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| To download this free recipe PDF, click here. |
To download my recipe now in a PDF form, click here. OR read the entire blog post with extra tips and photos by scroll downing or clicking here or on the Read More link below...
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| "Waste not," says Mr. Fellows. Save those last few tablespoons of New Year's champagne to make my Champagne Vinaigrette |
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| Cleo Coyle, author of The Coffeehouse Mysteries |
You know the stuff I’m talking about, those dregs in that bottle sitting in your fridge. Don’t pour that sad, fizzless liquid down the drain. Do what I do every New Year’s week. Use it to make champagne vinaigrette.
Yes, I know, champagne vinaigrette is typically made with champagne vinegar, but I prefer my version for frugality and fun. My vinaigrette is light, bright, refreshing, and the delicate flavor of champagne comes through very nicely.
A fresh salad is also an especially intelligent way to start off the New Year. Why? Lettuce is mostly water and hydrating will help set your body right after an evening imbibing to excess (aka attempting to pickle yourself).
My amateur sleuth, Clare Cosi, actually received this same advice from her ex-husband, Matt, a guy highly skilled in the art of party survival...
Learn more about my bestselling series of Coffeehouse Mystery novels by clicking here.
Got a hangover?
Follow of the advice of Matt
and Mr. Fellows,one of my many
rescued New York strays...
and Mr. Fellows,one of my many
rescued New York strays...
“Drink lots of water. Hydrate with salad. Even better, dress those crisp, healthy, greens with a hair of the cat that bit you!"
My recipe and photos in this post
were part of a past Foodbuzz
Top 9 Pick among thousands of
food bloggers around the world.
Cleo Coyle’s
Champagne Vinaigrette
Servings: This recipe makes about 3 tablespoons of vinaigrette, enough to dress an average salad for two.
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons champagne (fresh and bubbly
or flat and leftover, either will work)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon white rice vinegar (or white or
cider vinegar or lemon juice)
1 clove garlic sliced into big pieces (optional)
Directions: Combine all ingredients (but the garlic) in a small bowl and whisk well with a fork. Add the garlic and let stand 15 minutes (this optional step will impart a light garlic flavor). Remove all of the raw garlic. Whisk again and pour the dressing over your favorite salad. The salad you see in my photos is one I often enjoy: romaine lettuce and mixed greens, grape tomatoes sliced in half, sunflower seeds, and dried cranberries.
Cleo's Final Tips
* Vinegar: I like white rice vinegar for this dressing, but any white vinegar will impart that needed note of astringent brightness, which will balance the sweetness of the champagne. If you don’t have any white vinegars on hand, use lemon juice to taste. I would not recommend red or balsamic vinegar for this vinairgrette. Not only will those darker, heavier vinegars overpower the delicate champagne flavor, they will change the dressing’s color and defeat the culinary concept. (Then again, if you’re hung over, snow is piling up outside, and it’s all you have on hand, it will have to do.)
* The oil flavor really shines through in this vinaigrette so choose a good quality extra virgin olive oil.
* Salt: sea salt and Kosher salt are much better choices than table salt for flavor.
* Pepper: I often use black pepper or a pepper mix for this dressing, but if you want a really nice presentation, use white pepper. Grinding it fresh always gives you better flavor.
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| To download this free recipe PDF, click here. |
Happy New Year!
~ Cleo Coyle
New York Times bestselling author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries
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Yes, this is me, Cleo (aka Alice).
Friend me on facebook here.
Follow me on twitter here.
Visit my online coffeehouse here.
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To view the
Coffeehouse Mystery book trailer, click here. |
Now a Bestselling
Hardcover!
"Top Pick!" ~ RT Book Reviews
"Fresh and fun...clever" ~ Booklist
"Wicked good" ~ Library Journal
Join coffeehouse manager
Clare Cosi as she solves the crime
against "Sleeping Beauty," opens
secret doors (uptown and down),
and investigates a cold case that's
been unsolved since the Cold War.
Join coffeehouse manager
Clare Cosi as she solves the crime
against "Sleeping Beauty," opens
secret doors (uptown and down),
and investigates a cold case that's
been unsolved since the Cold War.
Wonderful recipes are also featured in Cleo's 14th
culinary mystery, Once Upon a Grind, including...
* Diary-Free "Cinderella" Pumpkin Cake
* Snow White Chocolate Mocha
* Black Forest Brownies
* Cappuccino Blondies
* Shrimp Kiev
* Dr Pepper Glazed Chicken
* Silver Dollar Chocolate Chip Cookies
* Caramel-Dipped Meltaways
* Poor Man's Caviar
...and many more recipes, including
a guide to reading coffee grinds...
A Coffeehouse Mystery
"Top Pick" -RT Book Reviews
"...a highly satisfying mystery."
-Publishers Weekly
* * * * * *
The Coffeehouse Mysteries are bestselling
works of amateur sleuth fiction set in a landmark
Greenwich Village coffeehouse, and each of the
14 titles includes the added bonus of recipes.
GET A FREE
* * *
 |
The Ghost and Mrs. McClure Book #1 of The Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, which Cleo writes under the name Alice Kimberly |
Haunted Bookshop
Mysteries
Get a free title checklist,
with mini plot summaries, by clicking here.
Or learn more here.
* * * * * *
Comments and
Questions!
To leave a comment or
question for Cleo, click here
and visit the
Coffee Talk Message Board
at her online coffeehouse.
* * *
Subscribe to Cleo's Coffeehouse Newsletter and you are entered in her weekly drawings for a free pound of coffee....
