The Bubbly Girl

Pop Culture

Oscar Worthy Cocktail & Popcorn Recipes for That Academy Awards Party

March 7, 2010

Edible flecks of 24K gold add some dazzle to the Golden Glow, a perfect cocktail for Oscar-viewing parties.

Sorry to be posting this just hours before everyone starts strutting down the red carpet at the 82nd Academy Awards, but sometimes a blog is at the mercy of technology.

I’ve got some great recipes for a star-studded, sparkling cocktail called Golden Glow and delicious gourmet popcorn that will be the hit of your party. The night they hand out the golden statues called Oscars for the best work in movies this year has become a lesser national holiday, with people planning viewing parties, voting for winners and even creating costumes to match their favorite characters.( I’m still a little freaked out remembering the time a female co-worker showed up looking like Truman Capote’s long lost twin.)

Everyone knows it wouldn’t be an Oscar party without bubbly. While champagne and sparkling wine have the power to make any occasion even more special, for Academy Awards parties star chefs like Wolfgang Puck make it even more fabulous. Each year, cases of 24K edible gold leaf get shipped up to Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, to add sparkle to Oscar Party desserts and cocktails.

I created the Golden Glow sparkling cocktail, spiking a base of Iron Horse brut sparkling wine or brut champagne with Goldschläger – an Italian cinnamon flavored liqueur with edible gold flakes – and Bärenjäger a German honey liqueur. Both are easy to find at any well-stocked liquor store. And if you really want to give your party the Midas touch, Sur la Table cookware stores sell a little shaker of edible gold flakes for $26.

Edible 24K gold flakes like these from Sur la Table will be adding sparkling to drinks, desserts and other foods at Oscar parties this evening.

Golden Glow
1/2 ounce Goldschläger Cinnamon Liqueur
1/2 ounce Bärenjäger Honey Liqueur
4 ounces Iron Horse Brut sparkling wine
a dash of Angostura bitters

Shake up the Goldschläger bottle to mix up the edible
gold flecks in it then add 1/2 ounce to a champagne
flute. Add the Bärenjäger. Top with the chilled brut
champagne or sparkling wine. Finish with a dash of
Angostura bitters.
Makes 1 cocktail

Of course, popcorn is a must for watching a movie, so it makes sense that on a glitzy night like this to serve the ultimate in popcorn. Plus popcorn is very budget-friendly and your guests will love eating these buttery, crunchy kernels spiked with some special seasonings. The Recipes section on my web site thebubblygirl.com shares ideas for a few different ways to make what I call Posh Popcorn. The Spicy Popcorn and the one with Black Truffle Oil and Parmesan are two of my favorites. But with a slightly sweet cocktail like the Golden Glow, I’d go for the Five-Spice Popcorn which is drizzled with butter, brown sugar and warm spices.

For your Oscar Party, follow my recipes and dress up your popcorn with parmesan, truffle oil or Chinese Five Spice.

For your Oscar Party, follow my recipes and make Posh Popcorn with parmesan, truffle oil or Chinese Five Spice.

Drinks, Pop Culture

Absinthe Cockails: Killing Me Softly for MxMo

February 23, 2010

Of course, we all know now that absinthe doesn’t cause blindness or madness or any of the other evils ascribed to this high-proof spirit back during the run up to Prohibition. But outside of cocktail geeks and urban bars with pretensions of authenticity, I don’t see this spirit becoming the next. big. thing.

A couple years ago, on a visit to the Absinthe Museum of America in New Orleans, a fellow visitor succinctly summed up the real problem with the Green Fairy: ” I love buying different bottles of absinthe, I just don’t like drinking it.”

I have to admit I feel the same way. After I got over my fascination with Good & Plenty, licorice is something I like in small doses.

It was different back around the turn of the century in Europe where it became the drink of choice for creative types ranging from Oscar Wilde to Toulouse Lautrec, according to The Absinthe Buyer’s Guide. Anise flavored spirits are still popular and plentiful in Europe, the list at Licorice.org includes Pernod, pastis, ouzo, Sambucca, anisette and Pacharan I tasted in Spain’s Basque region.

It may have been in this licorice-loving context that Ernest Hemingway created his potent absinthe and champagne cocktail called Death in the Afternoon. His book Death in the Afternoon is considered one of the best books ever written about the deeper meaning behind bull-fighting in Spain. Hemingway borrowed the book name and contributed the drink made of a jigger of absinthe poured into a glass of champagne to a humorous collection of cocktail recipes by writers that was published in 1935, according to Absinthe Online.

I love the evocative name Death in the Afternoon; but since I think a little absinthe goes a long way, I fashioned Killing Me Softly, which I included in my book The Bubbly Bar. Besides being a tribute to the fantastic Roberta Flack song, it’s a delicate cocktail that leaves just a hint of licorice flavor lingering on the palate.

Killing Me Softly

1 sugar cube
1 teaspoon absinthe
1/2 ounce St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
4 ounces chilled brut champagne
1 thin slice lemon

Place the sugar cube in the bottom of a martini glass. Swirl the absinthe and elderflower liqueur in a cocktail shaker with ice to chill quickly and strain over the sugar cube. Top with the brut champagne. Lightly squeeze the lemon over the top of the drink and float on top.

Sparkling Wine

Beautiful Bubbly: Images from Napa, Sonoma & Mendocino

February 16, 2010

I know the summer seems a very long way off right now. So just for fun, I created this slide show of some of the places and people I visited this summer on my Bubbly Bar book tour. Maybe these pictures of wineries in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino will inspire your summer vacation plans this year. Cheers!

Bubbly Events

Grower Champagnes – Drink Up at Dr. Champagne’s Feb. 23 Dinner at Picco

February 15, 2010

Jean Vesselle's Oeil de Perdrix, a blanc de noirs champagne, is one of the grower wines featured at Dr. Champagne's dinner on Feb. 23 at Picco in Larkspur.

With Valentine’s Day behind us, it means that the unofficial but traditional Bubbly Buying Season that started with Thanksgiving is over. But really, why does the fun have to stop? There are plenty of ways and reasons to enjoy sparkling wine and champagne, especially with events like these coming up. This year, expect to see lots of events highlighting grower champagnes which are made by Champenoise families who grow the grapes and make it into small quantities of finely crafted champagne.

Grower champagnes with names like Pierre Gimmonnet, Henri Billiot, Gratien and Vilmart are sought after in Europe and they’re what savvy sommeliers sip at home. Their reputation is growing here thanks to the work of people like Terry Theise of importer Michael Skurnik who believes this “fun family fizz” offers a much more interesting flavor experience than a mass-produced bubbly. This year the Independent Champagne & Sparkling Wine Invitational – first large U.S. event devoted to exploration of grower champagne – pops off from April 15-18, 2010 in New Orleans with classes, pairing dinners and tastings.

Here in California, Dr. Champagne aka Jerry Horn is presenting a champagne-soaked four course dinner showcasing grower wines at Picco in Larkspur on Feb. 23. The dinner created by chefs Bruce Hill and Chris Whaley starts with hamachi crudo with tarragon, blood orange and crispy onions paired with Egly-Ouriet Premier Cru Brut, a family owned winery with vineyards in Ambonnay and Bouzy, some of the best areas for pinot noir. Next comes poached lobster and caviar with another grower champagne, the Jean Vesselle Brut Oeil de Perdrix, an elegant wine blanc de noirs Dr. Champagne introduced me to. It has a hint of rosiness, like the eye of a partridge.

The dinner starts at 6:30 p.m. cost is $150 per person, plus tax and gratuity. To RSVP, call 415-924-0300 or visit the Picco web site to download a faxable reservation form.

Bubbly Events

Last Minute Ideas for Delicious Valentine’s Outings from San Diego to the Bay

February 12, 2010

Can't decide what to do for Valentine's Day? Let me play Cupid.

Still pondering where to go for Valentine’s Day? Here are a few spots in Northern and Southern California planning some creative and romantic offerings.

The Bubble Lounge in San Francisco is pulling out all the stops with a jazz singer performing, a special menu of aphrodisiac foods and featured romantic cocktails by moi, The Bubbly Girl on Feb. 14. They’ve selected the Elderbubble (St. Germain, raspberry vodka and champagne) and the gorgeous Belle de Jour, a mix of Lillet Blond, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur and rosé champage created by Jackie Patterson and featured in my book Bubbly Bar. Couples can also order a bottle of Dosnon & Lepage Brut Rosé Champagne and have it sabered open – (by the way, there’s a web site devoted to the art of Saberage). Bubbly Lounge chefs are cooking up a sexy menu of sweet roasted beets with micro greens and goat cheese, caviar from the California Caviar Company served with blinis and creme fraiche, a seafood platter with oysters and shrimp and a heart-shaped Scharffen Berger Chocolate cake. The fun starts at 6 p.m. at 714 Montgomery St.; for reservations call 415.434-4204.

The Grand Del Mar, a five-star resort in northern San Diego, is offering a seductive set of food and wine experiences on Feb. 13 and 14 that are sure to spark a romance. On Feb. 13, enjoy a three course Chocolate and Red Wine Tasting menu from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Lobby Lounge for $25 per person; Grand Del Mar Sommelier Jesse Rodriguez will stop at your table and chat about the pairings. Or if you don’t feel like chatting, pick one of the cozy corners of the Lobby Lounge, and sip Another Day In Paradise a cocktail for two featuring rose petal and raspberry infused vodka. Strawberry Chocolate Decadence, a dessert with layers of strawberry confit and dark chocolate, is also available for $19 paired with the sparkling red wine Rosa Regale Brachetto d’Acqui[/caption]

If you’re craving a total culinary experience, call 858.314.1900 and make a reservation for Executive Chef William Bradley’s lavish six-course Valentine’s dinner in Addison’s dining room. The chef — a very happy newlywed — is sure to be cooking with his heart on his sleeve; seductive courses include baby sea scallops, roasted endive with caramelized pears, butter-baked salmon and pistachio nougatine with honey comb gelato. The dinner is $125 per person, or $185 per person with wine pairings plus gratuities, but hey, Valentine’s Day only comes once a year. Meanwhile at Amaya, Chef Camron Woods’ tempting dishes include winter mushroom consomme with truffled ravioli, seared Diver scallops with parsnip puree and golden raisins, and a limoncello semifreddo. That repast is $110 per person or $155 with wine pairings, plus gratuity. For reservations, call 858.314.2727