Ferrer in Sonoma which is one of my favorite California sparkling wines. The non-vintage Reserva Heredad is the label’s top offering, made only from 67% Macabeo and 33% Parellada grapes. Aromas of smoke and honey and flavors of apples, dried fruit, and nuts. Creamy and crisp, it finishes clean and bright. Perfect pairing with almonds and walnuts to begin the meal. $30 range. Available locally at Mr. Bill’s Wine Cellar.
One of the cavas I tasted was Dibon. It is commonly found in grocery stores. This cava has grassy undertones with stone fruit flavors and mild minerality. It is crisp and light-bodied on the palate but in my opinion it is not the best sipping cava. I would serve this cava in mimosas or other sparkling wine cocktails. $10 – $12 range.
My favorite white cava of the cavas I tasted was the Avinyó Reserva 2015. Fresh and vibrant with lemony brioche notes. A fun sipping bubbly. Available locally at Rock Fish Restaurant. $20 range
