Kathiey's World

What is Champagne is the big question?  I knew it was in the wine family and I knew it had bubbles but that was the extent of my knowledge.  I came across an online zoom class all about champagne and I decided to take it. Here is a simplified definition I found in the Urban Dictionary. "Sparkling wine (achieved via means of a second fermintation) is produced from grapes grown in a legally defined area of France."  Here are a few wine tidbits that were shared in the zoom class. *The cork from a bottle of champagne travels at approx 25 MPH when opened. (I found on another site it could be up to 55 MPH) Yikes! *PSI is 70-90 pounds per square inch.   *On average 24 people die every year from a champagne cork. *The grapes the typically make up champagne are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meunier.  *The bubbles you see when you put them in your glass are called "action".  The more narrow a glass, such as a flute, the more action you see. *Champagne can be served in a Co...

Food and Wine Pairings I recently took a class on Champagne.  One thing they talked about was what to pair with this bubbly drink.  The perfect pairing seemed to be cheese so I decided to pair our Thanksgiving champagne with Brie. On a site called Sensibus , they say "Brie and Brut Champagne, for the classic pairing lovers".   Another site, Wisconsin Cheese Man , states that Champagne pairs well with buttery and earthy foods. It stands to reason, then, that triple-cream soft cheeses (brie, Camembert) would be the perfect match…and they are! But there are more great cheese pairings with Champagne and other sparkling wines." After doing my research I decided to make a brie in puff pastry which included apricot preserves.  I must say I have never worked with puff pastry and I felt a bit intimidated but I decided to give it a try. I searched recipes online and decided to go with the one I found on House of Nash Eats .  The recipe was titled Baked Brie in Puff P...