Skip the crowded restaurants this Valentine’s Day and treat your Valentine to a special breakfast in bed. This week I’ll be sharing recipes and tips for planning and preparing a simple, sumptuous morning meal perfect for sharing with your sweetie. Check back later for Baked Blueberry French Toast and Brown Sugar & Spice Bacon. Since every great meal starts with a cocktail, kick off your romantic breakfast with a Passion Fruit Mimosa, a bubbly and refreshing mix of passion fruit juice and champagne.
Here are a few tips to help you choose a good bottle:
Champagne is a sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France. It’s like the Parmigiano-Reggiano of wine. It’s only really champagne if it’s made in Champagne. Other sparkling wines might be made in a similar fashion in different parts of the world — prosecco in Italy, cava in Spain – but they’re not technically champagne. Sparkling wines that lack the champagne title are less expensive.
Champagne and sparkling wines are available in six degrees of sweetness determined by the amount of sugar added.
Extra brut is the driest option with no sugar added at all.
Brut is the most popular champagne. It can contain up to 1.5% sugar.
Extra Dry is only slightly sweeter than Brut with no more than 2% sugar added.
Sec contains up to 4% sugar.
Demi Sec has up to 8% sugar content.
Doux (or bubbly simple syrup, as I like to call it) can contain up to 10% sugar.
Which ever champagne or sparkling wine you choose, be sure to serve it in a sparkling, clean glass. Dirt or oil on your flute can cause your champagne to go flat.
Have you tried any the different categories of champagne? What’s your favorite?
- 2 tablespoons passion fruit juice concentrate or passion fruit juice, to taste
- 2 tablespoons simple syrup
- 8 ounces champagne
- fresh strawberries or raspberries for garnish, optional
- Pour 1 tablespoon passion fruit juice concentrate and 1 tablespoon simple syrup in each of two champagne flutes. Add 4 ounces champagne to each flute. Garnish (optional) and serve.
- Learn how to make simple syrup here.
I'm Chef Danielle, cooking instructor, food stylist and food writer. I'm teaching you the tips, tools and techniques you need to make cooking simple. I'll bring out your inner chef and introduce you to the kitchen!
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