Hi Everyone,
Woop woop, 8 days until Christmas…am getting super excited, how about you?
Many of my friends have been asking me for tips of what to cook etc over the festive season so this time I decided to give you all the recipe to one of my favourite 3 course Christmas dinners.
As an absolute bonus I have Hendrik Stahel from Stahel Champagnes helping me out with the perfect champagne/ food pairing for this meal. As a brief introduction to Hendrik – he has a real passion and incredible knowledge about the different champagnes and the effect they have when paired with different foods. Did you know for example that you actually have to be very careful which champagne you pair with dessert otherwise you can easily ruin both!
Following his personal passion, Hendrik set up Stahel-Champagne.com where he now sells carefully selected bottles of champagne online. They are not what you would find normally and certainly add that something special to any festive season meal/celebration.
As a special treat I have a code you can use for 10% off before the end of 2023:
“Champagne for Christmas”
note: For Christmas, make sure orders are placed by Monday 18th December latest.
Keep on reading for the recipes to “Champagne Your Way Through the Festive Season with the FunkyForty Menu”
Champagne Your Way Through the Festive Season with the FunkyForty Menu
1st Course – Hot Salmon on Blinis with Horseradish Mousse and Truffle Honey
The smoked salmon blini starter is super easy to prepare but sure to impress:
Ingredients:
- Blini’s – 3 per guest
- Hot smoked salmon
- Store bought horseradish mousse
- Truffle honey
- Edible gold for decorating
Assembling:
Simply assemble as shown in picture, being sure to drizzle the honey over last and as a final step sprinkling with gold powder – which is a useful thing to have at this time of year.
Champagne pairing:
The Chardonnay is a good match to this starter. The Bression-Lourdeaux is from the Marne Valley. A lovely round, long, champagne with less acidity. It actually tastes very similar to the Ruinart Blanc de blanc.
10 % off with code “Champagne for Christmas”
2nd Course: MAPLE AND PROSCIUTTO WRAPPED brined turkey breasts with herb butter
Served with potato croquettes, cauliflower gratin and caramelised carrots.
This is where I confess that I have used the Donna Hay Christmas Feasts and Treats recipe book for inspiration. So rather than write out the recipes one for one here are the recipe links to:
MAPLE AND PROSCIUTTO WRAPPED brined turkey breasts with herb butter
and
Cauliflower gratin with sage and cheddar
I like to add caramelised onions to this recipe for a bit of a sweet flavour which also pairs nicely to the maple with the turkey.
Normally I make my caramelised onions on the fly by melting sugar in a frying pan and then adding finely sliced onions. It makes all the difference to this gratin.
Champagne pairing:
For the main course, an Extra-brut (very low sugar) of a Meunier grape is nice. The Meunier is a special grape that can be found essentially in the Champagne region. It has a berry taste, roundness and develops slowly but intensely in the mouth.
The 2 suggested champagnes are available online here:
Aude & Boris Bression Lourdeaux, Blanc de noirs, Extra-brut
Delphine & Jean-Michel Hubert-Noiret, Blanc de noirs, Extra-brut
10 % off with code “Champagne for Christmas”
3rd Course: Chestnut Icebox Cake Stacks
For the wafers
Ingredients:
- 195 g flour
- 88g dark cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 170gr unsalted butter
- 200g sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
To make:
Place all ingredients in a bowl and then mix well to combine
Once combined roll into a sausage that is about half as thick in diameter as the diameter of the wafers you wish to have for your desert.
Wrap in glad wrap and place in fridge for at least 1 – 2 hours.
Heat oven to 180°c and line 2 baking trays with baking paper
Take the dough out of fridge a cut into thin slices – a approximately 3 mm
Bake for 12 minutes.
Set aside to cool.
For the cream
Ingredients:
400g chestnut paste
300ml cold double cream
To make:
whisk both together until slight peaks form.
Assembling:
Each serving should have six wafers. Place one first on the palate, top with cream and keep going until all 6 wafers have been used.
Decorate with a sprinkling of chocolate shavings on top.
Champagne Pairing:
The choice of champagne is critical for the desert. For the best pairing the champagne needs to be a little bit sweeter. Suggested is the Rosé « Secret de femme » Although it is a brut (relatively low sugar), it tastes a bit sweeter because the Meunier grape here is very fruity. This Rosé is perfect as it has a great color, elegant nose and is loved by everyone.
Alternatively the Blanc de blanc but with a slightly higher sugar dosage. Although it is a 100% chardonnay champagne, it has not much acidity and the minerality is well balanced by the sweetness. This is a very nice champagne to drink with a cake or with a non-acidic desert.
10 % off with code “Champagne for Christmas”
Wishing you all a wonderful festive season and great fun with the menu and different champagnes – I can honestly say I love this pairing.
Stahel Champagne is open for pick up until Friday 22nd December
For deliveries in Zurich orders can be made up to Thursday 21st December, for other regions it is recommended to order by Monday 18th December.
For anyone in Zurich there will be a private champagne tasting happening early February, 2024. If you would like to attend please WhatsAp me on: 079 402 6137.
Places are limited to 10 people for this tasting.
See here for the easiest ever Christmas cookie recipe.
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