Dinner of Champs {Academy Awards Menu}

The Oscars always make me feel extra fancy and tempt me to put my wedding dress on and pretend like I'm walking down the red carpet.
(However I try to reserve the dress putting on for our anniversary....so see you in a month!)

So the next best thing to do is break out the bubbly.

Last weekend we had some extra champagne in the fridge (is that a thing?) and because I value my fridge space I decided it needed to be used up.

And Mister vetoed the idea of me drinking it as my dinner so I did the next best thing, found a few recipes to use it in!

So if you need an extra excuse to break out the bubbly for this weekend's Oscars viewing, I have the perfect, romantic meal plan for you!

Champagne Chicken
(adapted from here)
-4 chicken breasts
-1/2 cup (or more) whole wheat flour to coat chicken
-1 cup champagne
-2 tablespoons honey
-1/2 cup orange juice
-2 tablespoons lemon juice
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1 package mushrooms
-1/3 cup craisins (I forgot to add)
-salt to taste

1. While warming oil in a skillet, coat chicken breasts lightly in oil
2. Once oil is hot, place chicken in skillet and cook on each side until golden
3.  Remove chicken from skillet and set aside
4.  Add champagne to skillet to deglaze and let the champagne reduce
5.  Add honey, juices, mushrooms and salt, let simmer for 5 minutes
6. Put chicken back in skillet, simmer and cover for approximately 40 minutes
7. Add craisins and cook for 10 more minutes

Champagne Risotto
(I always use ValSoCal's recipe)

-4 slices prosciutto

-3 cups chicken broth

-bunch of asparagus, cut into pieces

-2 tablespoons butter

-1 shallot chopped (or garlic in a pinch)

-3/4 cup Aborio rice

-3/4 cup champagne

-1/4 cup parmeasan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, place prosciutto on cookie sheet and cook for 6-8 minutes until crispy

2. Bring chicken stock to boil, blanch asparagus in boiling broth for 2 minutes.  Remove asparagus and keep broth on a slow simmer

3. In other pot, melt 1 tablespoon of butter, add shallot and cook for 3 minutes.  Add the rice and coat in the butter.  Keep stirring rice for 3 minutes

4. Add champagne and let simmer/reduce for about 3 minutes.  Once reduced, add 1/2 cup simmering broth. Keep stirring until absorbed

5. Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, until all absorbed- this will take about 20 minutes of stirring

6.  Remove from heat and add cheese, asparagus, salt/pepper and butter

7. Top with crispy prosciutto

And, of course, a glass of bubbly or two!

Champagne is from Kroger for $8.99 and it was delicious!

Cheers!  

And this is how Floyd felt about our meal

No chicken for him, not into it.

Don't forget to enter the Lacelets giveaway! 

*ps blogger is hating me today, so sorry the spacing and sizing is off on this post.