Champagne Two Ways

Champagne Two WaysIf you're celebrating a special occasion, there's no better way to toast than with champagne. It's timeless, elegant, and delicious. But sometimes even classics need improvement. Here are two ways you can spruce up your champagne for a festive night: Champagne Jello Shots and Cranberry Champagne Cocktails! The jello shots are perfect for any time of year; they will impress your guests and will leave you all feeling fantastic. The Cranberry Champagne Cocktail is probably best suited for fall or winter events, but I won't judge you if you make it during summer. It'll be our little secret.
Champagne Jello Shots The classiest of all the jello shots.Ingredients: 1 Bottle Champagne (Brut - room temperature) 3 packets gelatin 4 Tbsp sugar Brown sanding sugar (optional garnish)The Steps:  Mix 1 and 1/2 cups of champagne with the sugar.Sprinkle gelatin over the top; wait 3-5 minutes until the gelatin powder softens.Warm the mixture on medium-low heat for another 3-5 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Add the rest of the champagne. Pour into a square 9x9 glass dish; let the bubbles settle down a little, but if you leave some in the jello will still have tiny bubbles so it will look more like champagne. I sprinkled a little of the sanding sugar on at this stage; the brown changed into rainbow colors as it set. Cool effect. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours. Cut into squares and sprinkle with sugar if desired. Serve on a pretty plate or tray. (I cut the squares in half again to make them easier to eat/serve.)Makes 32 rectangles. I have no idea how much alcohol is in each one. They didn't seem too strong, but they're easy to indulge on so be careful.

Cranberry Champagne Cocktail Not as tiny as it seems. Camera angles are weird.Ingredients:
1 Bottle Champagne (Extra Dry - chilled)1 can whole cranberries1/2 cup water1/2 cup sugarFresh rosemaryBrown sanding sugarChampagne flutesThe Steps:Create the cranberry syrup. Mix the whole cranberries with the water and sugar over medium-high heat. Bring to a low boil, then let it simmer for about 5 minutes or until some of the water cooks down. Strain out the cranberries. Let cool. Done!Pour some sanding sugar on a small plate.Dip the rim of each champagne flute in cranberry syrup, followed by the sanding sugar.Add 2-3 Tbsp of cranberry syrup to each flute.Top with champagne. Pour slowly; it will fizz up more than usual.Garnish with a rosemary sprig and serve.
Thanks for reading! I hope you'll enjoy these new ways of experiencing champagne. If you like reading my words be sure to pre-order my upcoming young adult sci-fi novel, The Scorching, to be released 1-26-2017. The story isn't about champagne, but it does come up once or twice. So I guess it's relevant? Yeah. We'll go with it. Happy New Year!