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Champagne Sorbet With Red Currant Syrup

Champagne Sorbet With Red Currant Syrup


First thing before today’s post and recipe: the winner of the Squam Workshop Giveaway is Patti from Peppermint Ph.D! Congratulations! please send me your mailing address at mytartelette AT gmail DOT com so I can forward it to the Squam team.

So strange. So strange to be writing and listening to the sound of my parent’s voices in the room above ours. Such a pleasure. After weeks of scheduling and rescheduling, they finally arrived last Wednesday. It’s been amazing to see their whole bodies relax and let go of the tension, the sorrow and the worries they have been going through.

Champagne Sorbet With Red Currant Syrup


It’s been wonderful to pick up where we left off since last May when they were here. So many things have changed and so much has stayed the same. I would have loved to have them here when work was less hectic but in a way I am glad they are able to see first hand how a magazine or cookbook shoot goes. What goes into a production meeting, how I organize the shoots, assistants and the studio depending on the task at hand.

They have seen me find the route ahead and stick to it, work and practice constantly and have kept to themselves their worries and doubts as parents. It’s nice to be able to share what goes on during a day at work. It’s also nice to show them first hand that I don’t noodle around until noon in my pj’s because I don’t have regular work hours.

Champagne Sorbet With Red Currant Syrup


Above all, it’s been so nice to spend time in the kitchen with my mom or engaging in conversations of all kind with my father at the dinner table. I like hearing the mugs clicking comes five o’clock. Sound that a little tea break and a cookie are just around the corner. It had been too long since I’d heard the usual "I know have too much bread on my plate and not enough cheese".

I like observing them and how they interact with life. How they grew old and yet remain so much as I knew them when I was a teenager. I like the wisdom with which I am trying to approach their visit. I know. I did say "trying". What can I say…I have too much of both their temperaments sometimes and things might just get a little heated. Nothing that a glass of Champagne can’t fix though.

Champagne Sorbet With Red Currant Syrup


Right before they arrived, in between two New Year’s Champagne toasts, we found ourselves with a couple of opened bottles and only two of us to drink them. During a work week, it proved a bit difficult to tend to them fast enough. I had hoped during the holidays to save enough Champagne to make sorbet. Last week proved to be the perfect time. A little later than planned. I took it as a nice way to prolong the holiday spirit.

I have always liked Kir Royale (with blackcurrant liqueur) or a little raspberry or red currant liqueur in my Champagne. Seeing the red syrup slowly mingle with the bubble and swirl in its descent to the bottom of the glass. I knew I wanted to somehow create the same effect with the sorbet I was making. Since I still had a lot of red currants, I cooked them with lemon juice and honey and made a syrup to be poured over the sorbet right before serving.

The red currant syrup was the perfect hint of tang and contrast to the sorbet. A simple dessert, full of life and generous in flavor.

Champagne Sorbet With Red Currant Syrup


Hope you have a wonderful week ahead!

Was about to leave without a workshop update…
The November 1st – 5th workshop with Clare is already half full and going fast if you are interested!
The November 8th -12th workshop with Clare and food stylist Tami still has some spots available!
We can’t wait to be there!

Champagne Sorbet With Red Currant Syrup:

Ingredients:

Sorbet: (adapted from Ice Cream Ireland)
2 cups (500ml) Champagne
1 cup (200gr) sugar
1 cup (250ml) water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey or simple syrup

Directions:
In a large saucepan, bring the Champagne, sugar and water to a simmer and stir to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and honey. Stir to combine. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight until cold. When ready to churn, pour the liquid into your sorbet maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once made, keep the sorbet in the freezer until ready to eat. Serve with the red currant syrup drizzled over and some extra red currants of desired.

Red Currant Syrup:
4 cups red currant
1 cup water
1/2 cup honey
juice and zest of one large lemon

In a large saucepan set over medium heat, bring the currants, water, honey and lemon to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook for about 30 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve. Discards the solid and refrigerate the syrup until ready to use.

Champagne Sorbet: Anniversaries And Hot Summer Days

Champage Sorbet B. and I celebrated our ninth year anniversary July 11….well, when I say celebrated it’s not exactly true. Oh yes, there were cards and smoochies, but he left flowers in the car that night not expecting temperatures in the high 80s by six o’clock in the morning. He woke me up with a bunch of pretty but yet wilted flowers, that was comical and it reminded of the way I felt on my wedding day…wilting and melting back in 1998 under the hot sun of Charleston. I am surprised that nobody back then tried to dissuade me from a July wedding. What was I thinking? Well, I had no idea it was going to be over 100F that day, much like our anniversary day last week.
Anyway, back to our celebration. We both worked late night so we decided to stay home, grill some seafood, drink some Champagne and relax on the porch. We were so tired that we barely drank one glass each and crashed into bed. Oops!

We felt a little strange the day after: should we have made more of a production out of it? Should we make up for it and go out somewhere fancy? Any of our friends would tell you that it would not be like us. We do things everyday to show our love and respect for each other. They are not grand gestures but they truly come from the heart. Oh sure, I am not going to play it all cool, we do have fancier celebrations but I’d choose a picnic on the beach under a full moon over a formal restaurant dining room. Those evenings are usually spent with my parents when they come visit. Going out with them is a rare treat so then we make a big deal out of it, plus ordering with my dad around is an adventure in itself (I’d better savethat for another post).

What about the Champagne Sorbet? (good you’re still reading) Well, we had most of the bottle left and still some fizz in it but no real urge or desire to drink it right away. What to do? Cocktails, vinegars, sauces,….Sorbet!!! Since it was still scorching hot outside I figured it would be a great way to end dinner that night.
The recipe could not be any simpler and if you do not have an ice cream maker, do not worry. Once you are ready to freeze the sorbet mixture, pour it into a glass container and freeze for a couple of hours. With an handheld immersion blender, Kitchen Aid or hand mixer, whisk the dough for a miute or so. Return the dish to the freezer and repeat a couple more times. Et Voila!

Champage Sorbet, adapted from Kieran at Ice Cream Ireland (how I wish I were his neighbor!)

Serves 6 (or one tipsy Tartelette!)

300gr sugar
500 ml water
250 ml good quality Champagne
50 ml lemon juice

Bring the water to a boil and stir in the sugar, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Let cool completely.
Stir in the champagne and lemon juice.
Process in your ice cream machine following the manufacturer’s instructions or use the method described above.

Champagne Sorbet